Alright, good lens.

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Being a total noob at anything, then taking a risk with a used piece of equipment?  Nerve-racking.  Still, sometimes, when enough data pulls clear, and the odds are favorable, a hefty risk seems worth the chances.  When it arrived, as I suggested, I suspected it would probably be a, basically, full manual.  Oh, sure, it does have autofocus.  However, that format doesn't speak to my camera, and my camera is rather limited as to inputs.  There isn't a range of focal lengths or apertures.  Just one of each.  Though too, I had forgotten which button I used to focus.  I remembered after I put the 50 mm prime back on and took a few snappies.  The girls like it, and don't like it.  Girls are girls!

I will work with the autofocus later.  The thing I did get was that, when everything is done correctly, I actually can get pretty good shots throughout the zoom.  I am not sure about stepping through the f-stops though.  That may or may not be available.  However, with proper lighting, through the zoom length, and with the macro (a sweet add to this lens by the way), I can get it to function.  That initial incompetence and ignorance, however, made me wonder if I had made a serious mistake.  Good to see I just set it up, let my nerves untangle and fear relent, then got back to it in a timely manner.  Wonderful.  Yeah, yeah.

After that I had to dig around for the battery charger, for the camera's rechargeable batteries.  I have three batteries, though I ought to buy another.  The body itself only takes one, though I purchased a grip that allows for another battery.  Four batteries and four of the largest/fastest memory chips available, and I should be able to take a lot of photos over a week without recharging if I watch what I am doing.  Each battery is good for ~800 shots, and the cards?  Each 64 gb card holds 1,864 RAW (or 4,660 JPEG, if you go that way).  So, actually, I am card heavy.  Better to buy three more batteries.  Yeah, I'm weird.  I buy so that I can stretch without recharge.  Though too, if it's really hot or cold?  Cut the power by 1/3, or more.  A secondary reason to set up a warm enclosure, figure out how to heat an area up.  Gear as well as body.

Now that I have a few things going, and the world is closing down a bit for winter, perhaps I can tinker with the camera.  With the macro I can begin doing photo essays when I cook or bake or tinker in the kitchen, or on the computers, or such.  Perhaps even use photography to push me toward keeping the cave cleaned and sorted.  Not sure if it will work, not sure even if it does that I would share that part.  We'll see.

Almost nap time.  Later.