btjh86's reviews

  • Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF DX AF-S Nikkor

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Excellent kit lens, fast silent AF.
    Not as fast as I would like, mine is starting to show lens creep, zoom ring not smooth

    I got this with my D70s kit. It is an excellent bundled lens and it has served very well as an all round lens. I have shot beautiful landscapes and portraits using this lens. It is a little soft at 70mm, but at 18mm, its a beauty. Autofocus is fast just like the other AF-S lenses and it has no problems in tracking moving subjects such as cars and bikes even on my D70s. I can imagine it being better on more expensive bodies.

    reviewed December 24th, 2006 (purchased for $1,000)

  • Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro APO

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Good bargain! Like the inclusion of the macro.
    Soft at 300mm, slow focusing, slow optically

    I got this lens because I was on a budget and I think its money well spent. The major gripes are its slow AF and aperture, but once you learn how to live with those, you can work wonders with this lens. I have used this lens for some macro work and it works beautifully!

    I shot an airshow with this lens and I'm surprised that the AF hit spot on with flying planes 85% of the time.

    Sometimes, I find manual focusing is easier because the lens sometimes hunts especially in low light.

    I would recommend this lens to anyone on a tight budget. Its the best you can find for this price.

    reviewed December 24th, 2006 (purchased for $200)

  • Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    IS, Price, good AF
    slow optically, some CA and distortion

    I borrowed this lens to use for awhile and found that it is a great walk around lens! The IS is a real helper when you just need that shot when the last rays of sunlight are left.

    The lens does however exhibit some distortion at wide angle and this could be irritating if used for architectural shots. I had to 'unbarrel' most of the photos in Photoshop. CA could be fixed in Photoshop too, but I'd like to see less of that from a lens like this.

    It is sharp enough for most applications, and its zoom range covers enough for most people.

    If you want better image quality and IS and a faster lens, get the 17-55 IS F2.8, but it comes with a price.

    reviewed December 26th, 2006 (purchased for $600)

  • Olympus 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Digital

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Good zoom range.
    Slow and noisy AF

    I used this with a E-300 when they first came out. My first impression was that its a great, compact zoom lens with a pretty wide aperture. It performs well optically too! My only gripe is its AF which can be slow and noisy. Otherwise an excellent lens for the 4/3 system.

    reviewed December 26th, 2006

  • Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di AF

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Great zoom range.
    Slow AF and aperture.

    A nice all round lens. But since its zoom range is so wide, it suffers from optical setbacks. Apertures are too small at 300mm @ f6.3. It makes it totally useless in getting sharp photos in not so bright light. Image quality isnt too good especially at 300mm where it can be quite soft.

    Another gripe is the AF. Its slow and noisy. You can't use this to track fast cars or birds.

    Overall good value for money and a great deal for those who don't want to change lenses.

    reviewed January 15th, 2007 (purchased for $500)