Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
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Review Date: Mar 10, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,000.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp and Fast AF. I like to use this lens for environmental portraits (good flexibility). Clever hood design too.
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Cons:
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Gets heavy after awhile
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Another quality "Red Stripe" from Canon. Very useful for environmental portraits where fast AF is necessary.
Only drawback is its weight.
Here are some sample shots taken with a Canon 30D:
Sample Photos
-Roy
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Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
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Review Date: Mar 6, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,060.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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IMHO I think this is Canon's best quality walk-around lens (on a full-frame sensor body). It's balanced nicely in build size/weight and f/4 throughout its zoom-range and IS is great.
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Cons:
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Slight vignetteing and the barrel distortion at 24mm but can be eaisly corrected.
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Pros:
IMHO I think this is Canon's best quality walk-around lens (on a full-frame sensor body). It's balanced nicely in build size/weight and f/4 throughout its zoom-range and IS is great.
Cons:
Slight vignetteing and the barrel distortion at 24mm but can be eaisly corrected.
Here are some shots taken with a 5D and 40D:
Sample Photos
-Roy
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Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM
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Review Date: Mar 5, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $920.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Consistently produces sharp vivid captures throughout its entire zoom range.
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Cons:
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The zoom ring was stiff at about 30mm when I first bought it but now it's smooth throughout the zoom range. I wish the bokeh was a little more OOF at 55mm and f/2.8.
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I bought this lens about 5 months ago and it has been a rock-solid performer. I've heard a lot about dust issues, but so far there isn't a spec of dust visible inside the lens. I mostly like this lens for candid family shots (indoors at home) and landscape/architecture shots.
I took this HDR shot hand-held (3 AEB exposures) and placed first for HDR over at texasphotoforums: http://www.motleypixel.com/public/hdr_missouri_shed.jpg
You can see a good handful of other shots taken with this lens and my 30D here:
Sample Photos
-Roy
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Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED NIKKOR AF-S
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Review Date: Mar 2, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,750.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Nice sharp fast lens and well balanced on the camera. A pleasure to use for model photography.
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Cons:
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Having some Canon experience as well, I wish the price point was comparable to Canon's 24-70, but I guess you can't compare apples to oranges.
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This is a work-horse of a lens. Very fast AF and very sharp. Colors and contrast are perfect. I highly recommend this lens.
Here are some sample photos taken with a D3.
Sample Photos
-Roy
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Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor
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Review Date: Mar 1, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $110.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Best bang for the buck...just buy it...you won't be dissapointed.
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Cons:
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Build isn't as good as the 1.4 but good enough for $100
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What's the difference between this one and the 1.4?
1. Price...about 3.3X cheaper.
2. Build quality a bit less over the 1.4
3. If you have a trained eye, then you'll notice harder bokeh highlights.
BUY IT!
Here are some sample taken with the Nikon D70:
Sample Photos
-Roy
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Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
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Review Date: Feb 29, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,500.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharpness at 1.2 is great! At 2.2 it's unbelievable! Bokeh is dreamy!
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Cons:
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AF seem a little slower from other L lenses
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Perfect portrait lens in every way! The lens feels quality-built and balances nice on the camera body. This AF does seem a little slower but it doesn't bother me.
Here's a set of sample photos taken with the EOS 1D MkIII:
Sample Photos
-Roy
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Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S
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Review Date: Feb 24, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp and the lowest distortion and image aberation lens I've come across. This will become a renownded Nikon lens for sure!
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Cons:
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A bit heavy on the $$ side, but you REALLY get what you pay for in this lens!
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The sharpest Nikon wide-angle zooms lens available today IMHO. I can't believe the sharpness wide-open with this lens.
Here's a set of sample shots taken with D40 and D300 (note, the first photo was taken with a filter, so it is possible to use filters):
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S Sample Photos
-Roy
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Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
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Review Date: Jan 24, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $660.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Price-to-Value ratio is very good for this lens. Works fine for landscape. Build quality if nothing-less than what one would expect from an L-series lens.
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Cons:
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Since I use an apc sensor body aka Canon 30D this lens works really nice IMHO.
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I really like this lens and use it a lot to shoot outdoor landscapes. I've got a decent set of sample photos here: http://www.motleypixel.com/reviews/index.htm?openfolder=Canon%20Zooms/Canon%20EF%2017-40mm%20f4%20L/
-Roy
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Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF]
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Review Date: Oct 26, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $380.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Sharp as a tack! Heck, almost too sharp esp. on potraits. Good price-to-quality ratio.
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Cons:
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Reverse zoom ring, AF is loud, barrel locking switch awkward to use when removing the lens from the camera body.
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I like this lens. I use it on scouting hikes so in the cover of the woods it takes nice group shots. Only "beef" I have about this lens is that the zoom ring is reverse and the AF is loud.
I have high-resolution sample shots here: http://www.motleypixel.com/reviews
Lex
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Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
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Review Date: Oct 20, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $80.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Very low cost lens, fairly quick, good for indoor and low light.
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Cons:
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Poor build quality and lack of USM so AF is a bit "clunky/loud".
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I had this lens for 6 months before letting it go. I enjoyed using it and produced some decent shots. I felt the low aperture blade count resulted in harsh OOF highlights and need a better build quality 50mm. I'm seriously considering the EF-S 60mm 2.8 Macro. Good Utility-to-Value ratio.
I have sample shots under the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II Gallery Folder here: http://www.motleypixel.com/reviews/
Lex
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Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
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Review Date: Oct 20, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $440.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Affordable, at $440 used for me, it's a great starter zoom lens...gets your feet wet with "L" quality.
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Cons:
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None really...see I can't say that it needs a lot of light or is poor indoors, because that's what the 2.8 and double the cost if for.
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I will do as many others have done and that's use this as a beginner/break-in zoom until I'm ready for the IS and/or F2.8 versions.
I have sample shots with this lens under the Gallery Folder called Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L here: http://www.motleypixel.com/reviews/
Lex
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Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
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Review Date: Sep 26, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $415.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Internal Focus, quite and fast USM Auto Focus. I find myself using MF on 1:1 shots and AF on all others. Very, Very Sharp! Beautiful buttery bokeh!
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Cons:
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Doesn't come with a lens hood, so I bought the Cannon hood for $50...waste of money as I don't use it.
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I love this lens. All of the photos taken on my site were taken with this lens: http://www.motleypixel.com
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