mebailey's reviews

  • Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Fast focus, Super sharp, Well built, Awesome for low light. Not too heavy.
    None Ive found

    One of Canon's best lenses for a reasonable price. Its a no brainer if you use this focal length. Really excels as indoor sports lens on a crop camera.

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $899)
  • Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp, built like a tank, great working distance
    Little heavy, slow focusing

    This is the only macro I have ever used so cant compare to others. Iam very pleased with the lens. I shoot small creatures like bugs and frogs. The working distance is great as is the sharpness.
    I also use it as a long portrait tele on my 5D. In this role the focusing is alittle slow but still seems faster than the 85L. The 3.5 aperature is also a limiting factor in this role.

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $1,239)
  • Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Super sharp even at f1.4, fast focus, great for existing light photography, light but well built.
    None Ive found

    I really enjoy using this lens. I use for group shots on my 5D or as a walk-around on my XT. It delivers a high number of keeper every time out. I have used it very effectively outside at night for campfire shots. It is a solid investment for crop or full frame cameras.

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $1,148)
  • Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    The best portrait lens in the Canon arsenal. Dreamy bokeh. Very sharp even wide open.
    Heavy, slow focusing (MarkI), rear element easily damaged, awkward manual focus

    This is my favorite Canon lens. It is a pleasure to use and gives outstanding results. It looks like a little Hubble telescope from the front (it gathers light like one too). Its alittle long for group photography unless you have alot of room.
    Each time I remove it from the camera I set the manual focus to infinity so the rear element will retract maximally to lessen chance of scratching it when I mount it again.

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $1,499)
  • Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Great focal range. IS. Resonably sharp. Rapid reliable focusing.
    Push-pull takes getting used to. Tightening ring always in the way. Not great for low light.

    This is a good lens if you need this focal range. It is fairly sharp for a zoom even at 400. Mine is really sharp if I stop down to about f8. The 1.4X TC seems to degrade image significantly. The lens will get alot of attention (for better or worse). The IS works well.

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $1,400)
  • Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Great sharpness (comparable to primes). Highly usable focal length. Super fast for a zoom. Fast accuarate focusing. Awesome construction.
    None

    Simply the best zoom I have ever had the pleasure to use or own. Its fast, has a pleasant bokeh, and is built to last. I have used for portraits, weddings, and walf around. The range is great for a FF or crop camera. It gets more time on the camera than any other lens!

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $1,134)
  • Canon 1.4X Extender EF II

    9 out of 10 points and recommended

    I bought to use with my 100-400L. It is a high quality piece of glass but does noticebly degrade the image on that lens. I have used it on my 180mm macro with better results. I understand that it even works better with Canon super teles but have not tried it myself.

    reviewed December 14th, 2006
  • Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended

    This lens was my first non-kit lens. It is an exceptional value and gives incredible sharpness for a zoom. The focusing is fast and accurate. The lens itself is light and is not hard to carry all day. I use it for baseball games on a crop body which is just about perfect. It takes the 1.4TC well without much image degradation.

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $575)
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended

    A good lens with decent sharpness and high speed. Its not terribly sharp at 1.4 but picks up nicely by f 2. The focusing is a little noisy but fast enough. The construction is average and manual focusing is abit coarse. A good value but not a good a value as "nifty".

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $300)
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended

    This lens is alot like a mini 85L but it seems to focus quicker. The construction is also similar (high quality) to the 85L. One improvement is that the rear element does not protrude as far so it is less likely to be damaged. It is fairly sharp wide open becoming very sharp by f2 or so (also similar to big brother except I give the 85 a slight edge in sharpness). The lens has a sharpness advantage over most copies of the 50 1.4 especially at wide aperatures. I think it will be a first rate portrait or low light lens on a FF or crop body. It would be a good walk around lens on FF.

    reviewed December 15th, 2006 (purchased for $1,443)
  • Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Great sharpness across focal range. Very sharp at f/2.8. Fast, silent focusing. Does not require thin filters. Awesome build.
    Expensive filters

    One of the finest zooms I have used. It ranks right up there with the 24-70L. It compares favorably with primes in its focal range. The larger filters are a pain but allow regular thickness filters without vignetting (even on FF). The edge sharpness is excellent but I dont have a Mk1 to compare to. If you need an ultra wide angle (especially for a FF) this lens is well worth considering.

    reviewed April 29th, 2007 (purchased for $1,598)