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Sigma 10mm F2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye
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Review Date: Jun 3, 2011
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $800.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast and silent focusing, sharp, great macro ability (1:1.3), nice bokeh (unlike most fast wide angle lenses), price
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Cons:
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Hood is of limited use (more suitable for storage than for providing shade or protection), can't accept filters.
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As the only fast fisheye for a Canon 1.6x crop cameras, this lens is great and fun to use.
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Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR AF-S
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Review Date: Oct 6, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $500.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, inexpensive, excellent color rendition, good ''macro'' performance, fast & silent autofocusing
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Cons:
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Plastic feel, extends while zooming, bokeh is just average (due to slow aperture: f/5.6 at 300mm)
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This is one of the better products in Nikon prosumer range, it's good on both 1.5x crop and full frame. It's relatively compact and discrete, so you can use it for candid portraits.
While the lens has 4 stops of VR, it is not a low light lens (although you can get nice low light shots of static urban scenes at its widest end [70mm]). Highly recommended!
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Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
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Review Date: Sep 29, 2009
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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f/2, nice bokeh wide open, focuses down to 0.9m, great colors, pretty compact, nice sharpness at f/5.6, good sharpness wide open in good light, fast focusing in good light, ok price for an L lens
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Cons:
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focusing ring very loose, prone to blooming and purple fringing, focusing can be tricky at f/2, focus hunts in low light, occasional soft focus in low light, auto-focusing (and sharpness) in low light depend heavily on battery life/status, don't even bother with 1.4x extender (it's very soft and ''dreamy'' wide open) unless you want/like a soft-focus-effect, not very versatile, no IS, bulky hood
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Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
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Review Date: Feb 8, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,200.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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sharp wide open, great color and contrast, 4stops of IS really work, weather-resistant
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Cons:
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pricey, bokeh of f/4, f/4 can't stop low light action, not suitable for close-ups (not sharp at 200 mm wide open when focusing close to MFD: 1.2-3m; reproduction ratio seems overstated)
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Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
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Review Date: Jul 26, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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price, size, fast focusing (ring type USM), sharp from f/2.5-f/11
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Cons:
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not very sharp between f/1.8-f/2.5, not good for close ups, nasty purple fringing wide open (f/1.8-f/2), average bokeh
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This lens is a nice inexpensive lens. It's an improvement over lowly 50 f1.8 and 50 f1.4 USM. It has better bokeh (although still in the average category, it's not as creamy as 135 f/2L or 70-200 f/2.8L), and ring type USM. But, it has pretty low magnification ratio, so forget about close-ups with this lens (you can buy extension tubes, tho'; the results can be really nice)...Also, purple fringing is the real problem with this lens...This is a special type of CA, and not that easy to correct...It appears when there are shiny objects in your pictures (water, lamps, jewels...) and large apertures are used (f/1.8-f/2.8).
The lens is somewhat soft wide open, so I don't use it that much for natural light portraits, but it gets really sharp by f/4 and remains sharp up to f/11. The best setting for portraits is f/5.6.
Overall, it's good, but there are better portrait lenses around (135 f/2 is much sharper at f/2, it has better colors and microcontrast, and bokeh is so creamy).
But, if you shoot portraits in studio at f/5.6-f/8 and need an occasional indoor sports lens, 85 f/1.8 will be the perfect choice for you. It's cheap, so why not?
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Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
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Review Date: Jun 18, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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sharp, inexpensive, nice bokeh between f/1.8 and f/2, good colour and contrast, it focuses close (40cm)
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Cons:
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no USM, hunts in low light/contrast situations, average bokeh between f/2.2 and f/5.6, plain looks
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Canon EOS Rebel XTi (400D)
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Review Date: Jun 3, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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high resolution, accurate colors (in ''faithful'' mode), low noise up to ISO800, sophisticated AF
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Cons:
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no spot meter, small viewfinder, average battery life
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Canon keeps rebelling against competition. Rebel XTi (also known as 400d here in Europe) is a fine entry level camera. It should not be compared to in-house cameras (like 5d) but to other entry level cameras (like Nikon D40x or Sony A100). Highly recommended!
PS.
Don't forget to get a nice lens for this baby.
Recommended lenses: 17-40 f/4 L, 50 f/1.8, 85 f/1.8, 70-200 f/4 L, 135 f/2 L, 200 f/2.8 L.
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