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Sheriar
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Registered: Jul 7, 2010
Location: India
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Jul 7, 2010
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $450.00
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Hi all.
I am actually looking for some guidance on this lens. I bought it a few weeks ago as an upgrade for my kits lens (AF-S 18-135mm Nikkor f/3.5-5.6G ED DX) on my Nikon D80. While the overall results are better, I'm facing the following problems that I'm unable to understand or overcome.
Problem 1: Exposure
A. Most of my shots are underexposed by an average of 1/2 to 1 spot. And this becomes worse with higher-contrast shots. To correct it I have to use a +ve EV (of usually 0.3 to 0.7, but often even 1.0), which means I lose about a spot in speed. I use the TTL matrix exposure reading setting in my camera (Nikon D80).
B. This underexposure is also prevalent while using flash (Nikon SB-600). Again trial and error has led me to have to set the flash's EV at +1.3 to +1.7 to get the correct exposure. Again I use the TTL matrix exposure reading setting in my camera.
I have not faced this problem with my NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR2 lens which I have been using for over a year now. Thus, I'm wondering if there is a software compatibility issue btwn my Sigma lens and D80 body? Or am I just using it wrong?
BTW, I did get significantly better images by using manual settings of aperature and shutter; but this is NOT what I want to be doing for every shot all the time.
Problem 2: Strong chromatic aberation (CA) in the over-exposed areas of the shot.
Is this how this lens is? Or am I doing somethg wrong here? Is it linked to my "Problem 1: Exposure" above?
I've had limited experience of abt 3 yrs in using SLRs, so any guidance wd be appreciated. Thks in advance.
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 Jul 7, 2010
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nb_ken
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Registered: Feb 11, 2010
Location: United States
Posts: 172
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Review Date: Apr 30, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Fast, Cheap, Crisp
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Cons:
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Weighs more than a Martini (with olive)
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I traded an 'L' lens in a similar focal length for a 300 f/4 and I wanted something cheap to backfill this range. Found this Sigma on Craigslist.
Reviews said it was loud and heavy and the AF was slow. Made sure I pointed that out to the seller. He knocked $50 off an already-fair price.
Got it home and started using it. Loud, heavy, slow? Compared to what?
If USM is silent, the Sigma AF is all but silent. I'm no doctor (I just play one on the internet), but if you find this objectionable, you might consider medical attention. The sound of a shutter firing may trigger an aneurysm.
It weighs about the same as a Bud Tallboy -- which is always welcome and comfortable in my hand.
With AF speed, faster is always better. But unless you're a Paparazzo after that quick, sharp glimpse of JLo's underthings, the AF here, on a lens of this FL, should be more than adequate.
I've yet to shoot any test charts or parts of $5 bills with this lens so I can't comment on that. But I do own some lenses that, when I pass prints around, I have to watch the kids so they don't poke their eyes with the sharp images. This isn't one of those lenses.
I have found, though, that I've used it more than I thought I would for shooting actual things -- like you'd find in the wild. For that kind of work, considering the price, it's a pretty nice lens. I'd recommend it.
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Apr 30, 2010
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palamudin
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Registered: Feb 4, 2008
Location: Croatia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Feb 4, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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overall quality
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Cons:
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nothing i can point at
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I can't understand ppl comparing this lens with L grade or nikkor top of the line products.... and when u do u say Image Quality is near BUT quality of build, softnes in corners (compared to 1,5k lenses) and stuf like that....
Yes it is heavy and yes it is noisy.. I DONT MIND i have perfeclty usable images in low light conditions AND it is superb for potrets stoped at f8....
Please consider when comparing lenses payed PRICE and IQ..
If u do not have 1k euros dollars or pounds lying around consider buing this lens.. i do fotojournalism with it and never got a bad comment for a published pic....
Sry if there were errors in my english but it's not my spoken language...
Have a nice day
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Feb 4, 2008
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marty01_uk
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Registered: Aug 15, 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Jan 16, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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cheap image quality
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Cons:
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build noisy af
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This is a decent enough lens. Build and image quality not as good as the canon 28-70L but neither is the price. Image quality is not too far behind the the canon and the build feels quite solid.
The problem is its not as good as some of the other 3rd party lenses in this price bracket and zoom range, notably the Tokina at-x 287 pro sv which is a 28-70 with a constant f2.8. The tokina has better build quality whisper quite focusing and image quality is about the same but maybe a little more contrast.
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Jan 16, 2008
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ShotByTom
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Registered: Jan 18, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 661
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Review Date: Jul 7, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $185.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Excellent build, great color and very sharp! Love the focus ring!
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Cons:
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A bit heavy, LARGE filter size.
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I absolutely LOVE this lens, great colors, great contrast, very sharp and focuses fine. Image quality is comparable to my 50mm 1.8 and was better than my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8.
I think the focus ring is genius! You pull it up to use MF, down to use AF. When it's int he AF, the ring turns free without affecting the focus, so if you tend (as I do..) to turn the focus ring by mistake, you aren't turning against the AF motor.
The lens looks and feels VERY solid, it's a bit big and heavy. The lens element only comes out a very small amount when you zoom. It's build is similar to Canon's L lenses in looks and feel.
Great image quality. For the price these are going for, you can't beat it! HIGHLY recommended!
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Jul 7, 2007
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Andrew Cooper
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Registered: May 2, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: May 17, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $240.00
| Rating: 8
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I love this lens. However, today i took it out to take some photos, and the focus ring binds up around 2 feet. It will not focus on anything closer than 2 feet. It feels like something is causing it to bind, but it worked last weekend, sat in my bag with all my other gear that works fine, and now it sticks. Anyone else experience something like this? Any help would be appreciated.
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May 17, 2007
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freddyb
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Registered: Apr 9, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 86
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Review Date: Apr 10, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $265.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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fast for the money
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Cons:
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AF motor can go out.....and its noisey..contrast is low
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I purchased this lense from KEH and oddly enough since it was out of warranty I had them fix the autofocus motor. Since then its been a pretty good lens. I have gotten some pretty sharp images
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Apr 10, 2007
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jamesdodd
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Registered: Aug 15, 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Feb 5, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $300.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Cheap, F2.8, nice zoom range, build quality, 77mm filter thread instead of 82mm :D
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Cons:
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slightly noisy AF, a little soft wide open, slight vignetting on a full frame 28-35mm, manual focus switch
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I paid £150 for this lens, well £129 if you discount the postage and packaging and the UV filter I got with it.
Which is just amazingly good value, it was second hand but came with a 6 month warranty.
Its great, I use it for when switching between primes is a hassle.
it is a little on the soft side when wide open, but it isn't hugely soft, just not L quality, but this is something I didn't expect (tho I did expect the worse).
The only problem is the autofocus.
Its slightly noise (since its not HSM, this was expected), its about 70% accurate IMO, but its no let down. Not great in low light, but better than most.
The switch is a little annoying, but no biggie. I got used to it withing a minute or so!
It extends to its widest point so at 28mm its at the longest measurements, shortest at about 60mm and slightly extends towards 70.
It extends while focusing (doesn't rotate), but doesn't extend much (around 1CM).
The 77mm filter thread is a nice touch, since its the standard for quite a few L series lenses 
Definitally worth getting if you can get it cheap enough :D and don't have the wonga to stretch to a £1K L series of equivalent spec
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Feb 5, 2007
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SidewinderX
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Registered: Jan 17, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1655
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Review Date: Jul 23, 2006
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $320.00
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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Inexpensive, constant f2.8
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Cons:
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slow, innacurate AF
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I bought this lens from KEH because I liked the idea of a 28-70/2.8 and the price was right. While I do like the speed of the lens, I find it to be fairly soft at f2.8, and that problem is compounded by the fact that it's autofocus is not the most accurate I've ever used. I guess I've been spoiled by USM/HSM, but I reccomend spending the extra money to get the newer 24-70/2.8 or the 24-60/2.8.
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Jul 23, 2006
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Emre
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Registered: Sep 9, 2005
Location: Turkey
Posts: 20
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Review Date: Apr 10, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $400.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast as well as film quality
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Cons:
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none
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if you are serious about photography this lens is one of the lenses that you must have.
it producueses images as well as film quality on the digital rebel XT.
I think this equimpment will be my most important which I have ever had.
You dont need to an other lenses if you have this because 28-70 is a very common used area in the photograpghy.
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Apr 10, 2006
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Brian Prince
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Registered: Jan 7, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 133
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Review Date: Mar 13, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $440.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Very good build. Sharp. Good contrast and color.Very smooth. F2.8.Hood included.
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Cons:
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None, for the cost.
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Excellent lens.Good range.Wish it was a bit wider for a 1.6 crop camera, but 70 is nice to have. I've had this lens about 8 months and it's on my camera about 95% of the time,except if I need something wider.Sharp wide open and very sharp stopped down a stop or two. Excellent lens,Excellent value.
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Mar 13, 2006
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canonlight
Offline
[ X ]
Registered: Feb 26, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 42
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Review Date: Mar 11, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great focal range on FF (okay on crop body), Very good sharpness wide open, Great EX build, Very good flare resistance, Pleasing bokeh, Good colors and contrast, Little CA, Fairly good edge performance, Excellent price-point.
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Cons:
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Some copies have front-focus issues.
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This is a very good lens. Comparable to the Sigma 24-60 f2.8, Sigma 24-70 f2.8, and Tamron 28-75 f2.8 in IQ. Price is the lowest of them all; has better build as an EX lens than the Di. See my site for more www.pbase.com/fstopjojo/lenstests
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Mar 11, 2006
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NEXC
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Registered: Dec 7, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jan 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $385.00
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Good lens for the money.
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Cons:
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Loud AF, not L class image quality
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I was hoping that this lens would be able to produce L class image quality but at las no. It's a good lens, certainly above the average consumer class lens but not in L class territory.
PS Under certain lighting conditions it comes very close but once you look at a wide range of images you begin to see the differences.
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Jan 26, 2006
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jpegram
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Registered: Mar 11, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 126
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Review Date: Dec 6, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Light, fairly quick focus, decent sharpness
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Cons:
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Contrast is weak in bright light, build, hunts in anything but perfect light, low light pictures are worthless
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Its not bad and its not great. I got it to explore further lower distance ranges and start prepping to move up to L glass on the Canon end. I got this for a song from a dealer I knew. I think if you need a decent portrait lens, this will do you well. I have used it quite a lot and the results are really good for a lens of this build quality. Its worth a look if you cannot spring for a Canon 28-135 USM IS.
Here is one photo I took with it:
http://doctorcane07.spymac.net/WHIPSNADE121.jpg
careful its a full JPG pic, broadband only.
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Dec 6, 2005
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incdigital
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Registered: Aug 2, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 226
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Review Date: Nov 16, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $199.99
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Value, 2.8 is sharp, very sharp from F4 and up, tight zoom ring, smooth manual focus, nice color and contrast, common 77mm filter thread
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Cons:
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Noisy AF...but i hardly ever use AF so its not a neg for me
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Nov 16, 2005
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burnt toast
Offline
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Registered: Jul 10, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Aug 5, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $299.99
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp at all Ap., great build, unbelievable price, zoom tight and smooth, zoom lock is nice.
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Cons:
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Kinda loud, my fat fingers keep getting in the way of the focus ring.
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Im stoked about this lens, I realy wanted to get the tamron based on its rave reviews here and almost every where else. but its back ordered till 2099. so i figured id give this lens a shot and hot damn! worth every penny and then some. my copy is sharp at 2.8 from 28-70mm. its constant, i would easly say its as sharp as my 50mm 1.8.
I have not had a chance to get my hands on the tamron 28-75, but i dont possibly know how it can beat this lens.
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Aug 5, 2005
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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26
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194715
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Jul 7, 2010
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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92% of reviewers
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$429.26
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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8.88
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9.47
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8.6
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