Posts Tagged ‘ed’
A good value – inconsistent results. If you are looking for something relatively inexpensive and fun to carry around, this is the lens for you. Quality is good in good light, most of the time, and can be exceptional sometimes. The plasticy feel doesn’t bother me because I avoid carrying around a hunk of metal.
The VR works like a charm in good light.
However, I’ve noticed softness (at all apertures, including f/8) often enough where I would not use this lens for any professional work. For example, the Nikkor 180 f/2.8 blows this lens away in quality of manufacture and resulting photos.
I’ve also noticed softness and noise in almost all of my night photos using this lens, even with a very heavy tripod and no wind.
The focusing system on the lens also is slow as molasses. I tried to capture the Blue Angels flying low over the homes in my neighborhood (an awesome annual occurence), and each shot was blown as the lens hunted for focus. Plenty of good light for high shutter speeds (midday, 1/2500s at f/4), but by the time the lens was focused, the subject had moved so far the photo was blown.
If you want to have fun and need a good lens, buy this one. If you are a professional or OBAM (obessessed amateur), save for the higher quality lenses because you’ll be disappointed. Moving subjects, such as sports or action photography, again not your lens.
I wish more people would objectively weigh the positives and the negatives in their reviews so that those considering buying this lens can make an informed decision. While this is a very good lens on a tight budget, this is not a great lens directly compared against other similar (and more expensive) lenses.