2009 | Photocrati

Canon 50mm f/1.8 II EF Review Round-Up

canon-ef-50mm-f18-ii Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

Photo Zone:

At the beginning of this review I stated that the 50mm f/1.8 II is the cheapest lens in the Canon line. Cheap really refers to the price tag only because for a price below 100 EUR you get a light-weight, high performing lens. So most affordable may be a better wording here. Naturally you can’t expect wonders regarding build quality for this price but the compromises work out better here than with the cheapo kit zooms. The 50mm f/1.4 USM may be a tad better at large aperture settings and surely regarding build quality but at quite hefty extra costs. If you’re on a budget the 50mm f/1.8 II is a good alternative here. It may also be interesting to check out the used market for a EF 50mm f/1.8 (I) which features the same good optical formula but combined with a better construction. It’s not really surprising that the old lens tends to sell at higher prices on the used market than the “new” mk II though. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 200mm f/2L IS USM EF Review Round-Up

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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 200mm f/2L IS USM Telephoto Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

SLR Gear:

The 200mm Æ’/2L IS USM is definitely a lens designed for the ”where price is no object” crowd. Tack-sharp, with no visible chromatic aberration or distortion, the only issue (if it is indeed an issue) would be some corner shading when shot wide-open on a full-frame body. But for the ”style” of image that it produces: sharp subjects with creamy, dreamy out-of-focus backgrounds, the 200mm Æ’/2L IS USM is a lens that will consistently exceed expectations. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS USM EF Review Round-Up

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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 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

Every now and then EOS, the goddess of mercy, seems to speak to the Canon lens designers and this time they listened carefully. The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L IS may well be the very best tele zoom on the market today – it is certainly the best Canon zoom lens tested locally to date. The lens was capable to deliver a near-flawless performance is all categories. The resolution figures are stunning regardless of the setting. Distortions, vignetting and CAs are nothing to worry about. The build quality is excellent with the new sealing as a another highlight. On top of that the lens now features a image stabilizer with an efficiency equivalent to 4 f-stops (at cost of shutter speed). The only heartbreaking drawback for some is the price tag which increased significantly to a whopping grand – price/performance-wise this is still very sound though. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 200mm f/4 D ED AF Micro Review Round-Up

micro-nikkor-af-200mm-f-4-d-ed If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Photo Zone

The Micro-Nikkor AF 200mm f/4 D ED is an excellent lens with no real weaknesses. The resolution figures are very good to excellent. You may argue that the new AF-S 105mm f/2.8G VR is somewhat sharper but the AF 200mm f/4 offers a longer working distance of 26cm vs 14cm – a good argument in favor of the old lens when it comes to nervous critters in macro photography. The vignetting at f/4 is not field relevant and both the distortion and CA characteristic are outstanding. The bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is exceptionally smooth and buttery. Typical for such oldies the build quality is superb whereas the old-style AF (driven by the camera) is very slow but then macro photographers tend to prefer to focus manually anyway. At around 1400â‚¬/US$ the entry hurdle for this lens is a bit steep. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 50mm f/1.0L USM EF Review Round-Up

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PopPhoto:

If you absolutely need what an f/1.0 50mm can deliver, this lens will provide it. Whether it’s the extra-creamy defocused backgrounds created by ultra shallow depth of field, or handholdable shutter speeds in dismal light, or extended flash range, Canon’s 50mm f/1.0 won’t disappoint. These benefits come at a price, however. Only you can decide whether the unique look this lens can provide is worth the price you pay in weight, sharpness, AF speed, and dollars. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 50mm f/1.2 USM L EF Review Round-Up

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Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 USM L is a specialty lens for those requiring the maximum in depth-of-field capabilities. At large apertures the lens produces the beautiful, buttery bokeh which can be expected from such a lens. Technically the resolution results are very good to excellent but not really superior to its cheaper cousin – the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. The center performance is generally stellar but the borders can ´t quite follow although they remain easily in very good territory beyond f/1.2. The vignetting is quite high at maximum aperture and CAs are unusually pronounced for a fix-focal. The build quality of the lens is exceptional and the AF speed is very fast for such a lens. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM EF-S Review Round-Up

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Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS is not a perfect lens but it lives quite well up to the very high expectations of the user base. The resolution figures are among the very best seen so far for an APS-C standard zoom lens. The center resolution is nothing short of outstanding and the even borders can keep a very good to even excellent quality level. The distortion characteristic is quite typical for a zoom lens in this range (pronounced barrel distortions @ 17mm, moderate pincushion distortions @ 55mm) whereas CAs are unusually moderate. Unfortunately vignetting is a weak spot of the lens peaking around 1EV at f/2.8 throughout the range. It’s not a show stopper but a little annoying nonetheless. The build quality of the lens is pretty good but in relation to the price tag of the lens Canon should have used a little less plastic – finally even the much cheaper EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L features a magnesium-alloy shell. Probably a marketing decision to keep professionals away from APS-C DSLRs. All-in-all the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS is clearly a level up from the other Canon standard zooms – a highly desirable lens though the pricing may rise a few question marks. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 14mm f/2.8 D ED 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 at Amazon: NIKON 14MM f/2.8D ED AF Ultra Wide Angle Nikkor Lens

Pop Photo

The 14mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor is Nikon’s widest rectilinear lens that covers the 35mm format, giving a whopping 114- degree angle of view. With its equally impressive f/2.8 aperture, it provides a bright viewing image along with available-light shooting ability. In addition, performance is also unsurpassed, but all this comes at a princely price. Offering state of the art performance, Nikon’s remarkable 14mm f/2.8 is a great tool for pros and other advanced Nikon shooters needing the ultimate in angular coverage and speed without distortion. They had better have deep pockets. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye EF Review Round-Up

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Photo Zone:

Fisheye lenses are a matter of taste and the type of distortions limits its scope to special effects. Other than that the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye is a very decent performer with high resolution figures and good construction quality (apart from the cap design). However, there ´re some question marks whether the APS-C format doesn ´t destroy most of the fisheye effect. On a 1.3x and full frame DSLR the lens will make more sense in this respect. READ FULL REVIEW

Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

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Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM macro 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 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

The old EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens had a superb reputation but Canon managed to keep up the performance of the USM successor despite of the introduction of a true IF design allowing to keep a constant lens length throughout the focus range. Mechanically this is a drastic improvement due to the absence of any moving outer parts that could suck in dust or wear out more easily. On top of that the USM implementation in this lens is excellent – compared to conventional macro lenses in this range it is a speed daemon here and a near silent one. Optically the lens resides on a very high level with little to nothing to be desired. HIGHLY recommended! READ FULL REVIEW

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