I like zoom lenses. I have a 100-400L that I use all the time. I had no idea that I would like wide-angle lenses so much as well!
This lens is WIDE. Even on the crop factor cameras that it is designed for, it is still pretty wide compared to anything I was used to before.
It is great for landscapes and at 22mm is usable as a 35mm type everyday lens on a crop factor sensor camera.
The effects you can get by using the 10mm side of the lens are extremely interesting and the landscape shots are also very useful.
I even have a picture of an underground waterfall (Ruby Falls) that I took handheld with 1/8th of a second exposure that is sharp and crisp because of the short focal length.
Construction and quality are excellent and I consider this a must-have lens in my kit for my EF-S cameras.Buy Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs!
I've had this 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens for about three years and have used it extensively on cameras with DX sensors. My main use has been indoor volleyball in poorly lit gyms. It has functioned with sharpness, contrast and excellent handling given its large size.
Speaking of size... this lens is not small. I know many pros that, despite the size, carry the pro 70-200 f/2.8 VR in their bags. I, however, have often opted for the Nikon 70-300 VR when I know the lighting will be plentiful (outdoors during daylight hours). The 70-300 VR is not as high in quality but is much smaller and lighter.
Now that I am using a camera with an FX sensor (D700), I have noticed vignetting in the corners in some of my photos taken with the 70-200 f/2.8. Case in point, last month I used the 70-200 f/2.8 to shoot some water polo at the local high school. The pool is VERY poorly lit. And flash is rough with the reflections off the water (not to mention it could blind the players). I've been shooting at ISO3200 (love the D700's low light high ISO capabilities), F/2.8 and a 1/250 shutter speed. The pics are almost useless in the corners. The only solution is to switch the camera to DX mode OR buy an alternate lens.
Bottom Line... I recommend this lens but the shooter must know it's limitations on a FX camera. Buy Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras!
This lens a great clarity. I have had it for two weeks and have taken some great wildlife pictures. Everyone mentions the weight of this lense. It is large and weighs a little more,but it has not affected hand held pictures that I have taken. I was able to hand hold a 10 picture panorama with not major issues. The stablizer works well also.
This is definitely going with me wherever I go.Buy Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
Never recieved the lens, so I just went with the canon 55-250 with IS and man that lens for the price and quality is outstanding.Buy Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras!
This lens is a great lens not only because it is extremely versatile in its range going from a wide angle to a telephoto but also because I found the quality of the pictures that I got from it to be excellent.The Image Stabilizer is a good tool to have in situations where there is not a lot of light.You can drop your shutter speed down,have enough light for a good exposure, and not have an out of focus picture. I would highly recommend this lens. I have a 70-200 L series Canon lens that I am very happy with because of it's high optic quality, but I have no problem at all, and all the confidence in the world using this "S" series lens in any situation that I feel to be appropriate at the time. Buy Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLR's!
WOW! This lense is amazing especially at its price.
When I ordered this lense, I was concerned that I might need IS or the 2.8 but that hasn't been a problem at all.
Pictures in sunlight are spectacular and very dimensional. A recent trip to San Francisco proved to be an excellent initiation for this lense as I took hundreds of photos with very few blurred or dark images.
I'm glad I got this lense for that trip because this is much easier to carry around for hours than my canon 100-400mm L lense.
Simply stated, this lense is built like a tank, and yet doesn't weigh you down when you want to take your camera out for the day and produce some quality photographs.
Highly recommended!!! [...]Buy Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
I have this lens on my camera most often. I have kids and the zoom is great for taking pictures of them when they are running around.
I was surprised the first time i went to use this lens, its very quiet.
This lens has a little weight to it and doesnt feel cheap at all.
I recommend this lens to friends. Its fairly inexpensive and is of good quality. And it takes some great pictures.Buy Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
Sometimes I am really pleased with the bright color repro and it generally produces sharp images. But I'm going to wait and see before I render an updated verdict. I ran a lot of sharpness test images:
at 10mm f/8 was best
at 13mm f/5.6-f/11
at 17mm f/11 and most all was very good
at 20mm f8-f/11 Buy Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras!
Ok....I'm in love with this lens, so I'm a little bias here.
Pros: not enough room to write all
cons: it's a little heavy....but totally worth it. Wish it were cheaper.Buy Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
I am a rookie-photographer and did some research before I bought this lens for my wife. She's excited about the hobby of photography and I'm excited to support her. However, I'm not excited to discover that photography can be quite expensive as many can attest.
That being said, for not a lot of money and with my limited understanding, this lens is great for beginners and easy to use in order to get a relatively tight shot on faraway objects, or a good dramatic contrast between foreground and background in a variety of light fields and speeds of subjects.
My wife and I just got back from Europe (France, Germany, Austria) and we took this lens and the 18-55mm lens of the same caliber. On her Craigslist-bought Nikon D40, both lenses captured some really beautiful shots of castles, countrysides, city-streets and confined areas.
Not all shots were professional quality by any means (I'll chalk some of that up to personal ugliness of the subject, user error and unlearned behavior) - but I'd personally choose many of our shots from this lens to be airbrushed and put on postcards...some of the shots are actually better than some postcards I saw in Europe - TAKE THAT postcard-makers!
My wife tells me she hopes to get one in the next year or two that has a lower aperture setting and that is several steps above this lens. I'm already looking into selling my internal organs to pay for it. But for now, for the first step, for the money, and for the experience you can get in shooting pictures, this lens is great.
On a completely related subject, anybody interested in buying a lightly-used, okay-quality, right-half of a brain?
Read More Reviews on Nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens (Black)!
Great lens to have together with my 70-200mm L & 24-70mm L lenses. A very light lens and good quality for my money!
Highly recommend it and no problem with my purchase.Buy Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
I use this lens on my Canon Rebel XTI as a replacement for the EF-S 18-55 1:3.5-5.6 II that come with the kit. I am generally impressed and satisfied with my purchase.
I am not qualified to discuss every aspect of the optical performance, but I can point out a few negatives that would concern the amateur:
1) It is huge! holding the camera makes my wrists sore, and It no longer fits in the carry case I use. The lens attracts a little more attention than I would like.
2) It makes a very faint high pitched noise. The noise goes away when I press the depth of field preview, or when the camera goes into powersave mode after a few minutes of inactivity. It is unaffected by the image stabilization feature. It is not loud enough to bother anyone, but when I hear it, I think of the battery getting eaten away.
3) The lens cap is difficult to put on / Easy to drop.
4) It is just a travel lens. Professionals hate that these are so popular, because they compromise optical perfection for extreme zoom range.
Read More Reviews on Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC AF OS (Optical Stabilizer) Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras!
For the price, it is a very good lens, in the hands of someone who knows how to use a lens of this focal length. In the 150-300 mm range, a solid tripod is a must, as is the case with ALL lenses of a longer focal length. While the auto focus is a bit clunky, I normally use it in the manual mode, as any auto focus lens can get confused when there is a large variation in the depth of field. I use the lens normally for flora and avian, though I have used it in landscape shooting to zoom in on a section of a cascade, and have obtained sharp results, especially in the f/8 setting. In short, it is a good addition to my arsenal, and would recommend it to anyone not looking to spend hundreds.Buy Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DL-M "Motorized" DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens with Built-in Motor Drive for Nikon SLR Cameras Including D40, D40X, & D60!
So far, I really dig it. I was actually thinking of skipping this lens and buying the next best thing, which would be the 17-40L, but I didn't have the $700, so I'd be saving up for a few months, and I didn't want to take another photo with my kit lens. I had just picked up the 50 f/1.8 and realized how horrible the kit lens was at reproducing color, and it was blurry as hell. So far I'm very pleased with the image stabilization, and I've heard that the optics are better, but I haven't played around with it enough to notice (any improvements might just be because it's a new lens, my kit lens is 3 years old and dusty due to it's cheap design). But I know that the IS alone will improve my snapshots. Now that I have this lens, I'm not as anxious to take the plunge on an L series lens. I know I will eventually, but I'm not as quick to upgrade now. And if I do, I'm going for the 17-55 f/2.8 which runs for over $1000. But like I said, this lens is keeping me happy for now.Buy Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS SLR Lens!
It is a very fast focusing lens. I used it at a soccer game and got Great shots.
Read More Reviews on Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
I have just gotten my rebel xt and this is my second lens. I really do think that image stabilization is all marketing. Maybe it works fine for some things but for the most part if you are going to be shooting this far away under and conditions that require a slow shutter speed you are going to want a tripod. I mention this because the more expensive versions of this lens offer this but not worth the $$$. Plus I don't want to worry about my lens or my camera. If I spend too much on either then I will tend to protect rather than use it. The refurb Canon along with this lens look impressive (versus point and shoot) and I do take great care of both but I could buy a couple of each of these before touching the regular price. If your reading this keep in mind I am just starting out with digital slr's but if you are getting this lens you are probably on a budget but still want a decent lens. You won't be able to use this in a low light but that is not what it is intended for anyway. This is well worth the price, fun to use the macro feature, just fun all around.Buy Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
Have owned this same lens before. I recently fell in the Little Greenbriar River in the Tennessee Smokies while setting up a photo shot. I broke the lens on a boulder. I realized that I did not want to go on another photo trip without replacing this valuable lens. A great all-purpose lens for wildflowers or panoramics.Buy Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
This is a nice lens when it works. I bought it 8 months ago, and it has performed well up till now -- the autofocus failed. I researched the lens and found that this is indeed an issue with this lens. Right now, my lens is at the repair shop. My Nikon D300 is sitting in the camera bag. No photos for me!Buy Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens!
We needed another lens for some better zoom shots. One big question I had, that I could not find a definitive answer for was "Will this work with my Digital SLR" the answer is yes.
Keep in mind the price. This is for the novice mid-level photographer. If you are a professional, then I would think you'd be buying a higher end lens.
Things to remember is that this is a zoom lens. You must be at least 4ft from your object. You'll be fine shooting your kid's soccer match but don't expect the same results for high action sporting shots (remember the price)
Overall we have found this a good step in our photography arsenal. Additional purchases we've made are a set of lens cap holders and getting ready to buy a bag to hold all of our gear to include the tripod.
Must Have Lens Keepers
Zeikos Lens Cap Keeper for SLR Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses
Backpack that will hold all of your camera gear
Canon Deluxe Photo Backpack 200EG for Canon EOS SLR Cameras (Black with Green Accent)Buy Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras!
Amazing photos,awesome sharpness, great for macros & bokeh, and helps to learn photography. Using it on my Nikon D60 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens, and as said in other reviews, the Auto-Focus feature of the lens doesn't work on it. So, I was a bit apprehensive before buying this lens. But eventually I decided to buy it. After venturing into the DSLR photography an year ago, this lens is helping me a lot to improve from the beginner level.
The manual focusing is not bad at all. In fact, it is lot better than the auto-focus feature, which we get used to because of convenience, since it helps to better understand the concepts of photography, camera settings, exposure etc. Personally I feel that if you have grown up from the point-n-soot cameras to an DSLR level, made the investment, then you are better off using Manual focus and A/S modes of the camera rather than Auto mode.
Now I prefer to keep this lens on my D60 most of time rather than the kit lens. If you own a D40/60, this is a must-have lens.
I have also uploaded some pictures taken with this lens in Customer Images section, if it helps.Buy Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras!
My wife wanted a telephoto lens for her Cannon Rebel. We are casual photographers and really don't know that much about it. After reading a lot of reviews, I decided to buy this lens for an upcoming dance performance by my daughter. I was not disappointed! I was up in the control booth- the farthest point away from the stage and was able to take some really, really good up-close shots of the dancers. The light was very low, so many didn't turn out, because of the slow shutter speed and the action of the dancers, but lots and lots of them turned out really, really well!! My wife approved of the lens and the photos- and she complains about everything! I would recommend this if you are looking for a simple telephoto lens.Buy Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras!
Having used both the Canon 70-300 without IS, and the Canon 70-300 WITH IS (this lens), it is ABSOLUTELY worth the extra $400-$450 for this lens. The image stabilization is truly amazing. It allows you get the shot you want from across the room without having to worry about shakiness.
Having said that, there are a couple of small negatives to this lens.
One, it's a little bit heavy. Not nearly as heavy as the 70-200 f/2.8L IS, but certainly heavier than the 70-300 non IS.
Two, there is no manual focus override in auto-focus mode. i.e., you need to flip a switch in order to manual focus. This is probably the most annoying complaint I have. You simply cannot turn the focus ring by hand with auto-focus on.
Three, the auto-focus can be pretty slow sometimes. For example, if you are focused on something 5 feet away, and then try to focus on something 60 feet away, it can take as long as 1-2 seconds.
Four, this is NOT a macro lens. It says on the lens "macro," but that's phooey. It's a blatant misuse of the word. Granted, you can get some pretty nice close-ups, but you're not going to be getting useable pictures of insects.
I know I focused more on the negatives than the positives, but that's what you want to hear isn't it? The issues I have with the lens? Overall, it's an absolutely phenomenal lens. It's tremendously fun, and the quality of pictures you can take with it FAR outweighs its inconveniences.Buy Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras!
This seems to be getting a little more difficult to find. Picked mine up when they were plentiful @ $80. Not I see them regularly north of $100. Best bank for the buck prime lens. Much better sharpness than the more expensive, but slightly more useful 28mm f2.8.
The only other lens I would actually compare against this is the canon 35mm f/2, if you can find it
Read More Review Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens!
