jcsoniat's reviews

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

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Build, Sharpness, Excellent macros!
    Focus a bit slow and hunts

    Excellent lens, period. It's a great focal length on a crop camera, and it is super sharp. The focus is smooth and somewhat snappy. But if the light is low, then it hunts. If it can't find the subject, it will just stop at one of the extreme ends of the focal range. The focus limiting switch does help, as well as setting the focus manually near the subject first. In most cases this will not be an issue, as I only notice it when trying to catch moving subjects (Kids) indoors. For tripod work, bright active shots, and macros it is excellent.

    reviewed January 1st, 2007 (purchased for $600)

  • Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp, Great Color, Fast Focus, Light
    none

    Fantastic lens for portraits and other outside work. Kind of long for inside shots on a 1.5x or 1.6x cropped camera. I don't worry about the CA issues because my raw converter program takes care of that for me. Excellent lens all around.

    reviewed January 1st, 2007 (purchased for $350)

  • Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

    5 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp at f8, light
    Very cheap build, Manual focus ring hard to use without hood.

    Well, If you're going to get a camera and don't have any other lenses already, get the kit lens. When you stop it down to it's sweet spot around f8, it produces great images. I still have not had a chance to upgrade from it, but I find if I use it correctly within it's best abilities, I can get great results.

    That being said, it is a very poorly made lens, but it is also super cheap. Considering the price, and that it is made of electronics, motors, and glass, it is a good deal. Definitely recommend getting the lens hood, as it will help with manual focus. If gives you something more substantial to turn.

    Also, for being cheap construction, I dropped my camera from my lap when getting out of a van on the first day I used it. It landed right on concrete. But, it held up pretty well. The lens cap came off on impact and stripped a couple of the threads, and the mount where hood attaches got a little roughed up. I still use the same lens almost a year later, and it has never showed any issues with image quality and construction.

    reviewed January 1st, 2007