The best part of Iron Man 2 was the trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Inception. You can see explosions and futuristic gadgets any night of the week on broadcast television, or Hulu, or YouTube, etc. When i go to the theater, i want to escape and be presented with a vision. Nolan delivers. Unfortunately, after that the feature started, which was essentially forgettable. Not particularly bad, just nothing special.

The story fell into the same sequel rut as many other recent action blockbuster sequels. The first movies were interesting and involving because we as viewers are thrust into the mystery or conflict with the hero and we become involved with their success. The sequels then remove that part of the equation and multiply the explosions and bling, and add extra characters and meaningless sponsorships that we have no reason to care about. No thanks.

Meanwhile, i can’t wait to check out Inception.

I ordered a Canon 7D. It’s in the mail, and i should have it tomorrow.

This, after several weeks of researching and going back and forth between the T2i which was half the price and the 7D with a few more “pro” features — namely it’s heftier body and weather proofing. I’m not particularly rough with my gear. In fact, i tend to baby all of my expensive possessions. But when it comes to a camera, i’m likely to take it to places and climates where consumer-grade gear can’t keep up, because you have to be there to get the shot. I don’t want to have to worry about dust or a light drizzle ruining my new camera, let alone whether or not i can take it out into extreme cold and snow like this guy:

Canon 7D winter test from Ole Jørgen Liodden on Vimeo.

I’ve been spending all my time the past week or so on glass. Lenses. Researching, reading, looking at photos, video, numbers, bokeh, prices, eBay. It turns out with these latest digital SLR cameras that capture 1080p high-def video, some of the most sought-after lenses come from decades-old manual focus systems. Just because it’s a Canon camera doesn’t mean you have to use a Canon-brand lens. With the right adapter, you can use a host of legendary glass from makers like Zeiss, Leica, and even Canon rival Nikon. There are also dozens of options from Olympus, Pentax, and Minolta manual focus SLR systems that are far cheaper than Canon’s current plastic lenses and with superior image quality. This alternate glass, as it’s called, is a movement fueled both by photographers and this new crop of cinematographers using DSLRs to produce video, all in search of lenses with character and usually on a budget. Generally the only sacrifice is lack of auto focus and auto aperture, which for video is a non-issue. Lenses that came bundled with cameras in the 70s are now in high demand driving prices up on eBay and camera forums. Invest in glass. That’s my financial advice of the month. This “Top Primes for Video” topic at cinema5D was what got me hooked.

I now have a Minolta 58mm MC Rokkor PG 1:1.2 whose large aperture creates beautiful out of focus bokeh and is plenty fast for low-light and available-light situations. It comes highly-recommended on the cinema5D forum and almost every other place i could find that mentions it. I also have a Pentax Super-Takumar 50mm f1.4 on the way. I’m still undecided on a 35mm (which would become a “normal” 58mm with the 7D’s crop factor); i’m leaning toward a Nikkor as it’s the least expensive f1.4 in that size — if money were no object, i’d grab the Zeiss Distagon. Also on my list, and probably the lens i want most is the Zeiss 100mm f/2 Makro Planar, but it’s not in the budget right now (it costs more than the camera body). I think i’ll fill in the gaps with less expensive primes from Olympus to get things going.

This lens shopping can be extremely addicting. One of the issues i keep struggling with is upgrading. With lenses, if you want a better lens, you can’t upgrade it or add something to make it better — you just have to get a better lens. Say i have a 24mm f2.8 lens but i want a faster f2.0 lens — i’d have to buy a new lens and figure out what to do with the extra. So of course i’m trying to find the very best i can to eliminate obsolescence and overlap. But again, it’s just not in the budget.

I haven’t even started looking at supports, lights, and other accessories. That stuff is also not in the budget, so i’ll have to get creative when the need arises, until i have more time and money to fill out my kit.

I’m filing this one under shopping, even though it’s about video and photography, cameras, and lenses. As such i should mention, that since the majority of these used lenses are found on eBay, a big part of my shopping strategy is using Bing cashback for 8% back on Buy It Now items, and Mr Rebates for 3% back on Buy It Now and winning bids. All that goes through PayPal to my new credit card where i get 1% cashback rewards, and currently have 0% on purchases with a $5000 limit for 12 months. So i have some time to spread all this out (even though i could cover it if i dipped into savings, so don’t worry, i’m not getting myself into debt).

As my friend Harris suggests, with craigslist you can examine the gear in person before money exchanges hands. But pickins is slim on craigslist in NoVA, so it’s eBay, a handful of camera sites with classifieds, and a few online stores that deal used equipment. KEH probably has the biggest selection, and brick-and-mortar big shots B&H and Adorama both have used sections with decent inventory. I’ve yet to cruise the local pawn and camera shops.

Anyway, all that is the long way of explaining what i’ve been up to the past couple of weeks. I can’t wait to unbox my camera and start playing.