andrew720's reviews

  • Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF DX AF-S Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharpness, fast focus, image quality

    I finally bought this lens after using several other lenses with my D70 which I had bought as a body only.
    I'm very impressed with the sharpness and image quality of this lens. It seems to have married itself to my camera far better than other lenses I've used.
    Focus speed is excellent and the manual override is a nice addition.
    Build quality is fine for a lens in this price range, it took a little while to get used to the position of the focus and zoom rings but now I acually feel I'm holding the camera steadier with the outer placed zoom ring.

    reviewed September 11th, 2006 (purchased for $260)

  • Tamron 55-200mm f/4-5.6 Di II LD Macro AF

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    price, light and compact, quality of results
    autofocus a little noisy and tends to hunt in low light

    I bought this lens in a local camera store after looking at several other lenses in this price range for my D70. Since purchasing it, it has come to grow on me more and more.

    The build quality is decent for its price range, the focus ring is a little small but not unusable.
    Its the quality of the results that has lead me to believe that this often overlooked lens is really a little gem and I'm finding I'm frequently fitting it to my camera when I'm out for the day.
    For its price, and as a compliment to a kit lens, this lens is more than adequate.

    reviewed May 5th, 2007 (purchased for $197)

  • Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro

    5 out of 10 points and recommended
    the price, f4 at 70mm makes for a useful portrait lens
    poor image quality after 200mm. auto-focus very disappointing

    I bought this lens in the pentax k mount for my K10D. I have to say that for the most part I'm mostly disappointed with the autofocus of this lens which tends to hunt in all but the brightest conditions.
    If used in the 70-200mm range the lens doesnt perform too badly, but there are better lenses available even if on a budget and several brands of 50-200mm kit lenses look to be the better option.

    reviewed June 7th, 2008 (purchased for $187)

  • Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    veratile zoom range, good balance between focal range and image quality, image stabilised
    none really at this price

    I bought this lens to replace my 17-85mm which developed a problem with the aperture assembly(a common problem with that lens), I also have a Canon 18-55mm is lens but wanted something with a little more reach.

    The build quality is a step up from the 18-55mm but maybe not as good as the 17-85mm, in terms of image quality it is balanced nicely with the zoom range making it a very useful walkaround lens.

    Autofocus is swift despite it not being USM, and it seems quieter and quicker than the 18-55mm.

    All in all a good lens for the price.

    reviewed December 27th, 2010 (purchased for $300)

  • Sigma 50-200mm f/4-5.6 DC OS HSM

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    very compact, fast focussing, image stabilizer works good, sharper than I expected it to be
    some may prefer a 50-250mm or a 50-300mm for a longer reach

    I'm pleasantly suprised by this lens, its sharp enough throughout the zoom range and certainly competes with 'own' brand lenses at a similar price point.
    The zoom and focus rings are pleasing to use and the lens retains a compact design throughout the zoom range making it a good choice as a telephoto for light travel or if space is an issue.

    reviewed December 10th, 2011 (purchased for $150)