The Photocrati Blog

Canon 24mm f/2.8 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 24mm f/2.8 Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

At the optimal focus distances the EF 24mm f/2.8 is an excellent performer capable to deliver images as sharp as it gets on an 8MP APS-C DSLR. For most situations this is generally true but residual spherical aberration can be a problem at close-focus distances (as explained in the MTF chapter above). Other than that vignetting is a little on the high side at f/2.8 but no issue beyond and the slight barrel distortions are usually very acceptable as well. The construction quality is decent though not stellar. So at the end of the day it remains an excellent lens … with a little bug. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 100-300mm f/5.6 L EF Review Round-Up

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

Photo Zone:

The Canon EF 100-300mm f/5.6 L can still convince optically with very high resoltion figures, low distortions and quite low vignetting (on APS-C). However, mechanically the lens is totally outdated and clearly substandard compared to current Canon L lenses. In fact most of today’s consumer zooms are better in this respect. If you cannot afford the new EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS the ancient EF 100-300mm f/5.6 L remains still worth a serious thought regarding its much lower price tag on the used market and it still puts most other xx-300mm zoom lenses to shame specifically regarding contrast. READ FULL REVIEW

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Tamron 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Di II SP 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: Tamron AF 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Di-II SP LD Aspherical (IF) Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Tamron AF 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Di II SP is surely capable to deliver decent quality images but the truth is that the competition is generally better in most aspects. Regarding the comparatively slow speed (max. aperture), the subjectively lower build quality as well as the rather limited zoom range it is also a bit strange that Tamron is asking a higher price point compared to the Sigma and Tokina counterparts (locally at least). This doesn’t seem to leave many arguments in favour of the lens.READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 135mm f/2.8 SF 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 135mm f/2.8 with Softfocus Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Photo Zone:

The Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 SF may be old but it was still able to delivery very good performance figures in all aspects. Nonetheless there ´re many lenses including zooms which are capable to deliver similar and even better. So at the end of the day the only real differentiator is the soft-focus feature. On paper it may be worth a thought (if this is your thing) but if you ´re into digital photography you should be able to achieve a similar effect using Photoshop. A real plus is the very affordable price though. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 28-135mm f/4-5.6 II 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. (more…)

Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF 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: 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

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

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

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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