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Fritz Panter www.juzaphoto.com/p/FritzPanter  |
 | Nikon AF 70-210mm f/4-5.6 Pros: Decent sharpness and contrast, reliable AF, price, push-pull zoom (yes, I regard this an advantage, mine is zooming very smooth and does not creep), build quality Cons: Not a fast lens, not stabilized (obviously), vignetting and CA on full format Opinion: I acquired this lens together with a Nikon D70 at a very good price. I did not expect much from the lens and decided to give it a try on my D600. I was surprised about its performance. Up to 150 mm it was really sharp and contrasty even wide open (except for the corners) and at 210 mm performance was still decent. Despite its age, AF on a D600 is precise without any microadjustment, and AF speed is good enough. Vignetting and CA were higher compared to my Sigma 70-200 EX APO (but keep in mind that the latter is a much heavier and pricier enthusiast lens). Considering its ridiculously low price (typically less than 50 EUR used), I decided to keep it and use it with the D70. With this camera, the lens balances very well, and the vignetting and aberrations are almost non-existent on the 6 Mpixel APS-C camera. If the lens would be stabilized, it would be the perfect (fortunately, I am a rather steady shooter and can live without it). There are obviously better lenses out there, but I like the smooth handling and general output of the lens - hence it really deserves my vote of "8". sent on March 21, 2025 |
 | Panasonic Lumix 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II OIS Pros: Relatively compact and light, fast and silent AF, sharp with no major aberrations Cons: Not much considering its price and weight, maybe minimum focus distance could be a little lower Opinion: My favourite travel zoom for MFT. All better zooms are bigger and heavier. Mine is surprisingly sharp at all focal lengths. Very little aberrations, not very sensitive to backlight, with good colour and contrast. If I should find a weak point, I would say vignetting and distortion at 14 mm - but this can be corrected in camera or by software. As I use a MFT camera because I can carry it in my jacket pocket when on a walk or traveling light, I usually use them with a small kit zoom or even a body cap lens. This lens fits the bill perfectly and I will probably never replace it. My first MFT standard zoom was the first version of the Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42 - also a very nice lens, but a little heavier and AF was quite slow. I replaced it with a modern pancake zoom, the Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42 EZ. This pancake was much smaller and AF was really fast, but it lacked a bit sharpness and contrast at the long end, and I could never get used to its electronic zoom (I never managed to find a speed setting which allowed me to adjust the image frame both fast and precisely). This was the reason why I finally replaced the Olympus pancake with this Panasonic 14-42 II. To me, it has all the qualities of the first M.Zuiko 14-42 with a faster AF and less weight as a plus. It perfectly fits the bill and fullfils my expectations from such a small zoom - I therefore voted it a "9" although there are certainly higher quality lenses out there. sent on November 27, 2024 |
 | Canon 10D Pros: Sturdyness, handling, reliabilty, image quality at low ISO (at the time) Cons: Limited lens choice, alomost no customization, limited configurability for a semiprofessional camera, small display, all specs by today's (2024) standards Opinion: This was my first DSLR. I bought it used from a camera enthusiast with almost 100 000 clicks. Despite being used so much before, I never had any trouble with it and I could add another 10 000 clicks or so before giving it to a friend. Reasons to buy were price (used it was much much cheaper than a 350D) and the fact that I could use it with my old Canon EF lenses (28-70, 80-200 and 50 mm). Compared to all cameras I owned before it felt very good in the hand and it was very nice to shoot with it. I liked the camera very much at the time, but a few years later I replaced it with a 20D - mainly because it was not compatible with EF-S lenses and I was longig for a stabilised modern lens with decent wide angle (then the only options were the Canon EF-S 17-85 mm IS and EF-S 18-55 IS). Today there are much better options even if you are looking for a cheap and sturdy SLR without paying much (e.g. the Nikon D200 which is compatible with plenty of really old and good lenses even from the 70s and 80s). sent on November 26, 2024 |
 | Sigma AF 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Macro Pros: Quite Sharp, constant F2.8 aperture, build quality if compared to kit zooms Cons: I did not like the colours, AF is not the fastest, no stabilizer Opinion: I bought it long ago with the intention to replace both a Canon 18-55 IS and a 50 mm F1.8 prime in one lens. Although its sharpness was better than that of the 18-55 mm IS at the same apertures and similar to the 50 mm prime at F4 and above it never became one of my favourite lenses. Colours were to cool and lifeless for my taste, AF was a bit slow and noisy. Other than that it had a nice build quality and gave no reasons to complain. I nevertheless sold it again and kept the prime and 18-55 IS, because the stabilizer was more helpful than one or two stops aperture for static objects and I preferred the character of the prime for shooting people. Today I would probably buy a Tamron 17-50 F2.8 VC to have the best of both worlds (then it was quite expensive). sent on November 19, 2024 |
 | Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM Macro II Pros: Decent Sharpness at most focal lengths, fast AF, good bokeh on FF, decent build quality and handling, tripod mount ring easy to mount and unmount Cons: Contrast wide open, colours, not stabilised, AF not spot on without microadjustment in camera (Nikon D600) Opinion: I bought this lens a few years ago for 200 EUR in a heavily used state. Although the lens does not expand while zooming and focussing, there was some dust inside the optics, which may partially explain the photographic results achieved. Stopped down to f5.6 it was sharp and quite contrasty with little distortion and vignetting even on FF. Unfortunately, it was quite sensitive to backlight and the colors were never to my taste (too yellowish). Wide open contrast dropped to just acceptable and sharpness became also less than perfect (especially at the long end). Overall, it never became one of my favorite lenses - I replaced it with a stabilized telezoom for my MFT camera for travel and a AF 85 mm F1.8 Nikkor on APS-C for portrait or other work requiring a fast lens. Both of these lenses can achieve similar or better results at much reduced weight. Of course, you may come to a different conclusion depending on your needs - I guess the Sigma would be a good lens for Sports as its AF was quite fast and reliable after some AF micro adjustment in my Nikon D600 (+20 similiar to Chefmosco's experience). sent on November 11, 2024 |
 | Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 EX DG HSM Pros: Weight, colors and decent optical performance for the price (used), well-controlled distortion Cons: Not very sharp wide open (especially the edges/corners of FF) Opinion: Not as sturdy and solid as the Canon or Nikon equivalents, but more compact and lighter. Sharpness is good when stopped down two stops, except for the extreme edges - if you need excellent sharpness at f4 or below, look for a wide angle prime or a professional zoom at much higher cost. Vignetting is reasonably well controlled for this type of lens. Contrast is good even wide open. I like the colors it produces better than that of most other lenses I have used so far. Conclusion: A zoom with very handy focal length range on a full format camera. A lens that does not break the bank for those who need an ultra-wide zoom only occasionally. sent on November 06, 2024 |
 | Nikon D70 Pros: Color rendering, handling and reliability, flash sync Cons: Small display and viewfinder image, resolution, dynamic range and many other specs by today's standards Opinion: I bought the camera together with two prime lenses intended for use with my Nikon D600 a few years ago. As I did not pay much more than the value of the lenses, the camera was almost for free. I did not expect much from the camera and intended to use it only in the rare situations when I need a faster x-sync or shutter than the D600's. After taking it on a walk on a spring day with the Sigma 105 mm macro that came with it, I realized that it is a very reliable camera that gets the focus and exposure where it should be in 99% of the cases - it produces just as many keepers as a good modern camera. There is even one thing that it does better than any other digital camera I have owned before: color reproduction is excellent, both vibrant and yet very realistic if choosing the correct white balance setting. Looking back, I almost regret that I bought a Canon EOS 10D as my first digital camera as I intended to continue using my Canon lenses then (although the 10D was a very nice and sturdy camera which was a breeze to handle). I fully agree to the previous comments of Paolo and Pietro: the D70 is fantastic value and has its merits even today. sent on November 01, 2024 |
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