As most photography freaks would know, getting yourself a dSLR (In my case, it’s a Canon EOS 40D.) is only the beginning of more splurging.

After six months, I finally saved enough to get myself the Canon Speedlite 580 EX II. Yes, the flash gun that could fire up to 13m, according to the technical specification.

It adds extra (a lot of) weight to my already heavy camera but with a flash gun attached, night shots would be much easier. It’s going to take some time to learn how to use it effectively though.

Chong, does my camera still looked small? LOL. Honestly, I still feel it’s small but the weight, is quite a bit.

Three test shot of my Chevrolet 2008 Concept Camaro cum Bumblebee.

Robin introduced to me the Hoya close up filter +4 some time back and I was tempted to get one. With my kit lens minimum focusing distance fixed at 45cm, a close up filter could really close the gap and allow me to focus even closer than before. As I don’t have the budget for a macro lens, a close up filter would be good for the mean time. However, I noticed the sharpness and picture quality have dropped a little. For RM84, I am not complaining.

Focused at 85mm (136mm on full frame) without close up filter.

Focused at 85mm (136mm on full frame) with close up filter.

That aside, again, million thanks to Bryan for allowing me to defer his debt payment and buy my flash gun first.

Yes, that is about it for my camera gadgets, for now. I want to travel, really.