| Review of: Tamron Adaptall-2 SP Mirror (55BB) 500mm F8 by kiwi_jono on Sun October 27, 2019 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 109405
Reviews: 32
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This is the 3rd 500mm Mirror I have got. The first one was riddled with fungus and not sharp at all, the second was a Opteka 500mm which is very small for a 500mm but average sharpness (although usable for some uses) and really tricky to focus. Then I saw a Tamron for sale and went for it.
Its a lot better than the Opteka and a lot easier to focus too. For me Tamron is a viable telephoto that I can carry due to its compact size and light weight (for 500mm at least). Contrast is not super high but thats a mirror thing in general.
Bokeh can be an advantage and disadvantage. For a start, in the many scenarios (depending on background and distance to background) the bokeh is fine, and when its painting donuts sometimes that can work well in photos too but then it depends on the scene and your point of view.
Overall I'm pleased to have it in my toolkit.
Some samples:
Moon (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/40775770575)
Hawk (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/39392588940)
Seagull (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/41355787141)
Bokeh (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/27434930318)
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| Review of: Sigma APO DG Macro 70-300mm F4-5.6 by kiwi_jono on Thu October 10, 2019 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
| Review of: Sigma EX Aspherical DG DF RF 20mm F1.8 by kiwi_jono on Sat July 7, 2018 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
| Review of: Samyang 14mm F2.8 ED AS IF UMC by kiwi_jono on Fri May 11, 2018 | Rating: 4 | View more reviews | |
Views: 115855
Reviews: 29
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Firstly I own 2 other Samyangs: a 85 f1.4 (love it!) and 8mm f3.5 fisheye (not perfect but a very handy lens on APS-C). So I was looking forward to adding another Samyang to my collection.
Very first impressions were quite good. I liked the build and centre sharpness looked promising. Did find it surprisingly tricky to completely nail focus though (as others have said). Size is fine on the K-1 and I saw surprisingly little in the way of chromatic aberrations. Also I don't mind manual focus and could live with the distortion.
However I quickly noticed the edges (particularly left side) were very soft and left corners mushy. There was still some softness even stopping down to f8 (needed f11 to get somewhat sharp across the frame). Further investigation found the focal plane was tilted by quite a lot. I posted a photo on these forums to confirm my thoughts (agreed unanimously). Also (as usual it seems) infinity focus was off but I kind of expected that (had the same problem with my 8mm).
Even if I corrected infinity focus it certainly would be absolutely useless for star shots and even most landscapes (although f11 would return so so shots). I was probably better off with my mobile phone camera.
Even if I was just using it for APS-C, I would not have been happy with this copy as still soft at edge of APS-C frame (but IQ probably approaching acceptable across frame at f8).
So I sent it back to the supplier with a detailed description (and examples) of what is wrong with it. The supplier sent it back to the manufacture and 3 weeks later word came back that nothing was wrong with the lens and it meets manufacturers tolerance! I debated this with the supplier and eventually, to their credit, they gave me a full credit for the lens (although some other poor consumer was probably going to get this lens which bothers me!). However if I got another 14mm from them and it performed the same then there would be no further credit.
I researched further and noted (from various forums) that its not uncommon to have to get 3 copies (or in one case 4!), in order to get a good copy of this lens. It seems that Samyang has some significant QC issues. So I decided to bail on getting a Samyang 14mm, which is sad given how I love the Samyang 85. In the meantime I will stick with my Sigma 20mm and SMC Pentax 17mm F4 Fish-Eye.
I probably should have given overall rating a "1" or "2" but I know if you persist and are either able to test your copy before buying or at least easily return multiple copies if need be, then it is possible to get a good copy. So compromised on a "4".
Maybe if it was for APS-C only I would give it a higher rating as its probably more likely to find an acceptable copy than for full frame but its sold as a full frame lens.
Good luck if you decide to buy one and don't buy unless you are able to return multiple copies!
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| Review of: Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye CS by kiwi_jono on Sat July 2, 2016 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 88939
Reviews: 29
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A good fun lens and certainly recommended.
Handling and build quality is generally very good but I have down graded my rating because I had focus ring calibration problems, as mentioned by other reviews, (I have not got the adjustment perfect but its now usable). If it was not for that I would have been tempted to give it a 9 to reflect the very high value you get with this lens.
I also have a Sigma 10-20 f3.5, but this lens is lot wider (even after defishing). The Sigma centre sharpness is better at f3.5, but from f5.6 they are very similar.
Sample shots:
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/26630077162
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/14122623511
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/14153483303
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/13946790738
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/15512831612
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| Review of: Tamron Di LD Macro 70-200mm F2.8 by kiwi_jono on Wed August 19, 2015 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 329957
Reviews: 87
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This is great value for money lens. It has some really nice glass in it and I have found the build quality to be good (but don't expect Limited series quality).
I have only had the lens out for 4 sessions so far (will post an update later). I find that although it out performs my other glass in the 70-200 focal range (exception: DA70), it is fairly large and you need to be on a photographic mission (as opposed to casual photography). That said its a joy to have when you need it.
I find phase detect AF perfectly fine. Its fast enough for most uses and accuracy has been very good for me. However my copy won't focus in Liveview at all. Although not a show stopper at all for me.
The one thing that, I wish was better (and stops the lens being a 10) is the manual focus. No so much the clutch mechanism but more importantly I find it manual focus too sensitive / touchy. In fact with a good quality 2x adapter on for photos of the moon, I find it nearly impossible to get optimum focus. This is the only reason I made handling a 7 (otherwise handling is good).
Update: Now I have a K-1 and I am finding that this Tammy likes the K-1 more than the K-5. Comparative to K-5, shallower depth of field is available and autofocus in LV now works! Will post some more K-1 samples soon. Also handling is somewhat better balanced on K-1 so have upgraded my rating there.
Here are some initial samples.
1. f2.8:
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/16498954636
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/20208236149
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/18544036992
2. f4:
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/16339054627
3. K1 - F2.8:
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/31957632806
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| Review of: Samyang 85mm F1.4 Aspherical IF by kiwi_jono on Sun May 19, 2013 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 165860
Reviews: 46
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I got this lens for general shallow depth of field and also low light photography so I was looking for a lens that was usable wide open at f1.4.
The Bower (Samyang) 85mm delivers good sharpness images (frame center) wide open at f1.4 and so is exactly what I was looking for. Also stopped down to f5.6 it is very sharp across the frame. There is softness in the corners wide open at f1.4 but border sharpness is surprisingly good (even the contrast is Ok) - look at second f1.4 example below to see how good they are wide open. Corner sharpness comes right by f2.8 on my copy. In fact this lens wide open at f1.4 beats my (very nice) Pentax A 50 f1.4 at f2.4 - amazing!
Its not a perfect lens (none are really). If you don't like manual focus then this lens is not for you. If you are looking for a lens with close focus it is also not for you. If you need a lens that is sharp corner to corner wide open (something thats very rare for f1.4 lenses anyway) it may not be for you. Also in high contrast conditions you may see some purple fringing (sometime I can see quite a bit) - to clarify this further it appears to be bokeh fringing (fringing is in out of focus areas) but I have been able to correct it fairly easily with PP. Also I find the lens hood a bit fiddly to fit (especially if you try to reverse stow it on the lens - which is at least possible) but I'm getting used to fitting it. While talking about the hood, its better than I thought it would be after reading other reviews. Sure its not solid but its certainly perfectly functional. Lens cap could be better but its usable (except you can't fit it with hood in place).
Overall I absolutely love it and its a bargain!
Update (June 2016): Had not used it for a while (since getting a DA 70) but recently rediscovered this lens and using it a lot. It makes pretty much anything you point it at look good and find I use it mostly at f1.4. Adding a magnifying viewfinder cup to K-5 had made focusing a lot easier too. Added sample.
Some sample images:
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| Review of: Tokina AT-X Pro 28-70mm F2.6-2.8 by kiwi_jono on Wed April 10, 2013 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 82828
Reviews: 12
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This is definitely a favourite lens for me at the moment. There may be newer lenses that are better but they cost many times more and most are not as flexible. I was lucky and got a good deal on mine but its definitely worth more than I paid. Mine is the Pro I version (as shown with lens description at the top).
For a zoom, performance is pretty impressive. I thought I was becoming a prime person but after using this lens for a while I was quickly hooked by the convenience of being able to change focal length while still having performance that is close to that of many primes (although primes are generally faster of course).
As mentioned in the previous reviews the key to getting great performance from this lens is most definitely to use a decent sized hood. The very small (but solid) Tokina hood that came with it is not up to the job. I got an extendible rubber hood (when folded up it has similar coverage to the standard hood) and it immediately made a big different to its performance outside (contrast is so much better).
My copies center sharpness is very good wide open from 28 - 50mm and still acceptable at 60 - 70mm. Border performance is generally acceptable wide open and very good by f5.6. Performance at f8 rivals my SMC A 50 f1.4 at f8 and thats a great lens! Interestingly performance is still pretty good at f16 (better than my A 50 across the frame) and very usable. Yes 60-70mm does lag behind the rest of the range in sharpness but it is significantly better than my Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5 at 60 - 70mm. Tokina at 70mm f2.8 is somewhat better than my Sigma at 70 f4.5. Over the 28 - 50mm range the Tokina just slaughters the Sigma 17-70!.
As far as bokeh goes, the Tokina is very good. Even stopping down to f5.6 bokeh is still good. I quite like how it performs at f3.5 (good balance between depth of field and sharpness / contrast).
Build and feel are very nice. I like the weight and don't find it heavy at all.
Auto focus is actually pretty quick (compared to my other lenses anyway) thanks to the focus clutch disengaging from the focus ring (less rotating mass). Yes it is a little inconvenient disengaging focus ring and engaging the camera auto focus switch when changing from manual focus to auto focus but I don't mind it.
Some sample photos (more to come later):
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| Review of: Sigma EX DC HSM 10-20mm F3.5 by kiwi_jono on Mon October 1, 2012 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
| Review of: Chinon 45mm F2.8 by kiwi_jono on Sat December 4, 2010 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 32205
Reviews: 7
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I would like to start by saying that overall this lens performs well for its age but more importantly its a lot of fun on a modern DSLR!
I generally agree with the points from the previous review, although would like to expand on some points. Mechanical feel is indeed very nice and I can not imagine a more solid feeling lens – it feels like a truck could drive over it and it would still work. It looks great on a DSLR and makes a camera like the K-x look more like a super zoom P&S. I don't mind the thin focus ring too much – you do get used to it but I have occasionally accidentally changed aperture when going to focus and vice versa.
Now on to performance – as tested on a K-x DSLR. Firstly the great news is that it has fairly even sharpness across the frame (more so than a typical 50mm) and overall its a fairly sharp lens (although center sharpness is not as sharp a fast Pentax 50) . Sharpness does significantly drop off wide open at f2.8 (but still usable IMO). See center crops below.
Unfortunately (even on APS-C) there is also quite noticeable vignetting (light fall off around the edges) wide open but this is gone at f4. Contrast is not bad except wide open. The front element is recessed a bit so I typically don't use a lens hood or filter but flare will show up more than you would see with a modern Pentax prime (the coatings are better) so a hood might be a good idea if you shooting with the sun in front. Depends on your use but 45mm is not as wide as the 40mm Pentax variety, however I find it is noticeably wider than a 50mm lens which does help for general photography.
With DSLRs you need to use manual exposure mode and manual focus but the camera helps with both (metering and focus confirmation) and so it is not hard to do. I don't mind manual operation but if that bothers you then this is not the lens for you.
That all said I am happy with the results with any aperture from f4 to f16 and f2.8 can still be useful in some scenarios. Also there is a real (cringe alert ahead)... “fun factor” with this lens and for the money its a good buy. Would rate it as a 7.5
f2.8 100% center crop:
f4 100% center crop:
f5.6 100% center crop:
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| Review of: Sigma DC Macro 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 by kiwi_jono on Fri December 3, 2010 | Rating: 7 | View more reviews | |
Views: 143574
Reviews: 51
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I bought this lens while on holiday in Australia and after getting back to NZ, I was disappointed with the results. A large number of images were blurry and not sharp. Focus tests showed up a lot of back focus (and sometimes even front focus) at different focal lengths. I sent the lens back to the NZ support agent (who, to their credit, honored the "Australia Only" warranty). It ended up away for 4 weeks, leaving me stewing about it!
If this was the end of the story then the rating would be maybe a 2, however...
Upon getting it back (apparently after recalibrating the autofocus) I immediately noticed a big difference in performance. I now had a very usable, flexible lens that rendered nice colors! Sure at some focal lengths it is still less sharp than others (around 50mm is not its strong point) but never less than acceptable for a zoom IMO. My copy is actually quite sharp at 70mm which is a focal length I use quite a lot. I also use it a lot at the other end (around 20mm) which is also very good.
Having f2.8 available (even if only at wide end) is really quite useful and has allowed me to capture shots that I think would have been more of a struggle with only f4 available.
I also have the Pentax 18-55 kit lense and in comparison the Sigma has:
- Similar centre sharpness
- Somewhat better on average across frame
- Faster across the range (useful)
- Much better focal range (for me anyway - far less lens swaps)
Now it stays on my camera most of the time! Without the initial quality issues I would have rated it a 8 to 9 based on sheer value for money. However factoring in the initial issues I have settled on a 7. Perhaps it should have averaged lower but the bottom line is I like it.
UPDATE: Since getting a Pentax 18-135, this lens is no longer used. Quite frankly I find the Pentax to be better all round and in addition has very useful WR!
Examples:
Water Lily Crown Range Skippers Canyon | |
| Review of: Soligor 400mm F6.3 by kiwi_jono on Sun September 26, 2010 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 91523
Reviews: 8
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I like this lense and have had (and still having) quite a bit of fun with it.
It does need a bit of attention to focus it , in order to get a fairly sharp image. So not so great for trying to capture moving wildlife! Not very sharp wide open (although not too bad either) but only needs to be stopped down a click (f8) to resolve this and f11 still pretty good. I find that I mostly use it on a tripod or at least on a monopod.
Apart from being slow, my only real complaint (for my copy anyway) is that contrast is not very high. I find the images definately benefit with a contrast boost during PP.
The following is basically a full crop shot (with only minor PP)...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/4388966161/
Overall I rate the lense:
1. Image quality: 6.5
2. Mechanical: 7.5
3. Value for money: 9
So I would rate 7.5 overall - rounding up to 8.
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