Category Archives: SLR Lenses

Tamron 15x Zoom – Cannon and Nikon DSLR

By Jay Garrett | Published August 2, 2008

We’re used to seeing 15x attached to point n shooters but for DSLRs it seems to be a different story.
Not for long though people!
Tamron’s new ultra zoom lens will set the record straight.
Apparently the first lens of its kind, the AF18-270MM Di II VC covers the 35mm equivalent range of 28mm to 419mm, and does [...]

Also posted in Photography Gear | Comments Off

Nikkor 18-200 G f/3.5-5.6 ED-IF AF-S VR DX Reviewed at Photodoto

By Chris Garrett | Published July 11, 2006

Yesterday we looked at the Sigma 18-200mm and I mentioned that on Canon there isn’t a first party alternative but there is for Nikon. It turns out in the review at Photodoto that for Nikon owners, although pricier than the Sigma, the Nikkor is a great lens. He starts by doubting the need for such a lens first which isn’t a great start for the product …

I mean, who buys a high-end SLR with the intention of only using a single lens? I used to think no one did, but then this hit the market and you can’t even get it it’s so popular.

He does go on to say that he does like it and it is good value ..

Overall, it’s a nice lens and produces good images. If you’re looking specifically for something with an 11x zoom range, for whatever reason, you could do much worse than buying this lens. I’d recommend it if you have to travel light or for day trips with the family. It’s economical, too, when you consider the cost of buying two or more lenses to cover the same range. But any lens covering such a broad range has to make compromises. If you don’t mind switching lenses once in a while, you’ll get better image quality from more specialized zooms or primes.

I guess the main thing to separate the two will be price, you would be choosing either the low cost Sigma or the higher priced but VR-enabled Nikkor. Two slightly different markets I am thinking so the two will find their own following.

, , , , , , , , ,

Also posted in Digital SLR Cameras, Photography Gear | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Carl Zeiss Lenses for Sony Alpha

By Chris Garrett | Published June 6, 2006

One thing I had missed yesterday when discussing the new Sony Alpha announcement was the fact in the official line-up there Carl Zeiss lenses. It’s not as impressive as it sounds, not all the range is Carl Zeiss. Other sites seem to be buzzing with this news, for example The Online Photographer.

There is an official list of lenses, specifications and prices here in their accessories pages if you are interested, and you can check out what DPReview have to say.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , ,

powered by performancing firefox

Also posted in News and Commentary, Photography Gear, Product Releases | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sony Announce α (alpha) A100 DSLR and 18-70mm Lens

By Chris Garrett | Published June 5, 2006

News just in from Sony, their much anticipated first DSLR offspring from their Sony-Konica-Minolta mashup, the Sony Alpha A100 DSLR plus 18-70mm lens kit. Judging from the pictures it looks pretty nice, pretty much standard DSLR fare. Only practical hands on experience would tell if it is usable and comfortable.

DSLRA100KDSLRA100KDSLRA100K
10mp puts it in competition, in purely sensor terms, with Nikon D200, D2X, Canon 5D, etc, although it is very strange the ISO starts at a wopping 160 – where is the ISO 50 and 100? It goes up to 1600 maximum. Not a huge problem but not a competitor to pro-level cameras that currently have greater range and also steps in between. Remains to be seen what the noise is like, presumably it is so good at 200 they do not see the need to go any further but as a ISO 100 user on a camera with great noise control I think they have missed a trick. The sensor is a 1.5x crop, like Nikon.

The kit lens is a pretty standard walk-around zoom, pretty bog standard. I don’t expect anyone to be jumping for joy but neither will too many people be disappointed, it would have been nice for them to come out with a real knock-out lens to get people talking.

Specifications
Imaging Device: 10.2 (effective) APC CCD Sensor; 23.6 x 15.8 mm; RGB primary color filter
Chipset: Bionz™ Processor LSI with Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO/DRO+)
Recording Media:
Memory Stick® Duo/Memory Stick PRO™ Duo media (via MSAC-MCF1N adaptor);
CompactFlash™ Type I/ CompactFlash Type II / Microdrive™ media
Shutter Speed: 30 ~ 1/4000 sec, with Bulb
Exposure: Manual Exposure: Yes, w/EV indicator
EV Compensation: ±2.0 EV, 1/3 EV Steps
ISO: Auto/160/200/400/800/1600
LCD: 2.5-inch (measured diagonally) TFT (230k pixels) LCD with Clear Photo ™ design; Eye-start Auto-focus sensor
Display: Histogram: Yes, Live, RGB Playback
Microphone/Speaker: No/ No
Red-Eye Reduction: Yes: On/ Off
White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash ( with custom White Balance color temperature adjustments)
Burst Mode: Continuous burst mode at 3 FPS to limit of media; Up to 6 RAW images in burst.
Color Mode(s): Black & White, Standard, Vivid, Adobe RGB (Except for Adobe RGB, all other color modes use the sRGB color space)
Scene Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night View/Night Portrait
Self Timer: Yes (10 seconds, 2 seconds, Off)
Still Image Mode(s): Normal (JPEG Fine/Standard), High-speed Burst (JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG), RAW (.ARW)
Memory Stick PRO™ Media Compatibility: Tested to support up to 4GB media capacity; does not support Access Control security function
Flash Modes: Manual Pop-up: Auto, Fill-flash, Rear flash sync, Wireless off camera flash (with Flash HVL-F56AM, F36AM)
Flash Effective Range: GN12 at ISO 100 (39 feet/ 12 meters)
Output(s): Video: Yes, NTSC/PAL Selectable
USB Port(s): Yes, Supports USB 2.0 Hi-speed
Battery Type: NP-FM55 Lithium-ion rechargeable battery (
Battery Capacity: 7.2V, 1600 mAh; CIPA standard: approx. 750 pictures3
Supplied Software: Picture Motion Browser for Sony v1.1 (Windows), Image Data Converter SR Ver. 1.1 (Windows & Macintosh), USB Driver
Operating System Compatibility: Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional, ME, XP Home and Professional; Macintosh®
OS X (v 10.3 or later). OS must be installed at the factory.
Limited Warranty: 1 Year Parts & Labor
Weight: 1 lb., 3 oz (545 g) body, not including battery, lens and media
Dimensions (WHD): (WHD) 5 1/4″ x 3 3/4″ x 2 7/8″ (133 x 95 x 71 mm)
SAL1870 DT18-70mm F3.5-5.6 Lens Specifications:
DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard Zoom
DT Lens Design for optimum DSLR performance
Superb wide-angle to mid-range telephoto shots
Aspherical Lens Elements for wide-angle accuracy
ED Glass for telephoto shots with well defined colors
Circular Aperture for pleasing defocused effects
Focal Length – 35mm Equivalent: 18-70 mm
Focal Length – APS: 27-105 mm
Angle of View – 35mm Equivalent: N/A
Angle of View – APS: 76ﾟ- 23ﾟ
Min Focus Distance: 1’ 2.4″ (38 cm)
Aperture – Maximum: f3.5-5.6
Aperture – Minimum: f22-36
Maximum Magnification: 0.25X
Lens Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups with 7 aperture blades
Filter Diameter: 55 mm
Dimensions: 2-5/8 x 3-1/8” (66 x 77 mm)
Weight: 8.3 oz (235 g)
Supplied Accessories: Front and rear lens cap, SH0006 lens hood
Supplied Accessories:
NP-FM55 Lithium-Ion Battery
BC-VM10 Battery Charger
Video Cable
USB Cable
Sony Picture Package software
Sony Image Data Converter .SRF software
Shoulder strap with eyepiece cap and Remote Commander clip
MSAC-MCF1N MS-Duo to CF Adaptor
Body cap
Accessory shoe cap
Image Data Converter SR Ver.1.1/Picture Motion Browser Ver.1.1 CD-ROMs
NOTE: No Memory Stick media or adapters are included.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

powered by performancing firefox

Also posted in News and Commentary, Photography Gear, Product Releases | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens Service Notice

By Chris Garrett | Published May 25, 2006

I just found out my most recent lense purchase, Canon 70-300mm IS, might have a fault. Although I am obviously disappointed there might be something wrong  at manufacture with such an expensive piece of kit it is pretty good to know that I found out from Canon rather than discover it for myself.

Apparently when used in portrait orientation at the longest length you get some softness at the edges. Not earth shatteringly awful, not ideal either. I applaud Canon for being honest about this, heck from what I have seen in forums outside of L/primes most 300mm lenses have a problem of softness at the edges anyway!

Canon USA Consumer Products – Support – EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM – Service Notices

To Customers Who Use the EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens:

Thank you very much for your patronage of our products.

We have recently become aware of a phenomenon in which some images captured by the EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens appear in insufficient resolution. This phenomenon may be seen at the edge of the frame at the 300mm setting when the camera is held vertically. We have been studying the symptoms of this phenomenon in order to determine its precise cause and to develop an appropriate remedy. We will inform you on this Web site as soon as this remedy has been decided, which, at this point should be by the end of June 2006.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience this phenomenon represents for customers who use this lens and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve it.

Contact Information for inquiries

Call Center
1-800-828-4040 (toll free)
8AM to Midnight – Monday to Friday
10AM to 8PM – Saturdays
Email: carecenter@cits.canon.com

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Also posted in News and Commentary, Photography Gear | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lense Quality Comparison tool

By Chris Garrett | Published May 8, 2006

I just found what looks like a promising new tool for helping people select new lense purchase. It’s a fancy web application that allows you to compare crops taken with different lenses at selected focal lengths and apertures.

ISO 12233 Lens Test Chart 100% Crop Comparison Tool

While the choices are limited right now it does confirm what I thought about a couple of lenses I own, the 50mm 1.8 lense is damn sharp for the price!

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Also posted in Photography Gear | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Digital Technology Advances

By Chris Garrett | Published March 1, 2006

Digital Camera technology is moving ahead and it looks like it’s not just the hardware that will be the important element in future. Most interesting part of the news for me is the creation of new lense configurations that are as much about the intelligence as they are the optics.


The first thing it achieves, he said, is taking pictures in very low light (3-4 lux). A wider aperture can be used without introducing more lens elements.

The second trick is getting rid of the autofocus actuator, mimicking autofocus in software. Even with no moving parts, the lens can still autofocus via software.

Also posted in News and Commentary, Photography Gear | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment