sduford's reviews

  • Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF SP AF

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Good build quality, very sharp, small, excellent value
    No HSM type autofocus, very short focus throw.

    I think this lens offers killer value. It's image quality rivals the Nikkor 17-55mm F/2.8 and this at a third of the price and half the size.

    Build quality is excellent for the price and image quality really surprised me. This lens has excellent image quality even wide open. Contrast and colour rendition are top notch. I'm very happy with what I got for the money with lens. It has quickly become one of my favourites.

    I only wish ti would go a little longer, like 60 or 70mm.

    reviewed August 1st, 2006 (purchased for $450)

  • Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM APO

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Awesome zoom range, well built, sharp, versatile.
    Heavy, requires a lot of light

    This lens works very well when mounted on a tripod or monopod. I would not recommend it for hand-holding as it is very heavy and gets very long when zoomed out. The small maximum aperture and long focal length also means that you need a lot of light and/or use high ISO.

    It does get a bit soft at 500mm, but I find it surprisingly sharp throughout the range, as long as you use F/8.0 or F/11.0. It isn't bad wide open in the lower half of the range.

    reviewed August 1st, 2006 (purchased for $1,000)

  • Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM APO Macro

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Super Sharp, Handles Great, Versatile Focal Length
    none

    This is my favourite lens. It is super sharp and I find the focal length to be ideal for macro work. Shorter lenses are too short for bugs, but longer ones are too long for larger things like butterfiles and flowers.

    It is very well built and handles beautifully. The lens collar and foot are great for switching to a vertical orientation without having to reset your tripod position.

    This lens works great with the Sigma 1.4x TC for even more working distance or magnification.

    reviewed August 1st, 2006 (purchased for $600)

  • Nikon 20mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Small, well built
    Lots of CA and distortion

    I was somewhat disapoitned with this lens on my D200. It showed a lot of CA when wide open, and also has a fair bit of distortion. Contrast is good but sharpness is just average.

    reviewed August 1st, 2006 (purchased for $300)

  • Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Small, sharp, contrasty
    Plasticy, no AFS

    This lens is a great bargain and should be in every Nikon user's bag. It is small, light, fast, and produces very good image quality even wide open.

    Focus is via the old arcane screw drive on your camera but it works well enough on such small lenses. It is made of plastic but that means it's also very light.

    reviewed August 1st, 2006 (purchased for $100)

  • Nikon 35mm f/2D AF Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Very sharp & contrasty, small, light
    Could be faster

    This is the new standard lens for Nikon DSLRs, offering the equivalent of a 52mm lens on film.

    It is even sharper then the 50mm F/1.8 and it is very contrasty. It will focus down to a superb and very handy 8" (20cm) and it has no noticeable distortion.

    Highly recommended, unless you have the much larger and pricier Sigma 30mm F/1.4.

    reviewed August 1st, 2006 (purchased for $300)

  • Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Superb image quality, well built, fast
    no AFS

    This is a superb lens. It is 979% as good as the F/1.4 yet it is much smaller and cheaper.

    Build quality is not all metal but still very good. It is the old style auto focus but it nonetheless operates very fast and precisely. Filter size is 62nn. A very nice and compact lens.

    I find it a bit long for portraits on a DSLR, but we currently have no alternatives.

    reviewed August 1st, 2006 (purchased for $400)

  • Nikon 105mm f/2.8D AF Micro Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Very sharp & contrasty
    Short working distance

    This is an old classic and an excellent lens. It is very sharp and obviously optimized for closeup work, but still works well enough at longer range.

    I was personally disapointed witht he fact that focal length reduces to around 60mm at 1:1 magnisifaction. THis means that the working distance just wasn't good enough for bug photography. Because of that I traded up to a Sigma 150mm.

    reviewed August 1st, 2006 (purchased for $500)