Camera Lens Reviews

[shavedaccord]

This thread is for the reviews of camera lenses

No conversation allowed. Please contact the reviewer through PM if you have questions.

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Please include the following information when making a revie, and please stick to the format.

• Brand & model:
• How much you paid:
• Where it was purchased:
• Lens Specifications (This can become quite large, either post the specs that you feel are the most important or link to a website with them)
• How long have you owned the lens:
• Your Review:
• Pros:
• Cons:
• Sample picture from the lens if possible (please link to larger photos rather than posting them)

 

[shavedaccord]

Brand & model: Canon EF-S 55-250MM F/4-5.6 IS

How much you paid: $349.99

Where it was purchased: BestBuy

• Lens Specifications:
  • IS (Image Stabilization)
  • Image size 15.1 x 22.7mm
  • Minimum aperture F/22-32
  • Lens construction 10 groups, 12 elements
  • Weight 13.8oz
  • 55-250MM Focal length
  • Aperture 4-5.6
  • Minimum focusing distance 3.6 Ft
  • Max. Magnification 0.31x (@ 250MM)
  • 58mm filter diameter

How long have you owned the lens: 1 Month

Your Review:
It has IS, what else can I say? That alone should sell you on this lens at this price. The image quality is such a leap and bound from the kit lens that comes with the Rebel XT 350D. They are VERY crisp and clean images. The lens is fairly fast when auto-focusing. Better than the kit lens at 55mm. Awesome at 250mm. Overall such a great lens and investment for any Canon DSLR owner with a xxxD or xxD series camera.

Pros: Quiet motor. Fast auto-focus. Superb image quality even at 250mm. IS. Cheap price tag. Very well built.

Cons: F/4-5.6 aperture.

Sample picture:
Very large image so be warned. Taken at 200mm with IS on.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e99/durriej/photography/flowers.jpg

 

[shavedaccord]

Brand & model: Canon EF 50MM F/1.8 II

How much you paid: $79 USD

Where it was purchased: Dell

• Lens Specifications:
  • Minimum aperture F/22
  • Lens construction 5 groups, 6 elements
  • Weight 4.6oz
  • 50MM Focal length
  • Aperture 1.8
  • Minimum focusing distance 1.5 Ft
  • Max. Magnification 0.15x (@ 160 x 240MM)
  • 52mm filter diameter

How long have you owned the lens: 1 Week

Your Review:
This is a must own lens for anyone with a Canon EOS xxxD or xxD series camera. Very crisp and clean images. Great for portraits. A 1.8 aperture for under $500! That alone should sell you on this lens! If you don't own it get it!

Pros: Very crisp and clean images. Cheap price tag. 1.8 aperture.

Cons: Slow auto-focus. Noisy motor. Poor build quality (It's all plastic so you have to baby it!) Tends to search.

Sample picture:
Taken @ 50MM F/3.5 1/2000 Sec.

 

[inspired1]

# Brand & model: Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS L

# How much you paid: $1666.68
# Where it was purchased: B&H Photo
# How long have you owned the lens: less than 1 month
# Your Review: This thing is heavy, and also requires a large carrying case to transport around

# Pros: Excellent low-light performance, definitely a "Fast lens"
# Cons: Weight

 

[inspired1]

* Brand & model: Tokina FISHEYE 10-17 F3.5-4.5 DX

* How much you paid: ~$650
* Where it was purchased: Samy's Camera

* How long have you owned the lens: about 8 months
* Your Review: If you're looking for fishiness on a crop body, this is the lens.
* Pros: Excellent 178 Degree FOV I think it might even be 180, gotta check.
* Cons: Gets soft in the wider areas of the picture, especially when using slower shutter. To be expected tho.

 

[hiddengamer7]

* Brand & model: Canon EF 24-70 F/2.8L
* How much you paid: $1,190
* Where it was purchased: Adorama.com
* How long have you owned the lens: 4.5 months
* Your Review: This lens is absolutely amazing, the sharpness is beyond compare for any midrange zoom on the market today. It has lived on my camera since I bought it and I havent had any need to remove it, it simply does everything. This is the epitome of a "walking around lens"
* Pros: sharpness at all apertures, contrast, bokeh, zoom feel, lightning fast focus
* Cons: this lens is nicknamed the "brick" for a reason, it is big and quite heavy

 

[xluben]

Canon 55-250mm IS

Brand & model: Canon EF-S 55-250MM F/4-5.6 IS

How much you paid: $230 (approx)

Where it was purchased: Amazon.com

• Lens Specifications:
  • IS (Image Stabilization)
  • Image size 15.1 x 22.7mm
  • Minimum aperture F/22-32
  • Lens construction 10 groups, 12 elements
  • Weight 13.8oz
  • 55-250MM Focal length
  • Aperture 4-5.6
  • Minimum focusing distance 3.6 Ft
  • Max. Magnification 0.31x (@ 250MM)
  • 58mm filter diameter

How long have you owned the lens: 3 Months

Your Review: I have had this lens for a few months now, and I am very
happy with it. For the relatively low cost it takes to purchase this lens, the
features and pictures quality are very good. A telephoto lens with image
stabilization for this price was unheard of until very recently. The newest
version of Canon's IS is supposedly good for 4 stops of stabilization. I am able
to take hand held (low light) photos down to 1/15s or even less. The picture
quality is good, but the relatively slow max aperture settings (variable from
f/4-5.6) make it nearly impossible to stop any type of motion in low light
conditions. Despite this (but due to the great IS), this has become my go-to
lens for indoor sports photography since I got it.

Pros: Great IS! Price is very good for what you get (image stabilized
telephoto lens). The 55-250mm range is very useful even on a crop body
(and with the crop body has good reach). Build quality is much better than
the kit lens, feels solid and zoom/focus is smooth.

Cons: AF is not very fast (adequate, but not great for sports). Slow
max aperture (f/4-5.6). Plastic mount seems a bit flimsy.

Sample picture:

 

[xluben]

Canon 50mm f/1.8 II

Brand & model: Canon EF 50MM F/1.8 II

How much you paid: $85

Where it was purchased: Amazon.com

• Lens Specifications:
  • Minimum aperture F/22
  • Lens construction 5 groups, 6 elements
  • Weight 4.6oz
  • 50MM Focal length
  • Aperture 1.8
  • Minimum focusing distance 1.5 Ft
  • Max. Magnification 0.15x (@ 160 x 240MM)
  • 52mm filter diameter

How long have you owned the lens: 2 Months

Your Review:"This is a must own lens for anyone with a Canon DSLR.
Very crisp and clean images. Great for portraits. A 1.8 aperture for under
$500! That alone should sell you on this lens! If you don't own it get it!"

I got this lens even though I had no real "use" for it. The low price tag and
great reviews convinced me that it would be worth trying out, and I'm glad I
did! The incredibly shallow depth of field and very crisp images are well worth
the $80! The fast max aperture makes it great for low light. I have had good
experience using it for indoor sports, as long as you are able to get close to
the action.

Pros: Very crisp and clean images. Cheap price tag. 1.8 aperture.
Great for low light and shallow depth of field.

Cons: Slow auto-focus. Noisy motor. Poor build quality (all plastic)
Tends to search. Screw in style hood is not very practical.

Sample picture:

 

[inspired1]

# Brand & model: Canon 28mm F1.8

# How much you paid: $300
# Where it was purchased: Craigslist finding
# How long have you owned the lens: About 2 months
# Your Review: Very compact and great length on a crop camera. Excellent replacement for those looking for something wider than the 50mm F1.8.

# Pros: Excellent low-light performance, Very Fast lens. Wide enough to take closeups of objects in front of you on a table.
# Cons: Very soft wide open. at F2.8 is passable sharpness. Usually you'll have to do some post process sharpening if you're shooting wide open.

 

[d1blet]

Sigma 30 f/1.4

Brand & model: Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM

How much you paid: $350

Where it was purchased: POTN sale

Lens Specifications:

• Focal length: 30mm
• Maximum aperture: f/1.4
• Lens construction: 7 elements in 7 groups
• Number of diaphragm blades: 8
• Minimum focusing distance: 15.7 inches
• Maximum magnification: 1:10.4
• Filter size: 62mm

How long have you owned the lens: 4 months

Your Review: This lens has easily become one of my favorite walk around lenses. I bought it to augment my Nifty Fifty which is a tad too long indoors and didn't have the prettiest bokeh known to mankind. Since I've gotten it, I loved it.

It's almost the same as a 50mm lens on a FF. It's pretty sharp all around, but a little soft wide open (typical of most lenses). Construction is pretty good. It's nice and sturdy, but remember, this ain't a L.

Pros: Good bokeh. Perfect as a fast walkaround lens. Petty compact. Quiet and quick focus with Sigma's HSM (equal to Canon's USM). Lens hood included.

Cons: On my XSi, has troubles focusing in either dark or bright extremes, but yet again, practically all lenses do. Can't be used on FF like the 5D or 1Ds.

Sample picture: