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Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM

l217_efs1755
Review Date: Aug 7, 2011 Recommend? yes | Price paid: $920.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: fast, sharp and good contrast
Cons:
expensive, not-L, plastic

this is a L lens without the red ring..! seriously its extremely good. I loved the sharpness on my 7D and am happy I made the choice. I dont understand why canon didnt give this a 'L'.
Beautiful lens for wedding photography. It actually is a 'cheaper' substitute (with better focal length) for the 24-70 f2.8 L for a crop sensor body.

The IS works well. But my copy (may be others too have seen this) has a queer problem at 17 and 55mm while IS is on. The IS somehow becomes over sensitive and the image, instead of stabilizing jerks from side to side when shutter button is half-pressed. The workaround I found was just to rotate the zoom ring a couple of times either ways to 'free' the IS and then it works fine. I generally see this when I use the lens after a few days of 'rest'. First it was at 17mm and then I realized it very rarely is seen at the 55mm end too. But that has not affected the image quality of focus accuracy.

Some links to pics with this lens (low rez).

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/226073_197596026966129_142354282490304_565188_5949124_n.jpg

http://photos.cc.fbcdn.net/hphotos-cc-ash4/254678_197595666966165_142354282490304_565173_3475984_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/267288_197595863632812_142354282490304_565181_6427004_n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/223598_197595753632823_142354282490304_565177_1120009_n.jpg

http://photos.cc.fbcdn.net/hphotos-cc-ash4/281588_197595816966150_142354282490304_565180_4338212_n.jpg

My suggestion is to make sure your copy doesnt have the IS issue that I am seeing, by checking at the 17 and 55mm ends with IS on.
 
Canon EOS 7D

canon_eos_7_d
Review Date: Aug 25, 2010 Recommend? yes | Price paid: $1,650.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: build,speed,ISO,my-menu,builtin-flash transmitter, 19 cross type focus points, custom selection of focus points linked to camera orientation, fast focus algo
Cons:
noise, 18MPsensor, price

This a huge improvement over my 10D. The ISO is vastly improved, the 8fps is superb and wireless flash trigger is in-built. Love this camera. What I most like is the way to set different focus points in different orientations as base and the ability to return to them with just a button press. So you have 2 focus points (in single point mode) in each orientation. It was very handy while shooting for a wedding where things change very quickly and camera orientation also need to adapt. The auto-focus is very fast and accurate (8/10 keepres). There were reviews about problems with different lenses requiring micro-adjustment. Fortunately, I didnt have to do any for 3 different canon lenses (85 f1.8, EF-S 10-22 and 70-200 f2.8)that I have used.

I feel canon could have kept the MPs at 14-15 and done a better job with noise. But then they dont listen to us do they Smile

All in all a very good camera. Highly recommended.
Some pics on my blog:

http://www.nirajkedar.com/blog/2010/08/wedding-ashwini-shantanu/

http://www.nirajkedar.com/blog/2010/08/tabletop-lighting/

http://www.nirajkedar.com/blog/2010/07/canon-efs-10-22-exclusive/

http://www.nirajkedar.com/blog/2010/06/tryst-with-the-tiger/
 
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

ef85mmf_18usm_1_
Review Date: Aug 1, 2010 Recommend? yes | Price paid: $370.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: price, bokeh, image quality, build, USM
Cons:
none.

I have this lens since about an year now and its one of the best I have used. I love the build and the fast focus with the wide aperture. The bokeh is superb. It suffers from some purple fringing at 1.8 but thats common for most lenses this wide. This settles down even at f2.0 or 2.2. The noticeable thing about bokeh is that at 1.8 its perfectly circular and at all other apertures, there are edges to it (but that I guess is common for all lenses this wide). All in all its great for portraits. Its not a macro so the min focus distance is not suited for closeups. Becomes a 136mm (1.6x) on my 7D.

Some pics at www.blog.nirajkedar.com
 
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

EF10-22
Review Date: Jul 15, 2010 Recommend? yes | Price paid: Not Indicated | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Ultra wide range, fast focusing, build quality, weight
Cons:
pricy, not weather sealed

I own one since this february. I havent used it very much though but it sure is a great lens for landscapes. The sharpness even at corners is better than I expected. Centers are tack sharp. Focusses fast(USM) but hunts a bit in low light(expected for a f3.5 aperture). Its quite light so handy to carry around. Its a lil pricy but I guess thats expected for a UWA like this one. I havent used any filters on it. I am selling off mine just as I am getting a 17-55 f2.8. Else this is a superb lens.

Some pics:
www.blog.nirajkedar.com