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Canon EF 100mm f/2 USM
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Review Date: Feb 27, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $250.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Accurate AF, price, F2.0
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Cons:
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Gives me doubt whether to bring the 85mm F1.8
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I have been a great fan of the 85mm 1.8, and also the 50mm 1.4. Found a cheap second hand copy of the 100 F2, and I really love this lens. It is all as good as the 85mm - but having switch from the 20D crop body to full frame, I wanted slightly more tele-effect, and this was what I looked for.
Only drawback is that the focus-ring is a tad sluggish, but it is no problem at all. Cannot expect L-build at this price, but optically, it is stellar. Also, considering you will get a 160mm when used on a crop body, you have a quite long tele with F2.0, which is nothing short of spectacular!
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Canon Speedlite 550EX TTL
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Review Date: Aug 26, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Full manual control, master capability, powerful, cheap
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Cons:
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Battery consumption, itīs bulky, E-TTL not the best
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In the good old days, I used a 540EZ when I still used film. Then I switched to digital and used the 420EX for a while. Thatīs an ok flash, but has no manual settings.
Then I found this 550EX, second hand, for 150 dollars, really a no-brainer, and Iīm very happy with this flash: I get the exposures as I wantīt them every time, and for the price for which you can pick up one of these, itīs great. Having said that, I ALWAYS use the flash in manual mode, Iīve tried the E-TTL, and thatīs not always spot on. In addition, itīs greedy on the batteries.
Again, considering the price, itīs a great unit.
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Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM
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Review Date: Jul 11, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $500.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, fast, relatively cheap
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Cons:
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Not really built like an L
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I bought the Sigma 18-50 EX DC f2.8 with my Canon 20D. It was a minor disaster - as I realised I don't like the Sigma tone (yellowish) nor the non-USM focus system.
So I had to upgrade - and was thinking of buying the Canon 17-40. However, I found a beaten up copy of the 17-35, and after testing it on a 1D - which assured good sharpness and only slight distortion on the edges - I figured out this would work perfectly on the 20D with 1.6 crop.
And it did. Images are crisp, great contrast and colour. Only problem is a slightly sluggish or non-smooth zoom, which is probably due to heavy use in the past. But pictures turn out great - which is what matters. If you find one for the price of the 17-40, it's really not a question which one to buy, the 17-35 is after all the old, big brother.
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