RMH's reviews

  • Tamron 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 AF

    5 out of 10 points and recommended
    Size, weight, price
    sharpness, construction

    Different manufacters make this lens, like tokina, vivitar, cosina and tamron. It seems a design by Cosina.

    Autofocus speed is ok. I guess most people will use it for scenery, so high speed focussing is not an issue then.

    Overall it isn't the sharpest lens around. Don't expect it to render fine detail with the highest percision.
    What it can do is taking nice shots with good color and contrast in an easy and light package.
    Best settings are from f5.6 to f/11. Image quality improves when using the zoom. When using strong USM you get the most detail out of it.

    Oh and don't drop it.. it won't survive cuz of the plastic construction

    reviewed November 20th, 2005 (purchased for $177)

  • Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC

    5 out of 10 points and not recommended
    price, zoom range
    vignetting, slow, poor performance when using 18 mm

    i had the Nikon version and while this sigma lens sounds like a bargain, it isn't.
    There are so many do everything lensens on the market nowadays, hard to choose a good one. And as the saying goes 'a jack of all trades is a master of none'.
    Same for this lens: heavy vigenetting when using 18 mm, slow focus, large and heavy for a digital only lens, only sharp at f/8 etc
    Don't but this one and save ur money for a more expensive but higer quality lens

    reviewed November 20th, 2005 (purchased for $250)

  • Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED DX AF-S Nikkor

    6 out of 10 points and recommended
    Size, weight, price,
    image quality

    This consumer orientated lens gives good picture quality when stopped down at f/8. At any other values don't expect miracles.
    While 200mm (300mm equivalent) sounds like a good deal the diaphragm is f5.6, so you really need to use a tripod or high ISO to avoid blurry pics. Otherwise this lens is more intented for outdoor usage in bright light.
    Focussing is quite slow for an AF-S, so don't buy this lens is you need to take actionshots.
    Overall a good lens for its's price as long as you don't expect any miracles.

    reviewed November 20th, 2005 (purchased for $250)

  • Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM

    6 out of 10 points and not recommended
    nice large aperture, good central sharpness
    price, corner sharpness, slow focus

    For Nikon owners this sounds like a bargain compared to the expensive 28mm f/1.4. But beware, it itsn't.
    While it has good central sharpness, the corners are very soft and the autofocus is slow. The lens also lacks serious front and backfocussing sometimes.
    I trade it for a sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 which is much better for the same price

    reviewed December 1st, 2005 (purchased for $400)