jeeb's reviews

  • Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Super sharp, wonderful colour and contrast, IS, fast
    For the price, I'd like better build quality; prone to flare; hood costs too much

    I continue to be blown away from the pictures I get with this lens. IQ is truly superb, sharp wide open at all focal lenghts. And if you stop down a little, it is super-sharp everywhere, corner to corner, edge to edge. It's a great walkaround lens (there's none better for a Canon crop camera); and the combination of fast f/2.8 aperture and image stabilization makes it unbeatable for low-light shooting. Some people have complained that this lens sucks dust, but I haven't experienced that problem. It is prone to flare with backlit subjects, so it's worth using the hood, even though it's crazily overpriced.

    reviewed November 22nd, 2006 (purchased for $1,173)

  • Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Wonderful contrast and colour, very sharp, very effective IS
    Price

    I have only used the highly regarded non-IS 70-200mm f/4 briefly, but was very impressed with its IQ. This new image-stablized version delivers IQ that looks every bit as good: the same gorgeous contrast and colour; and it's very sharp as well! I do a lot of low-light shooting, so the hefty premium for image stablization is worth it to me. I'm getting sharp handheld pictures at 1/15 second at 200mm on a crop camera. Canon is advertising four stops for its latest IS technology; based on my experience, they're not exaggerating.

    reviewed November 22nd, 2006 (purchased for $1,129)

  • Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    Decent performance for a wide-ratio zoom
    noisy autofocus, not super-sharp

    I had this lens for a couple of years. For its price, and for its wide zoom range (roughly 28-200mm equivalent), it delivers more than decent image quality -- certainly not stellar, but very good considering the inevitable comprises. Compared to premium glass, images aren't as sharp, and colour and contrast aren't as pleasing. But they're certainly pleasant, making this a worthwhile walkaround or vacation lens. Autofocus is noisy and a bit slow. Some people have complained about inaccurate focus, but on a Canon Digital Rebel, my copy focused fine.

    reviewed November 22nd, 2006 (purchased for $275)