Wireless shutter remote from Ebay

After buying my Canon 60D camera bundle, I started thinking about all the accessories I want.  But I like to watch my money, so I prefer not paying full retail for something I can get cheaper.  Case in point, is the Canon Wireless remote controller RC-6.  On the Canon website, the retail price of the remote shutter controller is $22.95 on sale from it's original price of $30.

I found a similar item on ebay. I bid on it and won it for $2.  The ebay seller also has them on Buy It Now for $3.49.  I don't know how to use it yet, but did find a useful EOS magazine article on using Canon's wireless shutter remote.  I'll post my feedback after reading the article and testing out the RC-6 clone.

What I use my cameras for

For the past few years, I've been trying to visually document my rather large die-cast car collection.  It's mostly comprised of little cars and trucks that are about 3 inches in length.  You may know these as Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars.  I collect other die-cast brands such as Johnny Lightning and Tomica, both brands being owned by the Tomy company in Japan.  Also in my collection are vehicles from Greenlight Collectibles, Motormax, Maisto, and Tonka.  I even have some Fire engines and emergency vehicles that are made by the now defunct Code 3 Collectibles and more recently the copycat company called Amercom.

I'll usually take pictures of my toy cars out in the backyard (natural light) or in my toy room (artificial light).   To capture the minute details of the minature cars, I need a camera that focuses well in a macro setting.

I also like to travel when possible and like to bring my camera to capture beautiful landscapes or exotic locales.  So I need a camera that will travel well, is lightweight and doesn't take up too much room in my backpack.  The cameras I have used so far have pretty much handled everything I could throw at them, but I'm thinking I need to up my game, hence the reason why I decided to buy the Canon 60D.

Here's a blog list of some of my die-cast pictures I've taken using my older cameras.

mytoycars.blogspot.com
hwpics.blogspot.com
code3diecast.blogspot.com

My other cameras

In truth, the Canon 60D won't be the first camera I've ever used, but it will be my first Digital SLR, if you don't count my Micro Four Thirds camera, the Lumix G2 by Panasonic.

The Lumix G2 has all the features of a DSLR but at a cheaper price point and in more compact form.  I've been using mine for the last two years and it's light and small and very easy to take travelling.  You can even change the lens on the camera but I've only ever used the kit lens which is the 14-42 mm all purpose lens.  It takes great daylight shots, but not so great for low light.

That takes me to my handy Canon S90 camera which I've had since 2009.  It works really well in evening and low light conditions.  I bought it specifically to take pictures for my Japan vacation.  While the lens on the Canon S90 has zoom capability, it does not have interchangeable lens.  It does have aperture and shutter controls, and you can adjust the ISO and white balance settings.

Finally my first camera was a Sony Powershot which also took great pictures, but was somewhat limited in what it could do.

I bought a new camera!

Last month, I bought a new camera kit bundle.  It was a Best Buy special that included the Canon EOS 60D body, the EF 50 mm f/1.8 II lens, the EFS 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II, the Speedlite 320 EX external flash, and a Lowepro Nova 180 AW Photo Bag.  Total price not including taxes was $999 CDN.

Normally you will see the Canon 60D cameras bundled with the 18-55 mm kit lens, and additionally the 75-300 mm telephoto zoom lens for the same price.  When there's a special promotion, you might find retailers offering the Canon 60D paired with the 18-135 mm lens also under the $1000 price point.

I know what you're thinking, why didn't I buy the brand new Canon EOS 70D that was just released in September?  Well, for one thing, it's a whole lot more money than I have to spend.  As a newbie to photography, I probably won't be able to fully appreciate all of the latest features.  For now, I'd like to concentrate on understanding all I can about apertures, focal lengths, shutter speeds, etc.  I think the Canon 60D is probably enough camera for me right now.

I usually stake out the camera prices on photoprice.ca.  It gives me a timely update on cameras, lenses and accessories that I'm watching out for.  Too bad they don't have a similar website for LED TV pricing!

Anyways, I created this blog to consolidate all the useful information about using the Canon 60D into one place.  I'm still a newbie so I will be trying to learn a lot more about cameras and photography in the coming months.