audioguru1's reviews

  • Nikon 180mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF Nikkor

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Lightweight compared to 80-200
    slow AF, not zoom

    This is a great lens - really it is. Its actually light enough to comfortably handhold, compared to the alomost 3 pound 80-200 lens. Its pretty sharp after you stop down from f4 on. Good bokeh.

    AF operation is kind of slow, but tolerable, having IF helps some.

    Fit and finish is great, is solidly built. If you want to MF this lens has great feel, but you need to remember to switch the lens and camera body.

    Ultimately I think the 80-200 is probably just as sharp, this lens's main advantage is weight.

    reviewed November 20th, 2006 (purchased for $350)
  • Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    fast 2.8, very sharp from 80-150
    soft at 200, heavy

    I recently bought this lens. Its very fast, and well made. It feels more solid than the 70-200. The tripod mount tends to get in the way when im zooming though.

    af speed is great, even though its not AFS, on my d80 its absolutely fine. The limit switch is handy and reduces hunting. It lets you keep the lens on the infinity side or on the macro side.

    This is very very heavy, I cannot stress this enough. I knew it was heavy from the numbers, but really without a tripod or monopod you would be hard-pressed to comfortably shoot for a long time.

    Optically the lens is very good. I would probably try to avoid shooting wide open at 2.8 around 160-200mm, but stopped down its fine. Bottom line, this lens produces great images.

    This lens is a smart buy if like me you are waiting for nikon to update the VR lens to VRII.

    reviewed November 20th, 2006 (purchased for $900)
  • Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF DX AF-S Nikkor

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    cheap, AFS
    sharpness, and not fast

    This is a GREAT lens for the d70, which in all fairness is all that it was intended for.

    On higher resolution bodies like my s2, and d80 its not that amazingly sharp. Part of the problem with sharpness is the lens starts out at 3.5, so its hard to stop down and get good results. Honestly my standards are probably unrealistically high for such a reasonably priced lens.

    This lens does have great color and contrast. The focus speed is good too.

    Its very plastic feeling, and the zoom isnt as smooth as it could be. I get the feeling the zoom would get loose over time. So far mine is fine though.

    The lens is handy since it gets your pretty wide.

    reviewed November 20th, 2006 (purchased for $300)
  • Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    reasonable, amazingly sharp
    no afs

    This lens is very sharp. It seems to have some focus error on older bodies like my s2 (backfocus). It works great on my d80. Likely just the focus system on the s2, but something to note if you dont have a newer body.

    This is great for closeup portraits. It is the 105/135 portrait lenses for digital.

    The focus on this lens is clunky and loud - especially compared to the 50mm. But it gets the job done. Having a speedlight with the red led focus grid helps in the dark.

    The 1.4 version gets you IF and a little more sensitvity. The 1.8 is just as good in every other way.

    reviewed November 20th, 2006 (purchased for $300)
  • Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    cheap
    none for $120

    If you had to buy one lens to use for portraits this would be it! This is sharp, and cheap. You can spend thousands on a zoom, only to get similar quality.

    For portraits I find it works best stopped down to 2.8 which is still acceptably fast.

    It doesnt have AFS, but it focuses quietly and efficently. No complaints.

    I feel the only real drawback is the contrast compared to the 85mm and other lenses is a bit flat. This can be easily fixed is pp.

    reviewed November 20th, 2006 (purchased for $120)
  • Nikon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S Nikkor

    6 out of 10 points and recommended
    cheap
    soft & plastic

    This was the first cheap AFS "g" lens. They reversed the focus and zoom rings. ops!

    I purchased this lens to go with my s2 when I bought it years ago. It was reviewed well - Im not sure if I got a bad sample or what, but the quality on this lens left a lot to be desired. It was pretty soft throughout the range, especially with landscapes at infinity.

    I returned this lens after a few weeks for a 50 prime and a used zoom, and was much happier.

    The 18-70 kit lens is a lot better, and produces good results.

    reviewed November 20th, 2006 (purchased for $400)