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Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM "A"
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Review Date: Feb 21, 2015
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $750.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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sharpness
price
contrast
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Cons:
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slow AF in AI-servo
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This lens takes great photos; super sharp and extremely nice micro-contrast; nearly as good as the Canon 24-70Lv2.
I tried to use this for indoor sports due to its speed. However it was a mistake. Tracking AF using AI-servo is not very good, so I would not recommend it to shoot any moving subjects.
For the price, I would take it over the 35L for static subjects.
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Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
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Review Date: Jan 1, 2014
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $899.00
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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IS, range, build
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Cons:
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everything else
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If someone want 1 lens on a full-frame camera, this lens is most often the answer at FM. However, I couldn't give this recommendation.
At 24mm, there is too much distortion, and it appears to be not as "wide" as 24-70f/2.8.
It is also very soft after 70mm. Sharpness is not that great at the rest of the zoom range also.
If someone wants to buy a FF and put a slow f/4 on it; I'd recommend buying a crop camera and get a few fast primes or 17-55 f/2.8 or 15-85
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Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS
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Review Date: Dec 19, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $520.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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IS, f/2, sharpness, contrast, light weight, beautiful bokeh
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Cons:
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strong vignetting
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This is a great little lens. I settled with this over the 35L and sigma f/1.4 because of IS and the light weight. I am willing to tradeoff 1 stop at this aperture & FL (e.g. won't do it at f/2.8 or at 50mm) with IS.
The pictures are very sharp, color rendition is extremely good; comparable to my 24-70II. This is a L quality lens w/o the L build and sealing.
The bokeh is excellent with the 8-blade, better than the old (5-blade) and even the 35L IMO. The 35L has busy bokeh while the 35f/2 is smooth.
The main issue is vignetting, it is very noticeable. I usually overexpose about 2/3 stop in order to cut down the darkness around the corner and fix overall exposure in PP.
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Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
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Review Date: Jun 26, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $2,200.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Super sharp, fast AF, great for events & kids candids, weight reduction from v1
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Cons:
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price, no IS, lock button useless
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This is the best and most useful zoom I owned. Prime quality contrast, color and sharpness.
I use this lens for multiple assignments for my kids school events. It nails focus quickly and produces awesome pictures for all events. Super sharp, high micro-contrast and awesome color.
I wish the lock button can be used at all zoom length so I can lock the lens at 1 focal length but it only works at 24mm.
At this price, it should have IS. But the weight reduction from v1 makes it much easier to carry.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark III
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Review Date: Jun 20, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $3,100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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fast and accurate AF, build, full frame, light weight, image quality, silent mode
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Cons:
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price, black AF points, reliability
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This is the best camera I ever owned. Takes fantastic pictures and nails the focus 95+% of the time for my usage.
The fact that it breaks with my 200f/2 and I have to send it back is a hassle.
My shutter died after 400 shots, have to send it back twice to get it fixed.
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Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM
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Review Date: Apr 5, 2011
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $4,850.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, unbelievable color, contrast and bokeh; excellent 280mm f/2.8 with 1.4x TC III
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Cons:
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None
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Sharpest lens I ever owned. The background blur and bokeh is unreal. If you want the best, this is the best.
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Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
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Review Date: May 3, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $2,499.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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fast AF, bokeh, IS, sharpness
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Cons:
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None
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Super fast AF, the 4-stop IS works as advertized. The lens is very sharp, works great with 1.4x TC. Absolutely no complaint, worth the full price.
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Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM
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Review Date: Dec 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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IQ, contrast, sharpness, IS, covers the general purpose focal length on a 1.6x body.
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Cons:
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No lens hood included, focus ring too loose, slight vignetting at 17mm f/2.8. Should have been an L and built like it at this price. Dust.
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This is the highest quality general purpose lens I have used on a 1.6x body.
At overlapping focal lengths, my 17-55mm f/2.8 is sharper than the 16-35mm f/2.8L, the 24-70 mm f/2.8L and the 24-105 f/4L lenses I used to own.
I can shoot at a shutter speed of focal-length/5 with IS on this lens. So at 17mm, I can get sharp pics at 1/3sec. For me IS is very important, it lets me (1) captures more ambient light in low light indoors, and (2) get more depth of field with slower f-stops without using a tripod.
At this price, I'm a little disappointed with the non-L built quality and no lens hood included. But once you see the photos, you will forget these quickly.
Dust is an issue, I noticed some, but they also seems to go away.
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