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esquire1954 Offline
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Registered: Jun 23, 2015 Location: United States Posts: 275
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Review Date: Sep 13, 2015
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $550.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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unique color rendition
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Cons:
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Owning and using the Zeiss 35/2 ZF, I have to say I find it to have vivid color, very nice skin tones for close up subjects. B&W has very nice contrast variations. The short
throw makes manual focusing a breeze. Sharp at f2, at 2.8 and above it is a razor
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Sep 13, 2015
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Roenie Offline
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Registered: Sep 6, 2015 Location: Netherlands Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 6, 2015
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,137.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fantastic rendition from in-focus to out of focus, photos have character, sharp, using the focus ring feels like sex.
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Cons:
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Manual focus not suitable for many of my subjects.
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The "3D effect" is not a lie. Wonderful lens, my best photos were shot with this lens and I've not had it for long. It gives photos character, it's almost like shooting film.
I'm selling mine in absolute mint condition at € 600, (netherlands, N-H / EU shipping), send me a message if interested. (go to my profile.)
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Sep 6, 2015
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AiryM Offline
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Registered: Jul 10, 2015 Location: France Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jul 12, 2015
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Excellent work against bright light, plus what others have said already. Very good night performance (low coma, too)
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Cons:
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Vignetting and distortion
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My top performer for night shots, and also for shooting pipe organs in churches. Blazing sun shining through stained glass windows might fool your camera meter, but not the lens. I wish the 50/2 were half as good in this respect.
Vignetting is significant, but not ugly (no "clipped corners" effect). Distortion is easily corrected in post processing.
The Samyang 35/1.4 might outresolve this lens at f/2, but even so, the very high microcontrast makes the Zeiss pics look more attractive.
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Jul 12, 2015
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Peter Kirk Offline
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Registered: Sep 25, 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 312
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Review Date: Jul 15, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Solid Build, Razor sharp, great colour
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Cons:
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None yet
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I have quite a few ZE lenses now in my collection and the 35mm is right up there with the best of them. It is tack sharp wide open and only gets better as you stop down. The colours are beautiful as are all ZE lenses. Easy to focus and compose, great photojournalistic range.
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Jul 15, 2014
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bocaminus Offline

Registered: Apr 19, 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 784
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Review Date: Jul 11, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $750.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Micro contrast, color rendering, sharpness
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Cons:
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None
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I had this lens in a ZE mount but after I switched to Nikon I just knew I had to buy it again. The lens produces amazingly sharp images straight from f/2 but what really sets it apart is color rendering and amazing micro contrast. You won't see this in even faster 35mm primes ... Nikon and Canon counterpart's images are clear and sharp but kind a sterile in comparison to Zeiss. The build quality is typical Zeiss ... absolutely great.
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Jul 11, 2014
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---XR--- Offline
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Registered: Oct 30, 2008 Location: United States Posts: 1470
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Review Date: Jun 8, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $750.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Contrast, build.
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Cons:
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it's a carl zeiss, so this is almost a no brainer. Smooth but heavier focus- which is great for accurate MF. contrast out the wazoo, it's a great walk around FX or DX lens, i actually quit useing zooms for a considerable time after picking this lens up, still one of the first things that goes in my bag.
i reccomend getting an adapter for a 77mm filter and leaving it on, if your anything like me- you'll have mostly bigger filters anyways, and than you can use a solid nikon lenscap, which is better than the zeiss one, that is a little flimsy.
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Jun 8, 2014
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rbussmann Offline
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Registered: Apr 11, 2013 Location: United States Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 14, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,117.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fantastic color rendition, pretty small, nice bokeh, sharp!
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Cons:
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The lens cap, as in all zeiss lenses, is a joke.
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Decided recently to buy one of these, after parting with my Canon 35mm 1.4. The Zeiss is fantastic - love the color rendition, and the size is great. Don't miss the 1.4, and don't miss the AF.
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Dec 14, 2013
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Dpedraza Offline
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Registered: Jan 8, 2013 Location: United States Posts: 1849
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Review Date: Dec 11, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, well built,
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Cons:
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I bought it used from an FM user. It is a great lens my copy was super sharp. I love the build quality of Zeiss. This lens isn't overl big or heavy either. It works great on the D800/D600
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Dec 11, 2013
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Peter Kotsa Offline
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Registered: Nov 1, 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 268
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Review Date: May 31, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Solid, sharp, great colour
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Cons:
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Price
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Amazing glass in a nice package. I use this mainly from f2 to f4 and the image and contrast absolutely shine.
I have been using the Canon 35L for many years and was happy, but I wanted something that can give me better color and microcontrast for that "realism"...Zeiss fits that package to a T, or should I say T*.
Great lens and design..if it was Autofocus, it would probably be double its price. Nonetheless, a great lens for general photography.
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May 31, 2013
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chmod Offline
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Registered: May 18, 2006 Location: United States Posts: 101
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Review Date: Jan 3, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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build quality, discreet size, almost analog feel to the output
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Cons:
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lens cap designed as a practical joke?
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The thing about this lens is the way it resolves - it reminds me very strongly of the better days of film.
I cannot quantify the look or support it with micro specs, but will share the feedback I have received from colleagues - we all agree it has a classic "analog" feel to the images, and in the most positive ways.
Rich colors, tack sharp, subtle contrasts and overall lack of clinical digital look are apt characteristics to describe it.
Used exclusively on a long holiday in Italy, I grew very fond of the discretion of the lens, the inconsequential footprint when traversing tourist areas packed with DSLRs and massive lens kit.
It focuses beautifully on my 1Ds MIII as the knob is solid and without play. 35mm is a very good range for general walk around use and wide enough for honest landcape rendering.
There is really nothing to externally indicate this is a special lens except for the end results.
Some examples....
http://www.idyll.com/p966376212
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Jan 3, 2013
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GOVA Offline
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Registered: Nov 23, 2002 Location: United States Posts: 1527
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Review Date: Dec 28, 2012
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness, bokeh, subject isolation, color reproduction.
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Cons:
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None.
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Superb built quality, great focus ring and its action. Excellent bokeh.
Sharpens and subject isolation at F/2.0 are excellent. Replaced Sigma 30mm f/1.4 with this. No comparison, those are different animals.
It actually feels great going back to MF. It reminds me of built quality of older lenses such as Pentacon 135mm. Solid metal feel, great focus ring and action.
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Dec 28, 2012
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Ulan Offline
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Registered: May 14, 2008 Location: Belgium Posts: 236
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Review Date: Oct 23, 2012
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Impressive sharpness, beautiful contrast and colors, solidly built, nice to handle
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Cons:
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none
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Really a top glass. On a full frame or on a 7D.
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Oct 23, 2012
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martyn. Offline
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Registered: Jul 29, 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 350
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Review Date: Sep 29, 2011
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Build quality, image quality, colours and contrast in images is amazing, really does make images pop.
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Cons:
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Lens cap ( replaced with a Nikon one )
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The images this lens produces on my D700 are amazing, no problem with manual focusing, reminds me of my youth when I started photography.
If I was only taking one prime attached to my D700 this would be my first pick.
This was my first venture into Zeiss, I soon added the 25/2.8, and I am now looking at the 50/2 or 100/2 to complete my set, truly wonderful optics.
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Sep 29, 2011
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evannuil Offline
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Registered: Sep 15, 2011 Location: Netherlands Posts: 0
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Sep 15, 2011
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arcticchilla Offline
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Registered: Apr 25, 2008 Location: United States Posts: 349
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Review Date: Jul 14, 2011
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Super sharp wide open
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Cons:
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Focus ring is a little tight. Would like to see it have a little more play.
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This lens is amazingly sharp wide open. After contemplating going manual focus this lens made the jump well worth it. I feel a connection to all of my photo's now. Can't wait to see what I can create with this piece of art.
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Jul 14, 2011
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ViscaB Offline
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Registered: Sep 9, 2009 Location: Netherlands Posts: 507
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Review Date: Jul 10, 2011
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness (already at large apertures), colors, contrast, rendering, build, smooth focussing ring, great value.
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Cons:
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Minor barrel distortion, lens cap hard to put on (that goes for all Zeiss lenses it seems).
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I love this lens. I mostly use it for night panorama's at f/5.6. It's incredibly sharp already by then and the contrast and colors are superb.
Images speak louder than words. An example of a night panorama I took with this lens @ f/5.6 with my 5D mark II. Around 5,000 * 2,500 pixels.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xavibarca/5924613520/sizes/o/in/photostream/
The lens is almost as sharp as my benchmark Zeiss MakroPlanar 50 2. Which I think is a really strong performance for a 35mm lens.
The minor barrel distortion it exhibits can be fixed in Photoshop in a minimal amount of time.
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Jul 10, 2011
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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40
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83853
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Sep 13, 2015
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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98% of reviewers
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$914.59
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.92
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9.36
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9.8
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