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Canon EOS 5D Mark II
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Review Date: Aug 21, 2012
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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resolution, color, dynamic range
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Cons:
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ergonomics, MLU,
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This camera paired with the 135mm f2L, 35mm f1.4 L and 50mm f1.4 USM is amazing and at the current close-out price the 5D mkii is a bargain.
I do not take action photos so speed is no drawback for my photographic needs.
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Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
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Review Date: May 22, 2012
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Recommend? |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Fast focus, high contrast, brilliant colors, no distortion, great resolution.
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Cons:
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None
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Years ago I used this lens on my former 40D and was impressed. This year, while on vacation in Medellín, Colombia, I used another EF 135mm f2 mounted on a 5Dmkii and I was amazed. Colombia. Wildlife shots, landscape, portraits - a perfect lens on full frame DSLR.
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Nikon 35mm f/1.4G AF-S NIKKOR
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Review Date: Apr 25, 2012
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Excellent sharpness, nice contrast, adequate focus speed, relatively low distortion, very well built
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Cons:
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price
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The 35mm f1.4 AF-S G lens has replaced the 60mm f2.8 AF-S G as my walk around, normal lens, filling the focal length gap between my 14-24mm and 70-200mm Nikkors. Focus seems slightly slower than the other lenses in my arsenal but I do not take action photos. Being a bit expensive for my budget, a few of my other items had to be sold in order to purchase it.
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Canon EOS 50D
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Review Date: Feb 5, 2011
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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As a former Canon XTi and 40D owner, this review of the 50D is based on a used camera body, now a bargain at less than 1/2 its original selling price, even less than what I sold Canon 40D for a few years ago. Last year I tried another used 50D (selling for $150 more) l and found the noise too be very visible @ ISO 400 outside on a cloudy day. Now with firmware version 1.0.7 and ALR3 I have taken handheld shots at ISO 1600, AV mode, AWB, autofocus, with good results. I might be inclined to like the controls of this camera because it is not too unfamiliar having used Canons for a few years. It is not quite as ergonomic as my Nikon but it is still a nice, lightweight, second body. I prefer the 50D build over the Rebel series, except for the location of the on/off button; important features are the 1/250 flash synch, MF lens adjustment, and a very useable LCD (something the 40D lacked). As far as 50D vs 40D image quality, they are close enough for my needs - the newer model's improved ease of use is a major plus.
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Nikon 105mm f/2.8 ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor
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Review Date: Oct 28, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $759.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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accurate focus, sharp, good colors, VR
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Cons:
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Hood falls off sometimes, not a major problem
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I own a D700 and have used this since '08 as my close-up w/manual focus and sub-telephoto lens w/auto focus; focus speed, contrast/colors and sharpness are more than adequate for my needs. VR is good for general photography and helps when shooting landscapes from my kayak. I enjoy using this lens more than my former Canon EF 100m macro which cost about $200 less than the Nikon.
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Nikon 60mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Micro-Nikkor
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Review Date: Jan 26, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $529.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness/contrast, focusing speed, size and price.
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Cons:
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Short lens for macro
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As a D700 + 14-24 AFS/105AFS VR owner, I needed a normal lens, rather than another macro lens, to fill the focal length gap. I briefly owned a 50mm f1.4 AFS G which was very sharp but had a bit of distortion and since I do not use software for distortion correction, the rendition of this lens mounted on an FX camera is fine. I do not need a faster minimum aperture so f2.8 is no problem and since I already have a longer macro lens, the closing focusing feature of the 60mm is still a plus, making it more useful than the previous normal lens.
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Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S
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Review Date: Jan 16, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, great color, very low distortion considering the FOV
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Cons:
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Unable to use with filters
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Years ago I liked my old Nikon 28 f3.5 AI , Canon FD 24mm, and more recently a Canon EF 17-40 L but this lens is something else...
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Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
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Review Date: Jun 20, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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excellent color and resolution, fast auto focus
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Cons:
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lens hood feels too tight
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I love this lens for outdoor natural lighting photos with my 40D - very sharp, beautiful colors, and precise fast focus.
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Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
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Review Date: Oct 6, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $388.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Ultra sharp images, great colors, easy manual focus, size weight - good as great general photography lens also.
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Cons:
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Autofocus can search a bit w/my XTi but for close-up I prefer manual focus - not a significant drawback - makes my 17-40L images seem not too sharp.
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I opted for the 60mm to fill the gap between my 17-40mm & 135mm which it does nicely; the 60mm is as good a lens as my 100mm macro that I sold.
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Nikon D40
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Review Date: Jul 27, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $500.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Excellent viewfinder, good kit lens performance, number of shots per battery, high flash sync speed, price.
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Cons:
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Plastic lens mount but for the price, who cares?
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This is the second digital camera that I bought for my wife; the first was a 5MP Koni-Minolta P&S. Years later after buying myself a DSLR, I found her P&S frustratingly slow and the lens at the wide setting not wide enough. Since she liked using the P&S optical viewfinder more than the LCD and was satisfied with the image quality, I imagined that she would find the more modern D40 to be a vast improvement. As I had thought, she is thrilled with the difference in speed, ease of use, and image quality and I am amazed at how well the 18-55 kit lens performs. At the current price, the D40 is less expensive than some advanced fixed mount digital cameras, has an excellent optical viewfinder and a kit lens with a wider angle than many P&S cameras.
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Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
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Review Date: Apr 10, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast precise focus, sharp, contrasty images
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Cons:
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NONE
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Gives me the reach for distance shots and close focus capability for portraits - fast focus, very sharp, nice color and contrast; the combo of 135L & 17-40 L lenses meets my modest photographic needs.
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Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
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Review Date: Sep 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $679.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Excellent colors and good detail when used w/my Rebel XTI
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Cons:
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None
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It is impossible for me to compare this lens to my only other zoom lens, a used Nikkor 24-105D that I used with a Nikon N90 film camera. I didn't particularly like that lens for some reason; it was sharp w/some distortion but I sold it for exactly what it cost me. Mounted on the Rebel XTi the Canon 17-40L is my landscape/general photography lens and any distortion at the wide end does not concern me; for a reasonable price (compared to the 16-35 L), it is just what I needed to complement my Canon 100mm USM macro.
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Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
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Review Date: Sep 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $520.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Nice colors and very sharp when used w/Rebel XTi - I am amazed at the details revealed in handheld, available light, close-up shots of plants.
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Cons:
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Makes my zoom lens photos look not so sharp...
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Canon EOS Rebel (300D)
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Review Date: Sep 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Excellent color and detail at default settings, very quiet operation, feels very much like my former film SLR cameras.
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Cons:
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None so far
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As a former owner of an all mechanical pre-N Canon F1 and auto-focus Nikon N90, who had been w/o a camera for 3 years, the Rebel XTi is my first digital camera and has exceded all expectations. (My only previous experience with digital had been with my wife's P&S Koni-Minolta) So far I have only used Windows Picture and Fax Viewer to look at Fine jpg. images of handheld shots taken @ full auto/default settings, auto & manual focus, close-ups and distance, sunlight and indoor w/flash, with a Canon 100mm USM macro lens (lens choice was based on opinions posted on this website) Body was purchased at Best Buy and lens at a local, family owned camera store the day we left to vacation in Maine so there wasn't any time to begin the learning curve; having dispensed with the kit lens, a wide angle prime or zoom lens is needed for scenics.
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