Three more lenses posted on SLRgear!By Dave Etchells (Saturday, October 28, 2006 - 22:20 EDT) Uber-tech Jim keeps cranking them out, today we have three more sets of test results, one Canon wide-normal zoom, and two Nikon tele zooms... With the hitches addressed and the skids greased, we're finally starting to see some Nikon glass moving through the test lab. Today we have two favorite Nikkor tele-zooms, and a sweet little wide/normal subframe zoom from Canon. Here's what's new, along with a list of other recent test results posted on SLRgear:
Merging today's work with yesterdays, a total of three new lenses: The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, a tack-sharp, fast sub-frame lens for Canon's 1.6x-crop DSLRs, followed by a pair of Nikons, the classic 80-200mm f/2.8 ED AF and 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED AF VR. The 80-200mm is a classic lens that's evolved through 4 or 5 iterations since the first such model was introduced back in 1982. The 80-400 VR is a favorite "walk around" lens for nature shooters and anyone who likes to pack a lot of tele zoom in a compact package. I probably won't have any more posts this week, as I'll be in New York attending Photo Plus East for a few days. Following that though, there should be another goodly batch of test results coming, as we have a number of lenses in the queue, including the Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro and 70-200mm f/2.8, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro and 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3, and a Nikkor 150mm f/2.8 ED-IF, with its cool, retro-looking black crinkle finish. We're also working on a very in-depth calibration protocol for matching lens performance results across test platforms. This will likely be a longer-term project, but we're very excited by the prospects, as it promises to really nail down the differences found when moving from camera to camera. Stay tuned!- Dave E. |