2009 | Photocrati

Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF AF Review Round-Up

tamron-18-200mm-f-35-63-xr-di-ii-ld-aspherical-if-af If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens with Built In Motor for Nikon Digital SLR

SLR Gear

Tamron has long had a history of making some of the better ultra-zoom lenses out there, and this current 18-200mm matches their long-zoom prowess to the needs of the digital market. Thanks to its reduced image circle (it’s designed for cameras with APS-C size sensors), the 18-200 is surprisingly compact, given its incredible zoom range. (For reference, this lens is the equivalent of a 27-300mm lens on a 35mm SLR.) For the Tamron 18-200, the tradeoff is that it is significantly soft in the corners and edges when shooting wide open, pretty much across the focal length range. As always though, closing the aperture down a stop or two makes a big difference. At 18mm, shooting between f/5.6 and f/8 delivers pretty impressive sharpness, but you’ll have to go to f/16 for the best results at 50mm, and to f/11 at 100-200mm. Even stopped down though, this lens is a little soft at 200mm. If you need to just put one lens on your camera and leave it there, yet still want to cover a focal length range from wide angle to a fairly long tele, this lens is a good, affordable solution. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 300mm f/4D IF-ED AF-S Review Round-Up

nikkor-af-s-300mm-f-4d-if-ed1 If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Nikon 300mm f/4.0D ED-IF AF-S Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED is one of the few near-flawless lenses tested so far. The resolution figures are generally excellent and distortions and vignetting are basically negligible. CAs are very well under control. Adding a Nikkor AF-S 1.4x only results in a moderate decrease in resolution (about one school mark). The mechanical quality of the Nikkor is exceptionally high and it was a joy to use this lens in the field. Highly recommended! READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM EF Review Round-Up

canon-ef-70-300mm-f4-56-is-usm1 If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

Digital Picture:

The 75-300mm IS lens was popular because of its useful focal length range, small size, light weight, midrange price and Image Stabilization. The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens improves this overall package (sacrificing only price somewhat). In my opinion, image stabilization is the best feature of this lens. It is a significant help when shooting stationary subjects without a tripod. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 50mm f/2.5 macro EF Review Round-Up

canon-ef-50mm-f25-macro

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro Lens

Photo Zone:

The EF 50mm f/2.5 macro is a fairly unexciting lens but it offers a very high performance despite its ancient design. The quality of the construction is fairly decent though not stellar. By today’s standards the micro motor as well is a little outdated. Same goes for the life-size converter which is needed to achieve a 1:1 magnification. The new EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM macro has been improved in these respects – at higher costs and with reduced image circle.
So if you’re looking for an affordable, high performance standard lens with macro capabilities the EF 50mm f/2.5 macro can still be recommended. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon AF 20mm f/2.8 D Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 20mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 20mm f/2.8 D had a very good reputation during the film era but the D200 didn’t really like the lens. The resolution is fine for most of the APS-C image frame but the extreme corners never really reach impressive results even at medium aperture settings. Vignetting is fairly high at f/2.8 and CAs are pretty bad. All-in-all you may prefer to look elsewhere to cover this focal length on an APS-C DSLR. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 35mm f/2 EF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Canon EF 35mm f/2 Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

The Canon EF 35mm f/2 proved to be a decent lens with very good performance figures in all primary characteristics. There’s a little quality penalty at its largest aperture setting where the resolution is a little on the soft side combined with relatively high vignetting but the peak performance at medium apertures is highly impressive. Mechanically the lens is a little outdated by now and Canon should really consider to upgrade the lens with a USM drive and especially a decent focus ring. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 20-35mm f/2.8 L EF Review Round-Up

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Photo Zone:

The Canon EF 20-35mm f/2.8 L may be old, even ancient by consumer electronics standards but it’s still capable to deliver high quality images specifically regarding resolution and low vignetting (on APS-C DSLRs) whereas distortions, field curvature and CAs are a little on the high side. Thanks to L-grade build quality it feels very solid but expect that time has taken its toll from a ~15 years old lens. If you can find a sample in decent condition it is still worth a deeper look but remember that it is probably beyond repair in case of malfunctions due to rare spare parts. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 60mm f/2.8 USM macro EF-S Review Round-Up

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Digital SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

So they do exist – high-performance lenses with a reduced image circle. The Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM macro delivers an almost flawless performance. The lens is capable to provide very sharp border-to-border results with minimal distortions and low CAs. The bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is exceptionally smooth. The only dirty spot on its otherwise clean vest is high vignetting at f/2.8 towards infinity focus but one stop down the issue is pretty much resolved. So combined with its high build quality, very fast AF and a pretty affordable price the only verdict can be … highly recommended! READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D AF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8 D is a low profile lens with less sex-appeal than the big glass but it is an interesting lens nonetheless. At wide-open aperture it is a little soft at the image borders and the contrast level is a little on the low side. However, at medium aperture settings the resolution figures are exceptionally high and surely a benchmark to beat. Distortions are negligible and vignetting is very well controlled. The build quality of the lens is very decent and the AF performance leaves nothing to be desired. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM EF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

It is a little difficult to find a verdict for the Canon EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. The lens is capable to deliver a very high resolution which surely originates in the rather conservative zoom ratio. However, at the wide-end it suffers from very pronounced residual aberrations so you may run into situations where you cannot exploit the potential of the lens. If you ´re primarily shooting landscapes with rather long focus distance settings this will not be much of an issue but for at closer settings you should either choose a small aperture (f/11) or do at least a depth-of-field preview check. Other than that the lens performed according to its class. The zoom range isn ´t all that attractive on APS-C DSLRs but it may be worth a look for 1.3x or FF DSLRs (not tested in this scope). READ FULL REVIEW

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