johnkeats's reviews

  • Sigma 28-135mm f/3.8-5.6 Aspherical IF Macro

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Extremely versatile, Great macro
    Needed repair twice

    This was a great lens for me for four years. It was a great walkaround lens, going from fairly wide to moderate telephoto, and then easily to 1:2 close-ups. I'm just a hobbyist doing small prints, so I saw no image quality problems. It did break twice during the four year warranty (once the focus ring locked up and once the aperture wouldn't stop down), but both times Sigma quickly fixed it and got it back to me.

    reviewed November 24th, 2006 (purchased for $130)

  • Tamron 75-300mm f/4-5.6 LD Macro AF

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Extremely versatile, Great macro
    Focus can hunt at extreme telephoto

    This is a very useful lens for a great price. The autofocus is a bit noisy, and it can hunt at extreme telephoto, but it really is quite dependable and the image quality is fine.

    reviewed November 24th, 2006 (purchased for $130)

  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Small, light, fast
    none

    This has been a great lens for walking around and for low-light shots. It makes for a small, unobtrusive combo with a compact SLR.

    reviewed November 24th, 2006 (purchased for $80)

  • Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    compact, pretty sharp, IS
    wide angle vignetting and barrel distortion - there, but acceptable

    Disclosure, I'm "just" a hobbyist, and this is the nicest lens I've bought myself yet. Still - I'd say it was very nice, easy to like. The focusing is quick, it has a nice zoom range, and it's light and easy to handle. It won't do true macro, of course, but it focuses very close. This is a great walkaround lens for me, it can handle portraits, tight and wide group shots, landscapes, and nice close-ups. With IS, I can take a lot of pictures that I just wouldn't have when the light starts to fail, or when I didn't want to intrude on people with a flash. I count my money well-spent so far.

    reviewed December 18th, 2006 (purchased for $498)