Friday, March 30, 2012

Tiffen 67mm Close Up Lens Set Immediately


Even though I'm still learning all that I can do with this filter I'm already impressed with the results I'm getting.
Great filter. Shipped quick from Adorama. No regrets.Get more detail about Tiffen 67mm Close Up Lens Set.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Pentax SMC DA* 60-250mm f/4 ED IF SDM Telephoto Zoom Lens w/ Case for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras Best Quality


Pros: Sharp from wide open, great color rendering, excellent construction, weather sealed

Cons: Heavy (as any good quality lens of this range), expensive, no focus limiter


This is an excellent lens for Pentax DSRL cameras. I have nothing but positive to say about it after one month of use with K-7.
Though it has no zoom locking, the barrel shows no creeping.
The tripod mount is easy to take out when not needed and collar has 90 degree locking points that you feel very clearly when turning the collar. Zoom ring does feel a bit sticky if you try to zoom out holding the lens up, but that's due to the weight of the barrel and glass. If you point it down the ring movement becomes soft.

The only little thing I can find is a small wobble of the barrel when zoomed fully out, but it seems to have no effect on the image quality.
The lack of focus limiter can cause slow focusing as the mechanism needs to make full travel if you do not pre-focus manually.Get more detail about Pentax SMC DA* 60-250mm f/4 ED IF SDM Telephoto Zoom Lens w/ Case for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Tamron AF 28-200mm F/3.8-5.6 XR Di Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras Decide Now


I have an older version of this lens for my Nikon and always got good results with it. I am using this on a Canon 5D Mk2, believe it or not, and it is great so far. Some barrel distortion that really shows in building shots, etc, but there is good software that can correct that easily. Also, it will be less on non-full frame cameras. Otherwise I think this is one of the best value lenses out there. Probably the ideal travel lens due to it's size, too. It's very small. Maybe the smallest zoom lens of that length. It's also very well made. Mostly metal. I trued out the Canon equivalent and have to say this lens seems sharper and with better color.Get more detail about Tamron AF 28-200mm F/3.8-5.6 XR Di Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 III Lens Right now


It is slow and has a modest zoom range. Color is slightly dull. However it does look sharp enough at f/8 and captures plenty of color to make a workable file. For the same price you can get the 50mm f/1.8 which is head and shoulders better than this lens by every single criterion. Move closer/further for zoom.Get more detail about Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 III Lens.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Lowest Price Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens for Minolta and Sony SLR Cameras


I purchased this lens to satisify my need for a macro lens. I was on the cusp of buying the Sony 30mm macro, but jumped on this one the moment I found it. It's a fantastic lens and hasn't been off my camera in a week. The images I captured are amazing. Great light, great DOF, very sharp.

I own several Sigma lenses that I use with my Sony Alpha 300; I haven't been disappointed in any of them. The cost is always $100 less than the Sony equivalent, which is always a good thing.

The only negative is that AF is impossible with this lens, but I prefer the control of MF so it's not that big of a deal.

Enjoy!Get more detail about Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens for Minolta and Sony SLR Cameras.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Low Price Opteka 10x HD² Professional Macro Lens for 55mm Digital Camera Lenses -


I bought one of these for a 35mm adapter I was trying to make. Unfortunately, I ordered the wrong size. It has good construction and all, but to me, none of that matters if, when I try to return or exchange it, the company has bad service!
1. Emailed asking to exchange it. Didn't ever get a reply - I waited about 2 weeks...nothing. NOW I just want my money back.
2. Emailed AGAIN. Same thing.
3. Called their number. Dial tone for 20 minutes.
4. Called their number AGAIN. "We're sorry, this sales rep is unavailable. Leave a message?" Okay, did that. No response.
5. CALLED AGAIN! Told him I want to return it and gave him my order info. "Okay, I emailed you the instructions." *click* Okay...but...no email.
6. Called for the FOURTH time. Told this guy the same thing I'd already said FIVE TIMES and he said, "Okay, I emailed the instructions.." Uhh, I haven't got an email. "Okay, I emailed it again". No email. I'm not going to waste your time, but a few minutes later, I had an email! Mailed it, got the refund.
This all happened in the course of about a month.
Do you think I'm going to shop at 47th Street again? Wow! How did you know?Get more detail about Opteka 10x HD² Professional Macro Lens for 55mm Digital Camera Lenses -.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Save Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 SSM Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera


This lens delivers everything that is promised. The build quality is fantastic. It is super fast and quiet. And of course, as everyone else has stated, quite heavy. It took a long time for me, as an amatuer photographer, to get up the guts (and cash) to spring for this lens, but there are no regrets.
I had suffered for years taking photos of my son's hockey teams with a moderate priced telephoto lens. I would spend hours post-processing the photos to brighten them, improve contrast, and frankly, I would toss more than half that I had taken. It was not a good use of time for a busy person. Now, I would say that better than 90% of my shots are keepers from a focus and brightness perspective. Now I just have to work on better composition!
As far as the weight goes, I had imagined that I could deal with it in the ice arena by using a monopod. The first time I tried it though, I found it way to cumbersome to quickly manipulate the position as I was perched on a bench shooting over the plexiglass. The action flows way to fast even at the top PeeWee level (11-12yr olds). I had much better luck shooting with it hand held although it becomes a strain on the neck and back muscles unless you are high enough to not reach to get over the glass. Eventually, I ended up shooting from the players bench. That is really the best location if your coach doesn't mind.
One other thing is that I dared not use the lens until I had something in front to protect it. It was a bit of a struggle to find a UV lens that was rated well enough to not impare the images from the G-series glass that I just spent so much money on. I ended up getting a B&W 70mm Multi-coated UV HAze 010 filter and have no complaints. Also, the lens hood is quite large which keeps things (e.g. hockey sticks, kids running with slushies) comfortably at bay.
I highly recommend this lens. It is top notch. I couldn't be more thrilled.Get more detail about Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 SSM Lens for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Cheap Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens


This lens is an good "walk-around" lens, which is per se a little bit problematic. A walk around lens needs to be small, lightweight, still reasonably fast, and should range from medium wide to short tele. Nikon's kit lenses have all incorporated these features more or less. The problem is that the demanded verstility and portability requires sometimes ugly compromises in terms of image quality and built quality.

Therefore I keep asking myself the question, if it would be better to spend money on point-and-shoot cameras instead of spending it on compromise lenses. We all bought SLRs for a special purpose, and kit lenses most likely defeat that purpose, whatever it was.

Anyway, this lens does it's job pretty well. In my opinion it has the perfect range for a walk-around lens. It's small and lightweight.

Compared to other available "compromises" there are some pro's and con's:
Pros:
- optically maybe Nikon's best kit lens according to various tests on the web.
- longer telephoto reach than the cheaper 18-55 mm lenses.
- better built quality than almost all Nikon kit lenses (metal mount).
- with f/4.5 at the long end it's faster than other kit lenses and Nikon's 16-85 VR (which is otherwise in a different class for price and built quality).
- way lighter and cheaper than pro alround lenses (17-55 f/2.8)

Cons:
- no VR.
- funny built: the mount is high quality and the lens body seems strong. but the front element that pumps when zoomed wiggles losely, the zoom action is very uneven.
- some people report dust-sucking problem.

In summary, I have mixed feelings about using a all-in-one lens in general, because on today's point-and-shoot market smaller cameras might be able to outperform a kit lens at a much lower price. But if you need one, I think this is one of the better ones, at least optically.
I think Nikon discontiued it's production, thereby forcing customers to step down to full-plastic-lenses or step up to better built alround lenses at $600 or more.Get more detail about Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Buying Sealife SL970 Wide Angle Lens


It's a wide angle lens for Sealife cameras. It's well made, sturdy and does its job well. There are only two issues i have with it,
1. Sometimes when trying to capture sunbursts the inner lens reflects the writing on the camera aperture which is then ghosted onto the photos
2. the rubber ring around the outer lens doesn't seem to be all that well attached. It's still on, but seems to be coming loose.

All in all it does exactly what it says on the tin. If you have a Sealife camera and want a wide angle lens for it then this is pretty much your only choice, so you may as well go for it.Get more detail about Sealife SL970 Wide Angle Lens.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Buy Bower Small 0.38X Magnetic Wide Angle Lens - Bower VL38MS



I suspected that this product would be a bit flaky with respect to its "magnetic" mounting method--but it fell short of even my lowest expectations. The magnet is quite weak. I should have known better. I will not be using it. It's hard for me to imagine it really working well for anyone who doesn't intend to glue it to the camera. Even if the lens doesn't fall off, it slides from side to side quite easily as well which will result in undesirable shot composition.Get more detail about Bower Small 0.38X Magnetic Wide Angle Lens - Bower VL38MS.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Order Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX DG RF Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras


This lens is physically about the same size and weight as the canon 17-40L lens. They have similar central sharpness at f4.0 but the sigma corners are fairly soft, and no way as crisp as those on the canon 17-40L lens. There is little vignetting at f4.0 on the sigma, but the vignetting at f 1.8 is fairly marked.

I am not sure of the best use of this unique lens. I bought it for nighttime photography of the constellations as a poor man's version of the very expensive canon 16-35L lens, but it may prove to be to soft for this. I will have to try it some. It does focus quite closely, and the large focusing ring is pleasant to use. For people travel photography, with a diffuse blurred background, such as from photographer Phil Borges, this may be quite a useful lens. It's is a fast lens, but you have to really just want the center to be sharp, as for landscape photography it will be too soft and the 17-40L lens will be much better.Get more detail about Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX DG RF Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras.