Ordered some new toys

Inspired by the great deals available on Amazon, I ended up ordering some new toys today:

• B+W 58mm Circular Polarizer Coated Glass Filter
• Canon UV-1 58mm Haze Filter
• Canon Remote Switch RS60 E3

These items are coming from 3 different vendors, meaning I'm getting dinged for $22 total shipping (yikes!), but the total was still about $40 cheaper than getting all of the same items at full price. $90-something total.

Originally, I had planned on getting the Canon polarizer filter, but as I searched around, it was getting crappy reviews. So I set out in search of reviews of some of these other brands of filters. I ran across this filter review on CameraHobby.com:

Belated research into B+W revealed that it is actually Schneider of Germany, one of the finest lens makers in the world, that produce B+W filters.

Some googling of my own brought me to Wikipedia, which confirmed Schneider's production of today's B+W filters, as well as the fact that the filters are made using Schott glass, which is apparently well regarded in the photographic community. (I'm still learning this stuff!)

So, I went with the B+W. The CameraHobby.com article mentioned the multi coated (read: more expensive) filters being harder to clean and keep clean, so I decided to save a few bucks and go with the standard non-multi-coated version.

Why did I want a polarizer filter? Alot of my backyard bird and sunset shots are over water, as I have a pond in my back yard - thus the polarizer filter.

The UV filter is mainly just to protect my kit lens from scratches (I think I got it for $1.14 or something crazy!), and the remote switch is for the obvious.

I still need to get a tripod. The one on my B&H Wish List is near $200 (yikes!) but maybe I'll get that one from Santa this year. I am also hoping Santa will pick me up the Canon 500D close-up lens on my B&H Wish List too.

I'm thinking of putting my camera out in front of the bird feeders at near-ground level, with the remote switch, so I can sit a ways back from the camera. I'd like to get some snapshots of the ducks that come up from the pond to forage for seeds underneath the feeders. :)