The Photocrati Blog

Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S DX Nikkor Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon:Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED DX delivered a more convincing performance compared to its kit companion (18-55mm DX). The resolution is very high throughout the zoom range (best at 55mm) and there’s only a slight decrease in contrast at large aperture settings (200mm). Vignetting at large aperture is quite pronounced though and there’re very pronounced distortions towards the long end of the zoom range. CAs are very low. Corresponding to its price tag the build quality is quite a bit less impressive due to the extensive usage of rather cheap plastics and accurate manual focusing is next to impossible. All-in-all it is a good choice for casual users but the rather small max. aperture is a limiting factor for creative tele photography. READ FULL REVIEW

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Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW Review Round-Up

The Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW is currently the smallest of the Slingshot models. Characteristic of a sling type of case is the single padded and liberally adjustable shoulder strap that goes over the head and hangs on a shoulder. The Slingshots are designed to hang from the right shoulder. An additional strap and clip under the right arm optionally secure the case while it is in the on-the-back position. A handle is provided for carrying the Slingshot off-the-shoulder. The AW portion of the product name refers to the “All Weather” protection provided by a just-the-right-size rain jacket stored under the padded section of the back of the case and held in place by hook-and-loop fastener. Pull it out when needed. The rain jacket is of course for the case – not you. ? ?The Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW pads and the case itself are very protective – very typical for Lowepro gear. Quality construction is also typical Lowepro. The external material is a strong, durable Nylon. The case itself is very light. ? ?The Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW is comfortable to carry even when fully loaded (the small size does not allow a too-burdensome load to be created). Your back is treated to a thick pad that very adequately insulates your body from the camera body. The small case size makes it easy to navigate forests and crowds of people while wearing the pack. Accessing the camera is fast and easy – the case works as designed. There is not much room for fingers to hook onto the grip of the 30D body with the lid only partially opened (as is typical for quick access in the field). I didn’t find this to be a big problem, but a little more room would be welcomed and would make access easier for a 20D/30D/40D class DSLR. READ FULL REVIEW AT DIGITAL PICTURE

If you own or have used this bag, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this bag at Amazon: Lowepro SlingShot 100 All-Weather Digital Camera Backpack (Black)

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Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED AF VR Nikkor Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Autofocus VR Zoom Nikkor Lens

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR is a decent performer but it also comes with a few glitches. Optically the lens shows a very good but not exceptional resolution characteristic except at 400mm at wide-open aperture where the borders could be a little better. Vignetting is basically non-existing on an APS-C DSLR and the level of distortions is quite low. CAs are an issue at 80mm and 400mm, less so in between Generally the build quality is pretty good but regarding the price class of the lens Nikon should have used a little less plastic and a better tripod collar. The AF performance is acceptable on the D200 but don’t expect it to be a speed daemon in this respect. READ FULL REVIEW

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Sigma 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 EX OS AF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Sigma 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 EX OS APO RF Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Sigma AF 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 EX OS is an impressive piece of equipment. In terms of build quality Sigma seems to have catched up with the genuine brand offerings. Nonetheless the lens didn’t convince completely. In the lab the sheer quality figures are surely good enough with slightly better MTF results than the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 USM L IS but in the field the OS didn’t really feel as reassuring or mature (or I had too much coffee at the time …). The rather odd shutter delay issue when shooting several images in a row didn’t help either to lift the impression. It’s interesting that Sigma managed to implement FTM (full-time manual focusing) combined with a conventional AF motor – this is certainly something that we’d like to see in other lenses as well. On the downside the AF is a little on the slow and noisy side. All-in-all the lens should go through a little extra fine-tuning. READ FULL REVIEW

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Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro AF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Aspherical Large Aperture Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Digital Picture

The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Lens is a well-built, well-spec’d lens with a decent price. It does not outperform (physically or optically) Canon’s similarly spec’d EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens, but it costs less than half as much. The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Lens’ AF is very loud but reasonably fast (although the noise makes it sound slower). The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Lens is sharpest at the wide end of its focal length range. At 24/28mm, the 24-70 is very sharp in the center at f/3.2. However, performance gets progressively worse as the focal length is increased. To me, 70mm f/2.8 is not usable on this lens. At 70mm f/4, center performance becomes useable. Corners (1.6x FOVCF corners included) need an extra stop at all focal lengths to become very good – generally becoming very nice at f/5.6. … If the prices were the same, I don’t think anyone would choose the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Lens over the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens. But, the Sigma is less than half the price of the Canon. And for that reason, many people are willing to overlook the physical and optical quality differences between these two lenses. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 AF Nikkor Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 exhibited a very good performance in the lab EXCEPT at the long end of the zoom range. At 75mm and 200mm the resolution figures are very good but beyond there’s a rapid decline in quality. At 300mm f/5.6 the results are downright soft and it takes f/11 to recover the quality to very decent levels across the frame. Distortions are a non-issue with this lens and both vignetting and CAs are well controlled. The build quality is very good and puts most of today’s consumer grade tele zooms to shame – at the price of weight which is probably too high for the general taste of the target group. Regarding the results at 300mm you may consider other options if you require good quality with a 10mp camera at this setting. … READ FULL REVIEW

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Sigma’s 150-500mm F/5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Review

An affordable long-zoom lens for DSLR cameras with ‘full-frame’ or ‘APS-C’ sized image sensors. Sigma’s APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM lens is a telephoto zoom with a 3.3x magnification ratio that will suit photographers who enjoy taking close-ups of sports or wildlife. Although not particularly fast, it is reasonably portable and has an affordable price tag for its build quality and optical composition. READ FULL REVIEW

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Equipment Review – Gary Fong’s LightSphere Universal Round-Up

First let me preface this review by saying I’m not an event guy. I rarely shoot events, I don’t do weddings, and hardly any grip and grins anymore. One of the reasons I don’t do events is that I HATE the look of on camera flash. That harsh, in your face, flattened look drives me crazy. With that said, I recently agreed to shoot an event for a regular client of mine. This is a good client for me and she promised it would be a low key event, and she was in a jam so of course I’ll help her out. It goes without saying that I want to do the job right so I began looking into ways to soften and modify that flash. (FYI, the party was at night, on a dinner cruise. Think lots of glass and mood lighting.)

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Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS AF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS (Optical Stabilizer) Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS is an extremely versatile lens but performance-wise it is a bit of a mixed bag. The resolution characteristic varies significantly throughout its immense zoom range. Interestingly the extreme ends are actually the sweet spots of the lens whereas the 35mm setting is downright miserable at large apertures. The quality recovers at 50mm before dropping somewhat at 100mm again. To be fair the lens is capable to provide a decent quality if you avoid large aperture settings and stick to ~f/9 regardless of the zoom position. On the positive side vignetting and CAs are quite well controlled and distortions may be a problem at 18mm only. The quality of the bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is sometimes less than stellar though. The AF speed and accuracy is pretty fine and the image stabilizer can give you an advantage equivalent to about 3 f-stops in field conditions. The build quality of the Sigma is surprisingly good and above average for a lens in this class. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR (Vibration Reduction) Wide Angle Telephoto Zoom Nikkor Lens – Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A.

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VR showed a quite impressive performance for a zoom lens with a 5x focal length ratio. Apart from a few weak spots the resolution figures are very high and on an APS-C DSLR vignetting is not a big issue. The amount of barrel distortions may be a little objectionable at 24mm (only) and the level of CAs could be a little better. Mechanically the lens is roughly in line with other consumer grade lenses made by Nikon so don’t expect a tank-like construction. The VR (Vibration Reduction) is a welcome addition to the feature list as is the very fast Silent Wave AF drive. All-in-all it’s a nice package but on APS-C DSLR the focal length range isn’t all that great anymore and most users shopping for a new lens will probably prefer to have a look at the new AF-S 18-200mm VR II. READ FULL REVIEW

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