The Photocrati Blog

Canon 35mm f/2 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 at Amazon: Canon EF 35mm f/2 Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

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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 Mechanically the lens is a little outdated by now and Canon should really consider to upgrade the lens with a USM drive and especially a decent focus ring.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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If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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Canon 24mm f/3.5 L TS-E 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 TS-E 24mm f/3.5L Tilt Shift Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

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The Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L is something of a mixed bag. The lens is surely able to provide a decent performance in all important characteristics but that’s without delivering anything stellar … which is something you may expect from a lens in this price class. The most fascinating aspects are naturally the tilt-shift functions and if this is a requirement for you there’re simply no alternatives in this focal length class. If you’re just looking for high-performance 24mm lens there’ll be better alternatives out there. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED DX Fisheye 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 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye Nikkor Lens

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The Nikkor AF 10.5mm f/2.8G ED DX Fisheye is a very decent performer with a very high resolution for most of the image frame. The primary weaknesses are chromatic aberrations (color shadows at the borders) and purple fringing (color blooming). Lateral CAs can be reduced rather easily via imaging tools but this is more difficult with PF. If the Nikkor and the Tokina 10-17mm are a guidance these weaknesses seem to be rather typical for this lens class. The high degree of barrel distortion is naturally a feature to enjoy and not a bug. The build quality of the lens is very high and regarding its super-compact size and low weight it should easily find its niche in your photo bag. At around 650â‚¬/US$ the Nikkor isn’t exactly a cheap lens though. READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 90mm f/2.8 TS-E Review Round-Up

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

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The Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8 is an interesting lens for those seeking the maximum of perspective and depth-of-field control – at a price of around 1250 US$/â‚¬. Technically the lens is about as good as it gets including excellent resolution, absent CAs and zero distortions. When choosing neutral TS settings the lens shows only marginal vignetting at f/2.8 but the more you push the TS feature to the max the problem increases accordingly (1.5EV at the most extreme setting). The build quality is exceptionally high. A drawback by design is the lack of an AF motor so you’ve to rely on your manual focusing skills here. READ FULL REVIEW

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

Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

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The Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L is a very harmonic package combining exceptional build quality with an excellent and very even optical performance throughout the range. Adding an EF 1.4x II only results is a slight loss of quality which is remarkable for such a slow speed zoom. And even better the price tag of this lens is amazingly low for what it offers … or to be precise: what it can offer. Unfortunately the quality of the two tested samples varied quite a bit which is a little disappointing especially regarding the L designation. So if you can get a good one the EF 70-200mm f/4 USM L can be highly recommended! READ FULL REVIEW

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Canon 28mm f/1.8 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 at Amazon:Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

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Generally the verdict for the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM cannot be better than for its Sigma counterpart – high center performance but substantially worse borders. This is more so disappointing because this full frame lens was tested on an APS-C DSLR. The sweet spot effect has a positive effect on vignetting which is nothing to worry about. The distortion figures are pretty low but chromatic aberrations are hefty comparable to ultra-wide zoom lenses. So in total the lens may be good but we expect more from a fix-focal lens even though the design of a large aperture lens with a moderate pricing was certainly far from being simple. READ FULL REVIEW

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