epixx's reviews

  • Olympus 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5 Zuiko Digital

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp, fast, great range, weather sealed
    Nothing

    This is my combined wide angle, walk-around and travel lens. It's wide enough for anything I do, but have reach enough to be a great walk-around lens as well. Since both this lens and my camera (E-1) are weather sealed, I never worry about rain, spray or dust.

    reviewed March 16th, 2007 (purchased for $700)

  • Nikon 105mm f/2.8D AF Micro Nikkor

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharpness, colour, sharpness, contrast, sharpness, bokeh and sharpness
    Slow AF, a bit awkward AF/MF switch

    For anything that doesn't move too fast, this is the ultimate short telephoto lens. I use it for macro, product shots, portraits, as a walk-around and a couple of other things. The price reflect the fact that I bought mine used.

    Focus is very slow, and a bit noisy, and the AF/MF switch is a bit tricky to change without looking.

    But at the end of the day, there are few lenses beating this one for sharpness, colour, contrast or bokeh. And since the front element is buried so deep down inside the lens, there's no need for a lens shade. It also shares filters with my 50mm f/1.8

    reviewed March 17th, 2007 (purchased for $375)

  • Tamron 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6 AD Aspherical IF Macro SP AF

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Very sharp at short focal lengths
    Not as sharp at long focal lengths, ugly bokeh

    At short focal lengths, up to 70-80mm, this lens is very sharp even wide open. Longer than that, it loses detail, particularly at infinity focus. Build quality is good though, and the focal range is very useful even on a crop sensor camera.

    Not a good lens for portraits, since the bokeh is ugly and takes attention away from the subject.

    Good build quality and compact size when not extended.

    reviewed March 17th, 2007

  • Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp, relatively fast, cheap
    Cheap build quality, noisy AF

    There aren't really any good reasons not to buy this lens. Image quality is very good, and it doesn't cost much more than a couple of filters. Works fine as a walk-around, indoor without a flash as well as outdoor. Bokeh is ok, and I often use it for portraits.

    Build quality is terrible though, and it really feels cheap. That, however, doesn't show in the photos.

    reviewed March 17th, 2007

  • Olympus 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Sharp, useful range
    Distortion at the wide end, slow at the long end

    This is a surprisingly good lens. For me it was "free", since it came with my E-1. I didn't think I would use it much, but for sunny days, its a very good walk-around lens. The only serious downside is distortion at the wide end.

    reviewed March 17th, 2007