tvoj's reviews

  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Bright, lightweight, inexpensive, focuses pretty fast, allows you to be fearless
    Noisy motor, cheap construction, not a natural focal length with current crop factors, doesn't perform all that well at wider apertures

    This is a great all-around lens for everyday use. Because of the wide max aperture it's pretty versatile if you don't know the lighting situations you might encounter ahead of time. Because it's inexpensive you don't need to baby the thing too much.

    Despite being the cheapest-quality lens I own, nothing bad has happened to it in the 5 or so years I've had it.

    reviewed December 8th, 2006 (purchased for $95)

  • Canon EF 35mm f/2

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Pretty small, relatively inxpensive, sharp, contrasty, focuses fast and accurately on my 30d, reasonable construction quality, a good "normal" lens for a 1.x crop factor
    Buzzy motor, a hair heavier than I'd expect, mount is a little stiff on my 30d (maybe this is actually a Pro)

    I haven't owned this lens very long, but so far I'm pleased.

    To my eye, the contrast and sharpness are better than my 50mm/1.8 (which seems more finicky).

    I like the focal length on my 30d. This is probably a
    better general-purpose prime for a 1.6x crop DSLR
    than the usual 50MM lens.


    Also unlike the 50mm, in AF mode, the focus ring is decoupled from the focus mechanism, so there is probably no chance of you screwing it up by trying to manually focus in AF mode.

    Unlike my 50mm/1.8 this lens has a metal mount, and fits real snug on my 30d.

    The motor buzz isn't too bad, but if you're used to the USM experience, you will certainly appreciate the difference.

    I like the fact that there's actually distance scale markings on the lens. You don't see that very often on newer lens designs.

    reviewed December 8th, 2006 (purchased for $210)

  • Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp, contrasty, fairly compact, good construction, takes filters with the Canon 14EX ringlite (I've read), a good focal length for 1.6x crop DSLR macros, internal focusing (physical length stays constant), fun for handheld use
    AF hunts more than any other lens I own, no focus limiter, not a full-frame sensor lens

    This lens always reminds me why I enjoy photo as a hobby. The focal length is reasonable for everyday
    use, so it can stay on the camera for a spell, yet on a whim I can get in real up close and personal with a subject and fire away with ease.

    I'm no expert, but it's easy to appreciate good contrast, sharpness, bokeh, and color rendition when using this lens. I've read that these are attributes of macro lenses in general, rather than this lens in particular.

    The bokeh is far better than my other primes and zooms (all consumer stuff). Probably not as nice as the 100mm macro, but beautiful anyway.

    The one real downside for me is that in dim lighting situations the AF system hunts a lot, and gets in the way for general use. The focus-assist lamp of my 30d doesn't seem to have much impact. I've read that the 100mm also hunts. I haven't had this issue with any other lens so far.

    Highly recommended if your work isn't heavily impacted by a little extra attention to setting focus.

    reviewed December 8th, 2006 (purchased for $391)

  • Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Nice and wide, reasonably compact and lightweight, nice wide zoom ring, internal focus/zoom, good contrast/color/detail, can use ridiculously long shutter speeds in some situations
    For the price you might expect a more solid feel, zooms in this range exhibit noticeable distortion, EF-S mount only, variable max aperture, EF-S mount only

    This is a fine lens that gets about as wide as you would ever want on a DSLR. Great for cramped interiors, landscapes, near-far shots, etc.

    I love wide perspectives, yet I find myself constantly swapping this off as soon as I'm done shooting my wide shot.

    Distortion is an issue, so be prepared to post-process if you bother with that sort of thing. Doesn't really touch the quality of my prime lenses, but who would expect that?

    For the money, it feels just a little less solid that I'd expect. But it is lightweight.

    The rule of thumb of shutter speed down to 1/focal-length seems to hold true - I'm able to get away handheld sometimes with a 1/15 shutter at 10mm, which is wonderful.

    Contrast and color seem good to my untrained eye.
    It captures far more detail than I'd expect from such a wide zoom.

    reviewed December 8th, 2006 (purchased for $750)

  • Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM

    4 out of 10 points and not recommended
    Lightweight, an inexpensive way to get a long focal length zoom (160-480 eq. on a 1.6x crop)
    Uninspiring detail, contrast, subject to flare, subject to zoom creep

    I pull this lens out form time to time, but the results are so uninspiring I just can't recommend this lens.

    It's a fairly slow lense, the price of the compact design.


    Contrast & detail are disappointing.

    Then again, I don't have much experience with long focal lengths, so my expectations might be unreasonable.

    The lens will creep out towards 300mm if you tilt it. This can make you want for a third hand to hold it in pace, in some instances.

    reviewed December 8th, 2006 (purchased for $290)

  • Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Good range, not too expensive, compact, decent construction, quiet/fast/accurrate AF operation
    Definitely not well-sealed, sometimes a little soft, flare/blooming is an issue with my 30d

    I originally bought this lens for my EOS film body. It went nice and wide, back then.

    Now on my 1.6x crop digital, it's one of my most-used lenses because the range is pretty good for general use.

    It can be a bit soft at times. Contrast/color are OK, but don't really pop out at you.


    One thing I've noticed is that flare or blooming effects are pronouned on digital in more extreme/contrasty lighting situations. It's totally apparant with point light sources that are near/on axis with the lens.

    This seems to be an interaction with the UV filter I have on the front of the lens. Removing the filter moderates the effect. I haven't tried a multicoated filter, which could help. But I've never seen this extreme effect with filters in front of my other lenses.

    This lens got sand or dirt inside within weeks of purchase - I had to send it back to Canon for cleaning.

    reviewed December 8th, 2006 (purchased for $400)