ychen's reviews
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Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
10 out of 10 points and recommendedsharp, sharp, fast, fast, amazing bokeh, small, light , cheapca at harsh lightingthe best lens for portraits u can get for that price.
reviewed January 8th, 2007 (purchased for $350)
subject in focus simply pop out of the picture. creamy bokeh, very fast AF.
working with a prime lens forces you to move your feet and look for your shot. this also enables you to find compositions you wouldn't get in a zoom lens while you're standing in place.
a very creative lens that manages to get emotions out of the pictures.
there is CA under harsh lighting but it doesnt affect the overall result which is too good for any CA to ruin :-) -
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
8 out of 10 points and recommendedexcellent build, starts at 10mm, not pricy, a "creative" lensloses sharpness below f8, crappy lens cover.a very creative lens. one can really get interesting compositions with such wide lens. its not the sharpest i have, but its very good for its main uses.
reviewed January 8th, 2007 (purchased for $500)
i use it a lot because it does give a sense of "more" to outdoor scenes. when you feel you dont manage to get the right "be there" in your outdoor shots then you know u need an ultra wide.
its on of the cheapest of the ultrawide but its got enouge quality to satisfy most.
f8 sweet spot. -
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro APO
8 out of 10 points and recommendedexcellent bang for the buck, small, good qualityfeels cheap, soft at 300mm, no IS, slow AF in low lightexcellent lens for its price, can compete with very expensive tele lenses when shooting up to 200mm.
reviewed January 8th, 2007 (purchased for $200)
small and light and can fit in a pouch. no need for back pack.
soft at 300mm and harder to hold tight but in good lighting its excellent.
if u dont have the money for an expensive zoom, there is no better alternative among the cheapst. -
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical IF SP AF
8 out of 10 points and recommendedcan beat an L lens in center sharpness, small, light, f2.8AF not fast enough for kidsexcellent sharpness with a large aperture in a cheap price.
reviewed January 8th, 2007 (purchased for $390)
great lens for normal shooting.
FF compatible. hard to beat for its price.
AF is not fast enough for moving objects, but can get amazing shots in stills. sometime a 2nd AF press is needed for better results. -
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
5 out of 10 points and not recommendedcheap, ok for beginners.build, distortion, contrastoverall its an ok lens for beginners and auto/program shooters.
reviewed January 8th, 2007
u can't be too creative with it, but it gets u there.
if you dont expect much from it, it can surprise.
its got some pale colors and low contrast, so dont expect any "pop" out of the images. there's heavy distortion at the wide side.
it so cheap and part of the kit, so you might as well keep it as reserve.