Fgbd300's reviews

  • Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF VR AF-S Nikkor

    7 out of 10 points and not recommended
    Nice zoom range, good VR, fast focussing
    images don't have a 'bite'

    I have this lens now for more than 4 years, it has been used on a D50, D60, D70, D80 and D300s. Mechanically it is well constructed, feels nice, very fast focussing, very good VR (even though it is the first VR implementation). The 5x zoom range is nice on the cropped sensor, great for walkaround.
    The image quality is never excellent, when stopped down to f/8 or more it is quite good, but you loose the playing with DOF. Wide open you definitely miss sharpness. Overall the lens is ok but now that I have a few primes I realize what I miss with this lens: The images never have a 'bite'......

    reviewed May 19th, 2010 (purchased for $600)

  • Nikon 85mm f/3.5G ED VR DX AF-S Micro Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    VR, supersharp, not to heavy, not too expensive
    only for DX

    When I decided to buy a macro lens my choices (after a lot of internet research) came down to: Tamron 90mm, Nikon 60mm AFS, Nikon 105mm (old model, 2nd hand) or the new 85mm VR. The 105 had already been sold when I arrived at the camera shop, I realized that 60mm was too short, the new 105VR too expensive so it would be either the Tamron or the 85 mm Nikon, to be used on my D300s.

    Purely based on trying the two lenses in the shop I bought the Nikon, because the Tamron was slow in focussing, made a lot of noise and extended its tube when getting closer.

    I do not regret my choice because the Nikon gives me supersharp images. The VR is a great addition because sometimes you are in strange positions to capture a particular insect and you can move around faster too without a tripod. Also the focussing is quite fast and very silent. And as a bonus it is a great portret lens. Higly recommended!!

    reviewed May 19th, 2010 (purchased for $475)

  • Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM APO

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Great zoom range, excellent image quality, great image stabilisation, fast focus, price
    weight (but you get used to it)

    I wanted a birding lens with some kind of VR. The Nikkors are all outside my price range, so I had to look at Sigma. The 150-500 they offer had mixed reviews so I checked for reviews on the 50-500 OS which were hard to find. After reading some of the user reviews and seeing some nice pictures I decided to take my chances and buy it. I have no regrets, I love this lens. For me it has the 'wow' factor, I am sure it's not the Nikkor 500mm prime quality, but what it offers satisfies my needs. Take look at http://www.opdatmoment.nl/lesbos/ for some pictures taken with this lens.

    reviewed June 7th, 2010 (purchased for $1,549)