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Nikon 135mm f/2.0D AF DC-Nikkor Lens
Nikon 135mm f/2.0D AF DC-Nikkor Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 7 minutes ago
Nikon 135mm f/2.0D AF DC-Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics) I believe reviewers before me explained the DC feature, so I won't cover this other the fact that it's pretty cool (it works! subtle, but it works). Maybe I lucked out, but the copy of the lens I received did not have any front-focusing issues (supposedly common for this particular item). From my experience of using it so far (indoors and outdoors and with and without my speedlight), this lens is SHARP... even at f/2.5. Very usuable pictures can be taken at f/2. I use this lens with D700. This lens is heavier and bigger than I originally hoped... one of the reasons I got this lens is to leave my 70-200mm lens at home... but yeah... while 70-200mm is much longer and heavier, I wouldn't describe 135mm f/2D as a light and small lens. It's not as fat as my 14-24mm (in diameter), but it's about the same length (without extending the hood) and weight (maybe a little bit lighter). I can't believe this lens is available for purchase - I have been wanting this for over 2 years now, it was always sold out. Highly recommended! .
Read more...Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 10 minutes ago
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics) Yes, this lens is already legend, and no, it's not just a bunch of people trying to justify spending a whole lot of cash on a lens. Make no mistake, this lens is BIG and expensive. It's not fitting into your travel bag nor is it at home at a friend's party. For that bring the 18-70mm, 28-200G or just bring a cheaper P&S type camera in case you spill beer on it! The 70-200 VR is a pro level lens that gets almost everything right. It's size is the byproduct of an optical design that really makes few, if any compromises. This lens is SHARP...as sharp as my 50mm prime and sharper wide open that you might believe or expect. On a D70 the focus is lightening fast and quite exact. Color rendition is the best I've seen. I do much less post processing when this baby is on the D70. On the problematic side, this lens is BIG. It's heavy and in the way, though reasonably easy to grasp. I added a Harbortronics portrait grip and the handling/balance is improved. It needs a big bag and focuses down to a bit under 5 feet. While it's a fantastic portrait lens, you need room to get the most out of it. My first shots with this lens put my more experienced lenses to shame. The bokeh, or quality of out-of-focus areas were creamy and pleasing. Subjects had a 3D quality to them. The VR system is exactly what you'd expect. I sat on my couch, framed the text on my DVD player about 8 feet away and shot at F/2.8 ISO 200 for a 1/2 second exposure. At 200mm (300mm on the D70) the image was sharp. Without VR I got a big blur. The real question is: Do you need a 1700 dollar lens? Answer: Only if you want it. The quality is all there at a level that has people talking about this lens like it's magic. I have friends who shoot pro with Canon and Nikon. Even the Canon users say the 70-200VR is the best of it's kind. Sell a kidney and buy one! .
Read more...Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 SSM Lens
Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 SSM Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 12 minutes ago
Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 SSM Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera (Electronics) I had chance compare this with Tamron and Sigma. This one is worth it's price! Just a friendly reminder: If you are using entry level camera, such as Sony A380 or under, this lens is too much. a $700+ lens such as Sigma or Tamron is fairly enough. If you are using high-end camera, especially a full-frame camera such as Sony A850 and up, this lens will show you the absolute advantage against all other lenses! Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 SSM Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera (Electronics) This is one of the two hardest class of lens to be satisfied with along with the 24-70mm class. You either go third party to save some money or you go all in and get the best your money can buy..
Read more...Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 15 minutes ago
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras (Electronics) I have a Canon Digital Rebel XT. Primary purpose of the camera is to photograph my daughter playing high school soccer. PROS The price is right on this "prosumer" lens. You really can't complain about 70-300 lens for $200. Closeup / macro shots of flowers are excellent. Outside 200mm zoom shots are crisp and look great when you load the pictures on your PC and zoom in tight with your favorite digital imaging computer program. CONS(300 MM telephoto use for sports): Full 300 mm zoom the picture quality is not what I had hoped. It is best described as soft focus. Here were the cirumstances where I found the problem. I took 112 shots yesterday. Conditions were daylight and overcast. About 80% of them were at 300 mm zoom. At the 300 mm setting the pictures have a very "soft focus." You can't see it is the display panel on the camera. You can see the "softness" or blurriness when you load the picture into your favorite software and zoom in tight. The softness is over the whole image. I don't think it's a focusing issue. If it was out of focus on the primary subject you'd expect some part of the photo to be in focus, but nothing looks like it's crisp and sharp. It's equally bad across the image. Yes, I am using a monopod and I know how to release a shutter. Film speed was set to 1600. I had the XT in Sport mode which forces the shutter speed to 1600. It still operates in auto focus and auto aperture in that mode. No, I wasn't shooting in a fog or a mist. CONCLUSION: With less than one week of shooting on this lens I am not yet willing to say it's bad at the full 300 mm zoom setting. I will give it another try at a upcoming soccer tournament this weekend. This time I will force the Rebel into targeting its focus on one and only one point in the lens. I hope that improves the non-macro 300 mm zoom performance. If not, I will send it into Sigma service for them to check it out and repair if needed. CUSTOMER SUPPORT They answer their phone quickly and are very polite. When I called Sigma customer support they were more than willing to look into the problem. I have send it in for them to check it out and repair (if needed). Too bad, they don't exchange, they only repair. So, I will be without the lens for 2-3 weeks. I will probably have to take some photos of the same object at 300 mm and then at 200 mm and show them the difference in the picture quality. I will keep this review updated. **UPDATE** I have shot well over 2000 images with it now with most of them being at soccer games. Image quality is excellent. This lens likes bright daylight to produce its best images just put the light at your back. I do find I often enhance the constrast in my photo editor, but I wouldn't attribute that to the lense. That's a function of my photographic skills. I adjusted the Canon focus to one one point and it's really improved the issue I talked about above with the soft look of the pictures at 300 mm. I have concluded that this lens would not be a good one to use at night time sporting events. The F4 lens just doesn't let in enough light. Autofocus sometimes is a bit slow to lock in on an object. All-in-all, for $200 you cannot go wrong. .
Read more...Sony SAL70400G 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G SSM Lens
Sony SAL70400G 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G SSM Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 18 minutes ago
Sony SAL70400G 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G SSM Lens (Electronics) I love this lens. It is crystal clear, it has quiet and smooth auto focusing. The manual focus ring is at an optimal place on the lens. It is the heaviest lens I have ever owned and I am thinking about getting a monopod for my slower shots. I am using a Sony Alpha 700. Sony SAL70400G 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G SSM Lens (Electronics) I use this lens with my A850 for casual birding and wildlife. (and soon I'm going to try it for sports). Very good construction, hood is a little flimsy but it's probably to keep the weight down..
Read more...Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens
Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 20 minutes ago
Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens for Canon SLR Cameras (Electronics) This is an incredible lens! For anyone who wants to shoot up to 5x, this is the lens to get. I am amazed how sharp the images are. Having tried all manner of bellows and extension tubes, this lens is the ultimate choice for this type of photography. Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens for Canon SLR Cameras (Electronics) I mainly use this lens inside the studio, so I use studio lights to control the lighting of a subject. The higher the magnification, the more lighting is needed..
Read more...Nikon 12-24mm f/4G ED IF Autofocus DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
Nikon 12-24mm f/4G ED IF Autofocus DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 23 minutes ago
Nikon 12-24mm f/4G ED IF Autofocus DX Nikkor Zoom Lens (Electronics) I bought this lens for my D70 in 2004. At the time this was the only wide-angle lens for Nikon's DSLR, so I could not evaluate it against the offerings from Tokina, Sigma, or Tamron. However, just because it is more expensive than other brands does not mean it is undeserving of a high rating. The photographic quality is excellent and the build quality is good (even though it's all plastic save the mount). While some feel that F/4 is a bit slow, it's really not an issue with DSLRs at all with high ISO availabilities. Amazingly, this has become my "everyday" lens. You just can't fake wide angle views. Given that there are other choices of lens in this focal length now, you should definitely compare before deciding. However if focus override (a feature of "AF-s") is critical to you, this is your lens. .
Read more...Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens
Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 26 minutes ago
Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics) I am a Professional landscape photographer. All my testing was done using a D3x. I have owned this lens for almost a month. When it first arrived I tested it extensively with a D3x against my Nikkor AF-S 17-35 f2.8, this lens is quite a bit better. It is a lot sharper, much better micro-contrast all the way to f11, corners are sharper with far less CA and fringing. It has barrel distortion at 16mm but it is easily correctable in photoshop and generally doesn't create problems with landscape photography uncorrected. If you shoot architecture, the 14-24 would probably be the better choice since it has better corners and less distortion from 14-19mm. The corners of the 16-35 at the wide end are very good compared to any other wide zoom. After reading several independent reviews comparing the 16-35 and the 14-24, the 16-35 is the better lens after f4 between 20 and 24mm. If you are a landscape shooter and are thinking about the 17-35, the 16-35 is the better choice. Over all, I would recommend this lens as a great Landscape lens. Update: Nov. 15th 2010 All my previous testing was done on a D3x, 24.5 mega pixels. I sold my 17-35 f2.8 soon after using this lens. It has become my most used lens, rarely comes off my camera. For those comparing the 16-35 to the 14-24, it is the wrong comparison. The 14-24 is excellent from 14-19mm and from f2.8 to 5.6 but starts to lose micro contrast as you stop down further. The 16-35 gains micro contrast through f11 and is the better lens corner to corner from 20-24mm. Remember, we are talking zooms here, so all zoom ranges must be considered. I consider the 14-24 to be more of an architecture/event lens that can do landscape, the 16-35 a landscape lens best stopped down. I have also found through a few months of using the 16-35, the barrel distortion at the wider end is never noticeable in my landscape shooting and I have never had to correct for it. One frustration is manual focusing for depth of field, I finally had to put permanent white dots on the focus ring for various distances as the lens is quite "touchy" and getting the proper hyper focal distance set is difficult. .
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