mimic's reviews

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

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    inexpensive (d70 kit), small ,SWM, great digital standart zoom, good apertures
    distorsion at 18, i feel 70mm a bit short,

    I bought it as a kit with d70 for only 150$ more than body only.
    it's a wonderful kit lens with d70, for an amateur at least.

    The AF is really fast and can be adjusted manually, thanks SWM.
    good buidling quality, no play between parts, seal around the mount, well balanced with D70.
    overall image quality is very good, but distorsion a 18mm can be annoying above all at short focusing distance.
    sharpness is very good stopped down 1 stop.

    overall, one of the best quality/price standard zoom for DSLR I've seen.

    reviewed December 1st, 2006 (purchased for $150)

  • Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    huge aperture, portrait lens on DSLRs, quite inexpensive when bought used
    a bit soft wide open, not standart lens on DSLR

    very good lens, I used it for only few weeks, and felt in love with it.

    the lens is very tiny and lightweight, so a pleasure to handle.
    it's a bit soft a wide aperture, but I don't care since I use it mostly for portrait so I can say I like its touch of softness, and its a pleasure to play with its shallow depth of field. However it's sharp stopped down to 2/2.8.
    its low light capabilities are fantastic, you can really catch candle lighting atmosphere, but those candles in the frame can lead to flare, it's also the case with streets lights.

    Build quality seems a bit cheap, due to plastic but the lens is so lightweight, i don't worry about that.

    autofocus is average on my d70, and manual focus is pleasant to use.

    To conclude, it's an awesome prime lens, and a really fun toy to play with.


    PS : sorry for my poor english.

    reviewed December 1st, 2006 (purchased for $150)

  • Nikon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D AF Nikkor

    7 out of 10 points and recommended
    very good standard zoom for 24*36 SLR, 1:2 macro mode
    not a good range for DSLR

    this lens is a very good one on analog SLR, but nearly useless on DSLR, I only use it for macro on my D70.

    build quality is average (lots of plastic, but metal lount).

    optical quality is very good for a consumer lens :
    few distortion
    acceptably sharp wide open
    very sharp stopped down
    very sharp at macro distance and apertures
    quite large aperture compared to other consumer standard zooms

    flare is the only drawback I found about it, since contrast suffer a lot of it when the sun is in or near the frame.

    it was my only lens for years with my f60, and a good one.

    Aymeric

    reviewed December 1st, 2006

  • Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    10mm, price, sharpness
    CA, distorsion

    Waouh, what a wide lens, I use it half of the time on my d80, and sometimes take only this one on vacation when travelling light.

    optical quality is very good, exept CA end distortion but it can be easily corrected.

    build quality is also very good.

    While not cheap this lens is not expensive.

    This is one of my prefered lens

    reviewed December 14th, 2006 (purchased for $500)

  • Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro

    5 out of 10 points and not recommended
    price, size and weight
    soft, macro not really usable

    an average quality zoom.

    sharpness is good from 70 to 200, but decrease a lot to 300. in my my mind 300mm is not really usable.

    macro mode is a gimmick since the lens is too soft and not contrasty at zoom focal length.

    buying this zoom secondhand can be a good buy since it is very cheap.

    reviewed December 14th, 2006