perpera's reviews

  • Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    fast, sharp wide open, excellent bokeh, value for money
    none

    Excellent build quality, fast auto focus, and its fast.
    But for me, the reason to get this lens is the Bokeh and DOF control.

    Be careful with the focus. I've missed shots at wide apertures because the DOF is so extremely thin.

    reviewed October 26th, 2005
  • Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp wide open. Great Bokeh. Fast AF. L Quality
    None

    THE fastest lens at 24 mm.

    reviewed November 23rd, 2006 (purchased for $1,000)
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Fast and lightweight. Very sharp from F2.0
    A little soft wide open.

    AF not very fast. I wish Canon would consider an update with Ring USM.

    reviewed November 23rd, 2006 (purchased for $480)
  • Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp wide open. Fast AF. L Quality. Great focal range. IS
    Still a bit big considering it' s aperture 4.0

    Great all-round lens for 1D2.

    reviewed November 23rd, 2006 (purchased for $1,000)
  • Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC

    6 out of 10 points and not recommended
    god focal range, lightweight
    soft, soft, soft

    Bought as alllround lens for Canon 350D. I delivered it back to the shop after only a week because it was ununacceptable soft even if stopped down to aperture 8 or 11!

    reviewed November 26th, 2006 (purchased for $350)
  • Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    good allround lens, 2.8 at wide end, relatively sharp, good 'macro' performance
    slow and noisy AF

    Very good all-rounder for the price.
    Images are sharp and contrasty.

    reviewed November 26th, 2006 (purchased for $490)
  • Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Great image-quality, great bokeh, acceptable fast AF, very sharp
    unreliable AF

    Bought it as a 'normal' for Canon 350D.
    I love the image-quality, but AF performance is very frustrating.
    A lot (30-50%) of the shots are out of focus. Even in sunshine aperture 8 or 11!

    reviewed November 26th, 2006
  • Sigma 14mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical HSM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp wide open. Fast AF. Build quality. Fast aperture
    Lens cap system annoying. Flare

    This is a very special lens - focal lenght 14mm! And as such it has very special characteristics.
    My copy of the Sigma 14mm f/2.8 Aspheric lens is great! It's built beautifully and focuses fast. On 1dMkII I've found this lens' image quality outstanding from it's F/2.8 full aperture till the diffraction limitation of it's smallest apertures which is an inherent flaw in practically any lens. But my Sigma 14mm f/2.8 Aspheric is very good at full aperture and with a unique Bokeh when focused on (very) closeup subjects.
    This is clearly one of Sigma's success's. If you need or desire a 14mm superwide for Canon mount then this gets my best recommandations!
    NB: Bought it used!

    reviewed December 6th, 2006 (purchased for $315)
  • Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp wide open. Very good IQ
    Build quality not very good. Very old design. Slow AF

    See pros and cons ...
    The lens is actually not a real 1:1 macro but a 1:2 macro. You would need a converter. Therefore the Sigma 50mm macro might be a better buy.
    I think this lens severely need an update. It's build quality is not up to modern standard.

    reviewed January 6th, 2007 (purchased for $440)
  • Kenko 1.4X Teleplus PRO 300 DGX AF

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Very good IQ. Cheap
    None

    I use it to extend my Canon EF 135mm F2 L to an 189mm F2.8, which means that I (almost) have 200 mm length without noticeable loss of AF speed or IQ.

    reviewed January 6th, 2007 (purchased for $140)
  • Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    sharp and lightweight, very resistant to flare
    AF noisy

    My copy of this excellent lens is sharp wide open in center and sharp from corner to corner at 5.6.
    The only con is a very noisy AF when compared to USM.
    Very recommendable.

    reviewed December 23rd, 2007 (purchased for $616)