Bold Eagle's reviews

  • Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Great general purpose range, good color, surprisingly sharp
    none

    I bought this lens for use on travel with my Canon 20D. It was recommended by a friend, and I have not been sorry. No problems at all with focus, even on some fast moving subjects, or in low light. With Canon's 1.6x crop factor, the equivalent focal length is 30 to 200 mm, which covers 95% of my travel needs. The lens stays on the camera most of the time. The hood is self storing, a nice feature. Filter size is 62 mm which is fine, since I used to shoot Nikons and have a lot of top quality Nikon filters, and the 5T close up lens. For longer focal lengths, I have carried a Tamron 1.4x multiplier instead of a longer lens, which works surprisingly well, and the camera will still AF. Not a perfect combination, but better than no shot at all.

    The lens is fairly compact and balances well on the 20D without the battery grip. It seems well made with a nice feel to the zoom ring.

    reviewed October 24th, 2005 (purchased for $250)

  • Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical IF Macro AF

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Light, compact, solid build, very good image quality, all metal mount
    f/6.3 at the long end

    I think the formal review hits the mark. Color and contrast are very good.

    I use mine on a Canon Rebel XTi and AF is plenty quick enough and always very accurate. Without IS, the long end is a bit wobbly to hand hold (400 mm, equivalent).

    This is the ideal travel lens. Not too big and heavy, well made, sharp and contrasty, very nice color. It's really longer than you need for most travel, but the long end is there if you do need it, and it's pretty sharp. You just need to brce it against something. I had a Sigma 18-125, and this lens is better and no bigger and heavier. I didn't like the Tamron 18-200, but tamron got it right this time around.

    Macro at around 100 mm is sharp and flat field. All of the fine detail in a US $20 bill is there and nice and sharp. Plenty of magnification at closest focus.

    reviewed June 18th, 2007 (purchased for $480)

  • Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Very sharp and contrasty. lightening fast AF and very effective IS
    none

    I'm using this on a 30D. The lens is a Canon refurb, and is noticeably better than a new one I had two years ago. AF is very fast, even in low light, and the image quality is excellent. The IS works very well. The balance is much better on the 30D than on the XTi.

    Nothing to complain about, I'm very pleased.

    reviewed May 28th, 2008 (purchased for $499)

  • Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

    8 out of 10 points and recommended
    Remarkably good image quality, light weight.
    plastic construction, plastic mount

    I'm amazed. Really good image quality from 18 mm to about 40 mm. It's still pretty good at 55 mm. I bought this lens to extend the wide end of my 28-135 IS lens. Image quality is every bit as good as the 28-135. I also found the close focus to be excellent.

    The construction is all plastic and the front end wobbles a bit. I really wish it had a metal mount, but given the price and image quality it's an acceptable trade off for a compact and light lens, as the stress on the mount is much less.

    reviewed May 28th, 2008 (purchased for $180)