placenamehere's reviews

  • Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR AF-S Nikkor

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    fast focusing, good weight, sharper then expected, good color+contrast
    5.6@300mm may be slow for some

    I consider myself happily surprised by this lens.

    I've been looking for a lens longer then my 18-70 or 85/1.8 for my D80 to use mainly for hiking or other travel photography. I had been holding out for this to hit the street so I could compare it to some alternatives like the 80-200 which weighs more then I'd like, but would have gone with it if the 70-300VR didn't impress quality wise. I have to say after getting my hands on the 70-300VR I was more then impressed by its image quality wide open even at 300mm. If weight or cost wasn't a factor it probably wouldn't be my first choice, but its clearly better image quality then the previous 70-300 entries and for an occasional use zoom more then enough lens for me.

    reviewed December 26th, 2006 (purchased for $530)

  • Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    fast, sharpness, overall image quality
    not the 1.4?

    This lens is on my D80 85% of the time for both indoor family photos and general outdoor or street photography. The image quality is excellent. Its plenty fast to capture most events without resorting to flash use. I really don't find myself longing for the extra speed of the F1.4 as I usually end up shooting at around F2.0 or F2.2 for a good DOF + speed compromise.

    reviewed December 26th, 2006 (purchased for $400)

  • Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and not recommended
    cost, speed, weight
    awkward focal length on dslr

    This was my 2nd lens on my D80 and when I got it I loved it. its hard not to recommend it based on image quality and price but I've found it sitting in my bag getting little use as of late. I found it plenty fast for indoor family photos, but the focal length felt sometimes not wide enough and sometimes too wide. the 85mm got a lot more use when I picked that up and I recently got a Sigma 30mm/1.4 for the wide end.

    its almost silly not to spend the $100 on this lens, but if you're planning on other lenses I'd get those first and then see if you still think you need this one

    reviewed December 26th, 2006 (purchased for $110)

  • Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    image quality, low ca, wide, padded case
    caps leave lots to be desired

    Really digging this lens for outdoor use. Light enough to not worry about carrying around and the image quality doesn't leave much to desire. I didn't agonize over this vs. the other offerings out there like I've read others tend to as I was persuaded by an unusually good price, but there's nothing making me regret the impulse buy.

    reviewed December 26th, 2006