Digital SLR Reviews Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Prime Lenses’

Nikon D300 DX 12 3MP Digital SLR Camera Body Only

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Pretty good so far
So far so good. I think this may be the most reviewed camera ever so I’m not going to repeat what has already been said, both pros and cons. I will say that my experience has been over all positive although I haven’t used the camera much yet. I keep justifying using the D40 with the Nikon 18-200 lens. The shutter is a little louder than I would want it to be, not sure why more haven’t commented on this but it’s not a deal breaker by any means. Overall, I would recommend this camera to others.

5 Stars a dream camera come true
I am not a professional photographer or a techie, but I do appreciate good photography and good quality photographic equipment. I wasn’t that thrilled with my Nikon D80 and I was very pleased with my Nikon D200 which I was able to buy new for $720.00 (What a deal!.) BUT the desire for this Nikon D300 kept nagging at me as I read more and more reviews. The best review ever is from The Imaging Resource (google it). So, I sold my Nikon D80, Nikon D200, and 3 prime lenses to pay for this new camera. I also purchased David Busch’s Nikon D300 Digital Field Guide, which is very helpful. You will read all about this camera in many other reviews. I just want to say that color is accurate, Build quality is awesome, User friendly. Very little nose at high ISO. I think my favorite aspect is the four separate shooting menus. They are very user friendly (even for me), independent of each other, and you can always reset it to default if you think you are getting lost. I felt very safe navigating through all the menus. I use it with the Nikon 16-85mm VR lens (approx $600). Yes, you can take good photos with it right out of the box. Of course, you have more control over exposure, depth of field etc as you learn more about the camera. This is my advice. If you have the money, $1700 approx, buy this camera body! It is the finest camera body you can buy without going to full frame, which is immensely more expensive. Go ahead and buy Nikon kit zoom lens and upgrade to a more expensive lens down the road if you want to. In the digital world, it is the camera body that is crucial for accurate color rendition etc. As far as the lens goes, Nikon doesn’t make a crappy lens. I find the VR (vibration reduction) lens very helpful because I don’t like to use tripods. It is a bit on the heavy side compared to D80 because it is solid Magnesium Alloy body. If you want light weight, buy a compact. In the Nikon D300 manual, Nikon clearly states to never touch the sensor at all in any way. If you can’t get the sensor dust off by blowing or by the built in dust vibration system, than make sure that a very qualified Nikon authorized person does it. (this goes for all digital SLR cameras). My previous film cameras were Minolta SRT 102, Leica Rangefinder M2, Contax with Zeiss lens, so I have owned some of the best. This new Nikon D300 DX digital camera does not disappoint me. I am going to get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Jean

5 Stars Nikon D300
I have been waiting to write a review about this camera! Amazon does not always ask for a review on some items & others they ask for a revie before you get the product. I just can’t wait! I have several nikon cameras. N90 (Film) A Nikon Coolpic Nikon D2H & a Nikon D90! I’m so Happy with the D300 I find myself using this camera & not the others! I can’t wait to get to Jamaica again & start shooting. I recommend this camera to everyone. There coming out with a new D300 soon!

5 Stars Going from SLR to DSLR
Prior to buying the D300, I was very familiar with film SLR’s and had quite a bit of experience with digital imagery, but this was my first DSLR. I estimated that I was probably over the hump in the learning curve when I purchased this camera. BOY I WAS WRONG!

It turns out that wasn’t such a bad thing. I’ve enjoyed the challenge, and the more I discover about this camera, the more I love it.

Unfortunately the user’s manual that comes with the camera (400 pages), doesn’t do a good job of coalescing the camera’s individual features into useful information. There are A LOT of features and most of them have variable settings. Is it intimidating to think about all these variables every time you want to take a picture? You bet! Don’t worry, Nikon has thought of this. By selecting between Shooting Menu and Custom banks allows you to change dozens of settings all at once.

I eventually bought a book on the D300 which covers everything in the manual but makes all the necessary connections between features and gives you a thorough understanding of how to effectively apply them (the author’s name is Busch). I only wish I had bought the book when I bought the camera. It would’ve saved me a lot of time.

I’m happy to say that my D300 is now configured for nearly any photo situation I might encounter.

5 Stars Tanks to god I bought this camera…
Well Im from COSTA RICA, in the tropics the dream of any fotografer is to have a camera like this…it works fantastic… Wow!!!

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Pentax DA 18 250mm f 3 5 6 3 ED AL IF Lens for Pentax and Samsung Digital SLR Cameras

What a range! The smc PENTAX DA 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 ED AL [IF] interchangeable zoom lens, designed for exclusive use with PENTAX digital SLR cameras, will provide just about all the coverage you’ll need. With an approximate 14X zoom ratio covering from wide-angle to super-telephoto ranges, this versatile lens handles a great variety of applications from wide-angle landscapes to close-up sporting events and wildlife photography.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Good quality lens
It pretty close to what it is advertised to be. Not good for low light. under bright natural or artificial lights it works great.

5 Stars Terrific lens for the money
It seems that one has to find out which are the outstanding Pentax lenses by reading a lot, and by trial and error. Price is no guide, as with this lens which sells for about half the price of the equivalent Nikon lens. It is an outstanding lens, and even at 250mm (that’s 375mm in 24×36 lingo!), with Pentax’s superb anti-shake mechanism, it is very useful.

An extraordinarily impressive and useful lens. As always, the drawback of these zooms is their lack of speed. f/6.3 is the maximum aperture at 250mm, but if it were any faster, the lens would be enormous. I use two “prime” lenses for speed — 50mm f/1.4 (one of the GREAT buys out there) and my trusty old 85mm f/1.8. Those two, plus a 16-45mm Pentax zoom, and this zoom, cover just about everything. I just wish Pentax would stop improving the camera body about every twenty minutes.

5 Stars Fantastic Walk Around Lens
This Pentax version of the Tamron original does JUST what I wanted it for at a very reasonable price. When I go on trips or outings, I want to carry very little. This more than adequately replaces my previous down-sized kit of an 18-55 and a 50-200. Not only is one lens much lighter than two, it takes considerably less space and provides me fewer opportunities to introduce dust into the camera body while I change lenses. On top of that, it produces sharp pictures with minimal CA.

What it’s not:

Fast. Making this range of zoom fast would require lots more glass (bigger and heavier) and even more cash.

A real macro lens. It doesn’t compete with my FA 100 2.8. This too is a heavy lens and I don’t usually take it on trips.

A real telephoto lens. A 300 and up would be truly heavy and require mounting on a tripod (still more weight).

An ultra-wide ange lens. At its widest it’s the equivalent of a 28.

What it is is a lens I can rely on to capture the picture in almost any situation without having to resort to extensive post-processing work,

5 Stars The best option!
The best option for people like me, who wants to take good pictures but are a little lazy to carry a big bag of accessories every time you go out.

Good photos in all range, good build and love the “lock” key… perfect!

BTW, Pentax rules!

5 Stars Anateur/Enthusiast Photographer
Don’t let anyone tell you anything about the negative side of this DA 18-250mm zoom lens. It is a little darling gadget in exploring good photography. Amateur and enthusiast would just love to have one in his bag. Its focal length is tremendous. You can zoom back and fore with one touch. I was laboriously using two lenses (18-55mm and 50-200mm) in the past; now I just carry one with my camera inseparably. Best of all, it has a tiny lock switch on the barrel to prevent extending out when you carry your equipment up-side-down. Otherwise, you probably have to use a suspender to hold it back.

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