Lardinio's reviews

  • Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Right balance on D300, quick & quiet AF, centre sharpness wide open, bokeh - oh the bokeh!
    more expensive than nikkor rivals, focus accurancy

    Bought it used for £240 in the UK in mid 2009. It's large for a nifty fifty, but feels great on my D300. Sublime bokeh, put my old nikkor 50/1.8 to shame (and so it should!). It's great at 1.4, in the centre at least. Corners are never really that 'sharp' at any aperture, but I wanted it for portraits and candids and it does the job superbly. Can misfocus every now and then (very seldomly) but never a problem for what I wanted it for. Highly recommended.

    reviewed March 19th, 2010 (purchased for $400)

  • Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF SP AF

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    sharp wide open - lethal stopped down, lovely bokeh, price - brilliant value!
    AF speed is decent but noise is very AF-D like (not an issue though), seriously misfocused on one ocassion, build not a nikon 17-55/2.8, loses some detail at the long end

    Picked up a used version of the screw drive (non-AF motor) in the UK for £240 recently. Really pleased with performance, particularly for the price. Build is much the same as the nikkor AF-S 18-70/3.5-4.5 it replaced. Badly misfocused just once, been spot on otherwise. Really nice bokeh. Focus is a bit noisey, especially noticable to infinity and back but it's certainly not slow on my D300, no AF-S or HSM mind!

    Took this with it recently on D300 - 45mm @ f/4

    http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4427285497_3730c0d126_b.jpg

    reviewed March 19th, 2010 (purchased for $400)