lseguy's reviews
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Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro APO
6 out of 10 points and recommendedLight, good sharpness wide open until 200mm, high value for moneyNeeds to be closed down to f8-f11 over 200mm, slow AF (on D50)I bought this lens as a first telezoom, together with a D50. My objective was to get a good first trial in the telezoom field, keeping in mind that I would shoot mainly outdoor (windsurf, hichking) and was on a budget. In this category this lens is just great, very light therefore you might not wonder putting it or not in the bag.
reviewed November 29th, 2006 (purchased for $200)
I am now seriously consdiering upgrade into sigma 100-300 F4 to get more sharpness above 200mm, which is unfortuantely the weak point of this lens.
All in all, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a not-too expensive & light lens, shooting outdoor in lightfull environment. -
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED DX AF-S Nikkor
8 out of 10 points and recommendedLight, compact, image quality for the price, no vignettingNone for the price !!!Mine came with the D50 kit, I had some great time using it ! Light weight, AF is quick & silent (but not as the nikon 18-70, see below). Great pictures for the money, it could have become my only 'trans-standard' lens for walk-around shoots.
reviewed November 29th, 2006
Build quality does not seem to be "state of the art", but mine had no loose part or excessive play.
I actually sold mine to get a more versatile nikon 18-70, geting a wider range & more light. Compared to the 18-55, AF becomes ultra-fast and I now have the full time focusing function ! -
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor
10 out of 10 points and recommendedultra light & compact, great value for moneyNone !!!This lens should be in any nikon' bag ! Very light and compact, mine delivers great sharpness from f2.8. AF might be on the noisy side (on a D50) but remains very fast. This might be the greatest value for the money (I paid my used one around 130$...). Great for close portrait and shoot indoors with poor light. On the other side the DOF can become quite 'thin' and specific attention should be paid when shooting wide open !
reviewed November 29th, 2006 (purchased for $130) -
Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF DX AF-S Nikkor
9 out of 10 points and recommendedFast AF, manual focus override in M/A, image qualityvignetting & distorsion wide open, zoom scale & stiffness from 18 to 35mmI bought mine used, for a D50. This one is likely to become my walk-around lens !! Great image quality (sharpness & contrast) over the zoom range, fast & accurate AF. Possibility to over-ride the AF in M/A mode can help under specific conditions. Difficult to find con's...
reviewed November 29th, 2006 (purchased for $230)
If you shoot quite often using the wide range (let say from 18 to 35mm), the zoom ring is quite stiff on mine, and you jump from 18 to 35 (*2 factor !) with very little move.