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Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP Aspherical
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP Aspherical
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 6 hours 58 minutes ago
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP Aspherical (IF) Zoom Lens with Built In Motor for Nikon Digital SLR (Electronics) Update at the bottom (04-dec-2009) I am an event and wedding photographer and first i was more keen to the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G but i did my research and even asked in a Wedding Photography group on Flickr and a friend of mine told me that he switched to tamron after he discover the performance was comparable to the three times more expensive lens made by Nikon. You wont get the metal lens or the internal focusing that comes with the Nikkor one, but to be honest that does not matter that much in a lens this small, it comes out like a bit over an inch when you zoom in but i don't see why that would be a problem to anyone. I shoot events that last for hours and the lightweight is a plus. I have taken over 3,000 pictures already and they are just perfect. I did a test with both lenses mounting the camera in a tripod and taking the picture of the same subject and i couldn't tell which one was taken with Tamron or Nikkor (not even in my big screen). The focusing is pretty fast, well suited for fast paced situations such as weddings and concerts where everybody is in constant movement, also very quiet! If you are on budget i strongly suggest you to buy this lens and you wont be disappointed. My copy serial is almost 30,000 so i guess previous issues have been solved. The only problem i have found is that on the wide end (17mm) corners are a bit soft (not too much to notice at first sight) but that doesn't bother me because i use it between 20mm and 28mm most of the time. Note that i have been using the lens on a Nikon D300 and i take around 500 pictures per event average. I think it's not fair call this lens "junk" just because you have a bad copy, please be fair. If that is your case ask for a replacement and I'm sure amazon will work things out for you, then make a review based on the good copy. Isaac Update 04-dec-2009: The lens it's been focusing really slow for the past 2 months and even though the focusing speed was OK and a bit noisy the pictures were fine, now I'm going to repair it and then sell it, just purchased the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G and wont buy anything from Tamron ever again and stick to Nikkor lenses. Maybe i got a bad copy and i know some of my fellow photographers don't have the money to purchase a 1,400 dollar lens, but if you can do it just don't think of it twice just for the sake of avoid a focusing failure in the mid of a job. If you are just an amateur photographer having fun with the camera, i encourage you to try every lens before spending your hard earned money in something that will just stop working few months later. .
Read more...Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED VR AF-S NIKKOR Lens
Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED VR AF-S NIKKOR Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 7 hours ago
Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED VR AF-S NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR (Electronics) I have a Nikon D7000 and I was looking for a high quality mid-range zoom for travel. I had bought the Nikon 18-200 after reading glowing reviews on-line by a certain famous reviewer. What a disappointment! I am not a pixel-peeper by any means, but I found the 18-200 way too soft so I sold it. I thought about saving up for 24-70 f2.8 but the size, weight, limited range and lack of VR on that lens put me off. Also, I have 35 1.8 & a 50 1.4 for low light situations. I went ahead and ordered the 24-120 f4. After shooting with the lens for a couple of weeks, I have no regrets. The colour, contrast, focussing speed, and sharpness of the 24-120 f4 are all very impressive. There is a real 'pop' to the pictures that you only get with high end glass. I have been especially impressed with the VR. I have other Nikon lenses with VR but the system on this lens is particularly good. All in all, the 24-120 f4 is an excellent piece of glass and vastly superior to the 18-200. That same famous reviewer who gave me the bad advice about the 18-200 says that people should ignore the new 24-120 f4 in favour of the new Nikon 28-300. He points out that the 28-300 is cheaper and that it has more range. These are valid points, but after my disappointing experience with the 18-200 I have decided that super-zooms aren't for me. I just don't want to sacrifice image quality for the convenience of one lens. My current travel kit is the Sigma 10-20 f3.5 the Nikon 24-120 f4, the Nikon 70-300vr, and the Nikon 35 f1.8 for low light . .
Read more...Nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
Nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 7 hours 3 minutes ago
Nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens (Camera) This is an okay lens at the price it is at. It is very compact and lightweight, because it is mostly plastic. The biggest problem with it is that the autofocus is slow. This is not the lens you would want to use if you were trying to shoot anything moving fast. Nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens (Camera) I bought a Nikon D70s body only and put together a range of coverage from 10mm through 500mm including the 55-200mm Autofocus Nikkor Zoom. It is, as most of the DX lenses, a plastic based barrel and is light enough to travel and easy to hand hold in most lighting situations..
Read more...Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens
Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 7 hours 6 minutes ago
Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras (Camera) As a hobbyist, I owned the 85mm f/1.8 for several years, and admittedly, rarely ever used it, because despite it's fast aperture, it wasn't nearly as versatile as my 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM, 17-35 f/2.8L USM, or 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II. Then I turned pro, and along came the 85mm f1.2L USM Mark II in Feb 07. For some reason I became obsessed with this lens, after reading countless forum posts and reviews. So, I took a risk, and bought one. I've only had it for a about a week now, but the results are absolutely stunning, and it's now become my new favorite portrait lens. The diffusion is breathtaking, and despite what the forums say, learning how to shoot wide-open at 1.2 doesn't take that long to learn. Let's face it, if you're even aware this lens exists, then chances are you're not exactly a novice. For those of you on the fence like I was for close to a month, please take my advice and get one. You won't regret it. .
Read more...Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens
Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 7 hours 8 minutes ago
Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics) For the price, this is simply an amazing lens. You'll have to spend AT LEAST 3x as much to get a better quality telephoto. I was originally leery of purchasing a 3rd party lens (this was my first), but figured I'd give this a try since I knew a couple other people with this lens who liked it, plus I had read some not-so-good reviews about the Canon equivalent. This lens is much sharper than my Canon 28-135 IS lens which cost twice as much used on that big auction site. I'm about to replace that with Tamron's 28-75 f/2.8 lens based upon my favorable experience with this lens. The lens comes with a hood too, which was a nice touch, one that Canon does not provide with their consumer-level lenses. .
Read more...Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 7 hours 11 minutes ago
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Electronics) I have only had this lens for a few days and I feel that this is the lens that was missing in my arsenal. I will try to update my review in future, but here are my ten cents: - Heavy and huge but certainly handheld manageable - Fast autofocus, OS is great and excellent image quality - As expected requires a lot of light (tripod recommended for low lighting) - Solid built and its color makes reminds me of the B-2 Bomber - Nice hood - Comes with a durable case and 2 straps - Only 1 year warranty (why not 5 years) This is my 1st non-Nikon lens and I am very pleased by it. Its zoom ring rotates in anti-clockwise direction for zooming in which I found a bit odd, but may be this is a Sigma thing. So far, I am very impressed by it. I am considering getting 2x EX DG APO Tele Converter. .
Read more...Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 7 hours 14 minutes ago
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLR's (Electronics) From a pure image quality standpoint, this lens will not please the pixel peepers. On the wide end of the zoom, which I personally use more often than the telephoto end, this lens is not very sharp, and it suffers from fairly bad distortion. Worse than that, for me, are the chromatic abberations; this lens is quite prone to significant CA when shot at the wide end, which can look a lot worse than a little bit of distortion or softness. Given the price of this lens, one should expect a higher level of optical performance. The maximum aperture of this lens is not very large, being f/4 on the wide end, and f/5.6 on the telephoto end. The image stabilization makes up for this some, as you can comfortably shoot at much slower shutter speeds than otherwise, but, let's be honest here; this lens is a poor performer if you want to shoot in low light with no tripod. The small aperture makes for a dark viewfinder, which can be a very big problem if you are trying to compose a picture in the dark (using a tripod). Yet, I still gave this very imperfect lens four stars, and this is not without reason. First of all, the focal length range is quite handy. It isn't a mega-zoom that does everything, however, it covers the most often used focal length ranges, and is an appropriate lens to use for the vast majority of situations. The little bit of extra zoom on the telephoto end is handy on occasion, and it's also worth noting that the lens sharpens up quite a bit when you zoom in some - it might be soft on the wide end, but zoomed in, it's quite good. I have printed as large as 20x30" using this lens on a Digital Rebel, and have no qualms with the results. Yes, there are sharper lenses out there, but you are a lot more likely to see the difference in sharpness on your computer monitor than in a print. This lens has ring USM, which enables it to focus very quietly, and very quickly, whereas the slightly cheaper (and F2.8) options from the 3rd parties have normal focusing motors that are slow and noisy by comparison. If you want to use this lens indoors, you are best off getting a flash to go with it, such as a 430EX. The lens is usable in fantastic indoor lighting, or during the day, but won't give you good results in low light with no flash. If you will be shooting in lower light situations (people in particular), Tamron and Sigma have some good options in the 17-50mm range with F2.8 apertures, and I would recommend those lenses over this one. If you'd prefer the extra telephoto range, the image stabilization so you can shoot with smaller aperture in poorer lighting situations for greater depth of field (instead of needing to shoot a landscape at f/4, for instance, without image stabilization, you could use f/11 on this lens, and get a sharp picture with better depth of field. This is even more useful in the close focus range - while this isn't a true macro lens, if you take closeup photos without a tripod, you will want to stop the lens down for greater depth of field, and the IS helps with that quite a bit. Overall, I've been fairly pleased with the performance of this lens. If you like to worry about splitting hairs, and zooming all the way in on pictures on your computer, this lens is likely to dissapoint you. If, however, you are willing to sacrifice optical perfection to get a very well rounded, useful lens, then I'd recommend it, however, would also recommend that you consider the 3rd party options, as they are also great lenses, and do offer a somewhat better value. .
Read more...Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 Wide Angle Lens
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 Wide Angle Lens
posted by abcnoonoi 1 day 7 hours 16 minutes ago
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras (Electronics) I have the Canon 35/2.0 prime lens, which I like very much but on my Canon XTi, it's not quite wide enough. So, I purchased this lens and also a Sigma 18-50/f2.8 EX Macro to take on vacation, thinking the Sigma would be used for more flexibility, and the 24mm for a very light walk-around lens. In my tests, though, my 24/2.8 wasn't nearly as sharp as my 35/2.0. It might have just been my copy of the lens, I don't know. But, the Sigma was as sharp as the 24mm. So, I returned the 24mm, and will keep the Sigma. With a prime, you lose the zoom, so it better be both a) sharper and b) brighter (wider aperture). Since it was the same sharpness as the Sigma, and no brighter, back it goes. I was thinking I'd sell my 35/2, but now I'll keep it, as it's both very sharp and has an f/2.0 aperture. Again, it could have have been the copy I got, but since my Sigma fits my needs, I won't try again. .
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