aka 'Canon Corner'

Frankston Photographic Club

I attended my first meeting of the Frankston Photographic Club tonight. A very welcoming group I must say. Some fifty or so members were in attendance and they meet with a varying agenda every Wednesday evening in a large comfortable auditorium.

Tonight's meeting consisted of a presentation / discussion of the differing lens types (zoom, fish eye, macro, wide angle, prime etc.) and their impact on differing sensor sizes. Selected Club members were pre-organised to bring along the various lens examples for the group to see, touch and peer through. A fantastic selection was made available. Highlights were a 180 mm Canon 'L' macro lens. Unbelievably crisp and bright. A real eye opener. And full marks to 'Frank' who provided some sort of Sigma/Tamron 500 mm zoom and a Canon 'L' series 600 mm IS prime 'monster' (see below, sorry about the white balance.....) on two different Canon D-series bodies. Also a member was demoing the new Canon 5D MkII, including video, just to show a 50 mm prime lens. Even the tripods were impressive. There was some serious gear there.......

Canon 600 mm (2)

Another part of the night was the presence of a 'For Sale' area. Lenses, books, compact cameras, printers, various monopods / tripods were available at what could only be called give-away prices. Note to self: bring cash next time!

Fortunately for me, the club has a strong majority of Canon users, so much of the 'chat' is around Canon, much to the chagrin of the Nikon types. A couple of casual conversations revealed answers to a couple of questions that had been bugging me for a while. Excellent. Also I sense there is a strong competition focus, so I will need to lift my game A LOT.

Like all clubs around the country, a collection was taken for Bushfire Relief Fund, and from what I could see, all attendees were giving generously. Thanks for the welcome tonight and I look forward to returning to participate in what will be a most valuable resource in my photographic journey.

Update: Following another successful and enjoyable meeting this week, I am now officially a member of the FPC!