See the rest of the pictures here.

First off… I am not a telephoto shooter. Previously, I brought only a 70-200 f/2.8 IS on trips (monster to travel with). In fact, that’s the only telephoto lens I own (next down is the 100mm macro). I pained trying to decide about picking up a 135L or 200L or 70-200 f/4 IS or even a cheap 70-200 f/4. I wanted a black lens and something that wouldn’t duplicate the 70-200 I already had that I do use for shoots and wouldn’t think about getting rid of. I got an early great deal on the new 100mm macro L so I snagged it and brought that. What a great lens!!! Lighter than my 24L. Small, compact. It makes some weird noises but I feel it is faster at focusing than my old 100 USM Macro. This is definitely my new travel telephoto. Beautiful bokeh. I am not sure if it is better than the old lens but the IS is well worth it and makes it a useful all purpose telephoto. My old 100 USM will be on the market soon.

I also brought the 50L & 24L for night shooting. And my trusty 16-35L mkI as an all purpose 80% of time lens. I brought my 5DII as a lightweight traveller (we probably walked 6-10 miles per day). And 1DIII as a backup… which never left my luggage.

The 5DII was great EXCEPT… did have some low-light outer focusing points struggles. No surprise there. Nothing detrimental. And as the Classic 5D, dust was a mess inside the viewfinder. Not TOO bad on the sensor but after day 2 on the Great Wall… there were several dust bunnies INSIDE the prism box… not accessible with a simple blower. Just annoying than anything. But the pictures were gorgeous and a pleasure to carry all day compared to all my previous trips with the 1DIII (this was the first outing with the 5DII. Definitely more inconspicuous too.

Usage was probably 80% 16-35L, 8% 50L, 8% 100L, 4% 24L. Did I regret bringing the fast primes? No… they got some great night shots I know I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get. But I didn’t use my 24L as much as I thought I’d would since the high-ISO on the 5DII was just that good. I think my 1DIII is really good in the ISO realm too but I was shooting at ISO2500 with confidence which I never had the confidence to do with the 1DIII.

I did not bring a tripod. Night shots were all handheld or camera set on railings, trash cans etc.

Here are some picts (I am a vignetting freak so most of the vignetting here is added in post):

100L Vignetting added in post, ISO800

24L ISO2500

50L ISO200 @ f/1.2 (I took variations at different ISO and apertures… this, probably by chance, turned out the best)

16-35L

16-35L

100L Slight T&S effected added in post

See rest of picts here.

I know when I posted the Belstaff 554 Large Colonial Shoulder Bag I said that was the last bag I would ever buy. Well, I lied.

The Belstaff 554 is a fantastic bag and I have no regrets. But I found myself often faced with the comment, “Wow. Nice bag… it’s big.” And people were right. It IS big. Big enough to carry my 15″ Macbook Pro. I was hoping the bag would be able to be an everyday carry as well as my work bag. But using it as an everyday carry was just a bit bigger than I’d like. Put it this way, fully loaded, it wouldn’t fit under some of the smaller seats on a plane. And fully loaded… it was HEAVY.

So I started looking and thinking about another bag. It was hard. I had been spoiled by the Belstaff bag. So when I came upon an ad for a Belstaff 556 Colonial Shoulder Bag (regular size)… I jumped on it. Mountain brown just like my larger bag.

I have had it for about a month now and through a trip to Orlando and a trip to New Zealand. It is GREAT! This is the perfect size for everyday carry and travel. Big enough to throw a good amount of stuff in, books magazines, a netbook etc. Not too heavy to carry around all day. Same great construction as the 554.

It also has one really nice feature. It fits a Tenba Messenger Photo Insert perfectly. I saw this insert on Flickr and it is actually better than all the Domke ones that I swore buy. It is PERFECT for a messenger shaped bag… none of the Domke’s really are. With it, I can actually fit a Canon 1DmkIII and 3 lenses. Or even the 70-200L f/2.8 IS and another lens mounted. In a bind, I can load the 1DmkIII holster style (lens pointed down). The top closes… barely and is not that comfortable to carry but it fits… in a bind.

So if I had a choice, I’d go with the 556 over the 554. It’s just more universally usable. But I like having two and don’t feel it is duplicating. In a time where Belstaff seems to be stopping the manufacturing of these bags (STUPID STUPID STUPID)… I am glad I have another in case something were to happen to the other. Both mine also don’t have the magnets and the seams match the color of the bag. The newer ones have magnets under the latches and a different color seam. Now why would they do that!

The dimensions measured at the seams* are: 10.25 in tall x 12 in wide x 3 in deep at the top and 4 in deep at the bottom.

Front pockets are 6.5 in tall x 4.5 in wide x 1 in deep.
Side pockets are 5 in tall by 4 in wide… tight rounded depth.
Inside zippered pocket is 7 in long.
* inside might be a bit smaller.

Pictures of Belstaff Colonial 556.