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unsharpmask
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Registered: May 18, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 149
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Review Date: Jan 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $3,800.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Fast, sharp, IS, weather sealing, focus presets
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Cons:
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Pricey, tripod collar could be better
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The IS version of the lens is a major upgrade from previous versions of this lens. My only problem with this lens is the way they designed the tripod collar from the old version, not smooth, the lens strap eyelets are in the way, and if your holding a monopod with the lens, the collar can come off if not tightened. You can easily drop the lens if your not careful with the collar.
The IS is great, especially if you use the 1.4x or 2.0x teleconverters as they well save you if you have to use slower shutter speeds because of loss of light.
The real magic of this lens is the focus pre-sets. The knurled collar on the lens gives you a precise focus pre-set, a must for many sports, especially baseball, basketball or hockey.
I like the weather sealing and the lens hood is pretty good.
I use this lens about 90% of the time at f 2.8. It's the reason I bought this lens, and it's razor sharp wide open.
I would rate this lens a 10 just on optics, but a few of the user design elements could be better. On the side of the lens there is a phlanx of buttons and switches, that unfortunately can be accidently moved easily. Some gaffer tape is a must to taped down your settings, I hope in the next generation of this lens, a few things could be fixed.
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 Jan 26, 2006
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Gary Coyle
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Registered: Jul 23, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1009
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Review Date: Jan 23, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Stunningly fast, super sharp.
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Cons:
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Price and weight
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What can i say what hasn't been said before, blisteringly fast AF, superb with the 1.4x on my 1d2.
Upgraded from a Sigma 70-200 when i got the 1d2 and never regretted for a single minute, it is possible to hand hold but not for long periods, superbly balanced on a pod with the 1d2.
Buy it you wont regret it.
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Jan 23, 2006
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ptnik
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Registered: Oct 4, 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Jan 16, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $4,000.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Its probably the best lens to PERFECT.
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Cons:
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let me know if anybody finds any
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I have had over 25 seperate "L" lenses in the past 10 years, and I have never felt like this.....I AM IN LOVE...lol
the OPTICS, speed, and overall balance of this piece of glass makes it very hard to put down. I have tried the 400 2.8L, and although it was a superb lens, I feel that the 300 is a lot more of a user friendly lens...especially in the weight category and the amount of KEEPERS. I tried something today that I never recomended doing in the past, I stacked a 1.4x and a 2x on the 300 IS, not on my 1DmkIIN, but on my 20D....wowowowowowow...it TRACKED very well, infact, in good light it was just lovely to use. Image contrast dropped a bit , but the sharpness it produced suprised me. A cheap way of getting to 1344mm @ f8. This lens never ceases to suprise me. I use it very comfortably with the 1.4x, I cannot notice any degradation...and occasionly with the 2x...slight contrast drop...easily fixed in CS2.....and now for FUN...stacked.
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Jan 16, 2006
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jcmedeiros
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Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Jun 30, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 864
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Review Date: Jan 4, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $3,800.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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sharpness even wide open
creamy smooth brokeh
IS and focus speed
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Cons:
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If you get to try one you'll want to buy one.
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This lens is everything you've heard and more. I never thought I'd find a long telephoto lens sharper than my 300 f/4L non IS but this is it. The results are just amazing: lightning fast focus and razor sharp images even wide open.
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Jan 4, 2006
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Peter Kirk
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Registered: Sep 25, 2004
Location: Australia
Posts: 312
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Review Date: Dec 24, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $3,899.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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SHARPNESS, Speed, IS, Quality construction
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Cons:
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none
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The image quality from this lens is absolutely astonishing.
Even with the 1.4x converter, it is excellent.
Probably the best lens I have ever used...LOVE IT
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Dec 24, 2005
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jimyd
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Registered: Mar 23, 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 7
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Review Date: Dec 18, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $3,999.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness, speed, IS, weight
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Cons:
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None.
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Excelleny Lens for sports, birds...ie with a 1.4x and 20D, superb focussing and sharpness..best I have ever used
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Dec 18, 2005
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tcluley
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Registered: Sep 10, 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 160
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Review Date: Dec 14, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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This is a superb lens. A friend of mine lent me one to use to photograph a motorX event. It is rather heavy to hand hold all day but the results certainly make up for this small niggle. I didn't want to give it back!!!
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Cons:
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I wish I had got one to keep!
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Dec 14, 2005
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Keith Flood
Offline
Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Nov 25, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 555
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Review Date: Sep 17, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $3,800.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast focus, f2.8 Bokhen, very solid construction, fun to shoot with!
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Cons:
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None, really.
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This is a fantastic lens for sideline sports photography. After using the 500mm f4 for wildlife, the 300mm f2.8 seems tiny. I shoot with this lens on a monopod but is definately hand holdable. The IS is great along with the fast USM focusing. This is really a fun lens to use!
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Sep 17, 2005
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Offline
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Review Date: Sep 2, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Pretty much everything, including vfm - no really.
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Cons:
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Almost nothing!
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This is by far and away the best lens in my collection, if I’m even close to being in a position to use it out of the bag it comes.
The majority of my work is Motorsport and the focus speed is tremendous, even on a 10D never mind my 1D Mk II. The sharpness and detail is incredible, and it’s also an amazing portrait lens if you have the room and shoot wide open. I have occasionally wished for the reach of the 400 but whenever I’ve tried one it doesn’t seem to give me the same percentage of keepers that the 300 does.
The 1.4 and even 2x TC’s work well with it, (you can tell if you’ve used the 2x but you have to really look and know what you’re looking for if it’s just the 1.4x), with a little loss in focusing speed and some sharpness lost with the latter.
Hand holding isn’t a problem even for a full day but then I’m not exactly a small bloke, however I do use a monopod and belt pouch to spare my back if I have the time and remember to pack them!
If I had to be very picky I’d say that it’s too easy to switch the IS off by accident, although I shot for a chunk of a day with it off and still had some stupendous shots, and er.. that’s pretty much it.
If you can’t afford it – don’t ever try one, get the 300 f4 instead it’s a great lens, but this is the daddy and if you have a need for it is worth every single penny of it’s asking price.
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Sep 2, 2005
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dehowie
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Registered: Oct 21, 2004
Location: Australia
Posts: 1311
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Review Date: Sep 1, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything!!
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Cons:
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None.
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Well i have to agree with everyone else that this is one awesome lens.
Nothing else really to add apart from you will get what you pay for with this awesome piece of glass.
Unreservedly recommended.
Darren
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Sep 1, 2005
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sandisk
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Registered: Jul 16, 2005
Location: Singapore
Posts: 52
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Review Date: Aug 21, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast focusing, light, good IS module, sharp images
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Cons:
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Tripod collar should have 2 screws for stability.
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Very fast focusing and light lens for its focal length. The IS feature works very well for this lens, and I've personally shot images at 1/15 with this lens and got usable images.
Images are tack sharp even wide open.
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Aug 21, 2005
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SM23221EOS
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Registered: Jun 5, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jul 31, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $4,000.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Extremely sharp lens with good color rendition. Built to last for a very long time. Still sharp even with a 1.4x or 2x teleconverter. Still quite handholdable with IS even at this focal length and weight.
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Cons:
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Very poorly designed lens cap. It is virtually unusable in the field. I don't even bother to cap mine, I just leave the lens in my bag when not in use.
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This is a wonderful lens and an asset to any photographer's bag. It borders on being a bit too heavy to carry all day in the field. Contrary to what others say, it is quite handholdable - I find a monopod to be cumbersome and limiting.
Optics are first-rate as well as the build quality. I really appreciate the drop-in polarizer; it is so easy to use I leave it permanantly in place. I wish smaller lenses had a polarizer that was this easy.
After you get over the sticker shock, you will be glad you made the right purchase decision.
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Jul 31, 2005
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Westerberg
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Registered: Mar 25, 2005
Location: Sweden
Posts: 290
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Review Date: Jul 28, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness, contrast, color, build quality, IS, f/2.8, performance at f/2.8, performance with 1.4x TC at f/4.0
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Cons:
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Attracts attention, quite heavy to handhold for extended periods of time, price (although it's worth every penny!)
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What can I say that hasn't been said before? I don't want to put another lens on my camera ever again.
Shooting wide open with or without 1.4x TC gives you amazing pictures if you know how to handle this lens right.
Even though I had no prior telephoto experience, I managed to get tack-sharp pictures handheld with 1.4x TC the first day at 1/400 thanks to IS. That's 672mm on an EOS 10D.
Nothing has been disappointing about this lens.
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Jul 28, 2005
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cp65
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Registered: Jul 24, 2005
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 146
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Review Date: Jul 24, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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This lens is very difficult to take it off the camera because it is the best lens i own... i wished i could use it all the time...
it is very sharp, great colors, contrast bokeh, very fast af, preety good hand holdable...
even with the 1.4 and 2x extenders it is very, very good...
have i mentioned that it is the best lens i have ever used?
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Cons:
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none...
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Jul 24, 2005
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Jaymanpics
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Registered: Apr 26, 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Jun 30, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything
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Cons:
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None
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PERFECT !
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Jun 30, 2005
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Thang
Offline
Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Jan 25, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 10252
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Mar 21, 2005
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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117
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280858
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Dec 28, 2016
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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97% of reviewers
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$3,740.57
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.93
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9.16
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9.9
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