Camera lens problem...

[manarak]

oops older shot got in the way... here is the crop

[manarak]

all these are JPEG from the camera.

Today, I also shot RAW - I will check if it makes a significant difference

[Jake_Sully]

Can you list all the lenses you own please manarak?

[manarak]

Adobe Lightroom 3.2 made no significant improvements to the pix.

I think both the Tamron and the Sigma are outstanding lenses !


Jake - here is my lens list, in the order I bought them:

- Canon EF-S 18-135mm kit lens, bought with the Camera, not particularly good, front-focussing by 11mm
=> shelved
review:
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/46...3556is?start=1

- 30mm Sigma f/1.4 DC HSM  lens. the first one I got was defective and front focussing by 22mm making it totally useless. The replacement lens is so sharp the pictures come out of the card in slices!
=> default lens on the camera in the night
review:
Ken Rockwell prefers the Canon 28mm f/1.8 USM (but he's a bit of a snob and reading his review you get the feeling that he doesn't like third pary lenses much): http://www.kenrockwell.com/sigma/30mm-f14.htm
but dgrin isn't so sure: http://dgrin.smugmug.com/Reviews....3
(the Canon wasn't for sale at my retailer, maybe I should give it a try - I feel a prime lens in the 24-30mm area is the most important lens for a 1.6 crop sensor)

- Tamron 18-270mm DI II VC lens. I wasn't too thrilled with it at the beginning, but now I think it is great. It is a bit faster than the Canon kit lens and has outstanding optical properties. Focuses perfectly if given enough time. great travel lens.
=> default lens on the camera in the day
Reviews:
it got mixed reviews, but I like it very much, and there is no other lens except the 18-250mm Sigma getting anywhere near the zoom range of the Tamron.
"the remarkable 15X Tamron 18-270mm VC MACRO is not only the world's longest-range interchangeable zoom lens for DSLRs, it's also one of the best."
http://www.adorama.com/alc/article/11230
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/reviews....ew.aspx
http://www.dpreview.com/lensrev....ge4.asp
http://www.photozone.de/canon-e....start=2
http://www.ephotozine.com/article....l-12726

- Tokina AF 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX lens. Excellent sharp ultra-wide angle fast lens. Focuses perfectly. Nullifies that 1.6 crop factor handicap the entry-level DSLRs come with.
=> in the bag
Reviews:
everybody is in awe of this lens, even Ken Rockwell: "This 11-16mm is superior, even to Nikon's own lens"
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm
(but he still prefers the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5 - 4.5 USM, as a snob he is and totally forgets the Tokina's big advantage: f/2.8)
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/37..._canon?start=2

- Canon 50mm f/1.8 II lens. Bought it for about 100 USD as a replacement for my Sigma lens while it was in RMA for 7 weeks (bastards).
The Canon is cheap and feels cheap, it is made of plastic, very light.
Difficult to use indoors due to 50mm on a 1.6 crop sensor (=80mm).
Its small size is good for not "impressing" your models too much.
The Sigma's sharpness and aperture surpass the Canon's.
=> shelved
Reviews:
Good lens, great value but...
http://www.photozone.de/canon-e....start=2


So, in my bag I have:
- 30mm Sigma
- 11-16 Tokina
- 18-270 Tamron

[manarak]

no more lenses for me now!
I've got everything I need!

[azza33]

Nice collection manarak... I've gone with

1. Canon 10-22
2. Canon 24-105 L series
3. Canon 70-300 is usn
Canon 18-55 kit - shelved
Canon 50 f1.8II - limited use

my mate mentioned he has a 30mm canon f1.4 which I may borrow and have a play with

[azza33]

I've purchased the remote control for the 550 as well so this Xmas I'll try and put that to good use

[rxpharm]

Good collection of lenses!

Manarak thanks for demonstrating the 3rd party lenses like Sigma and Tokina can perform very well!

I've got the following: Minolta 500 mm autofocus reflex mirror lens, 70-210 F4.0 zoom (the famous "beercan"), Sony 18-250 f3.5-6.3 zoom (my walkabout lens), Minolta 50 mm F1.4 (low light lens), Tamron 90mm macro lens, Minolta 18-70 kit zoom (no longer used), and a Sony F56 flash - really impressed with the flexibility and power it has.

[Jake_Sully]

I really debated getting a sony a500/a550 but I had trouble finding the older minolta lens. Oh well my choice is made now. I guess I'll have to add a walk around and a wide angle later on but not sure which I need more or if I really need them.

[Jake_Sully]

manarak do you have any landscape type shot you shot with 18mm setting on the tamron 18-270? I am curious about how it looks on wideangle.

[manarak]

* looks through his unpublished trip report pix *

ah, here's one: Pattaya bay panorama from buddha mountain

[Jake_Sully]

Thanks! Nice shot though I think a polarizing filter may have helped a bit.

I'm personally debating if I should get a daytime walkaround lens with a polaring filter too or maybe just getting a filter for the 35mm f1.8 lens.

[Jake_Sully]

I seem to have a backfocus problem with my 35mm f1.8 though I don't have a tripod and hand held it to approximately 45 degrees. However it backfocuses in the 2mm range. Wonder if I should send it back.





What do you think?

[Torurot]

Why do you want a polarising filter on a walk around lens? If you just want something to protect the lens get a SKYLIGHT filter.

For lens test if you don't do it on a tripod or some other FIXED reference point you will NOT get accurate results. Hand holding is not a fixed reference point.

[manarak]

2mm seems good to me.
They will probably tell you that it is within factory specs.

The focus test is about testing the accuracy of the phase detect autofocus.
And I do not see a practical advantage of having 0mm over 2mm.

This problem can only show in:
- makro photography, where you have plenty of time to use the contrast-based AF or manual focussing instead
- low light portraits at f/1.8 or f/2, where you can just focus on the eye of the person. The nose is already 20mm long, so 2mm won't make a difference.

I'd say until 5mm lenses are fine.
Mine had 22mm, so when I focused on the eye, only the tip of the nose was in focus...


About the filter... get yourself a travel lens with a hood, shoot in RAW and adjust later with software.
I owned a filter once, it was a huge loss of time.
Firstly there is a loss of light.
Then, in order to get the "blue sky" effect, you have to turn the filter, which makes you lose time.
Then you have to take it off when shooting pix for which the filter is useless or counterproductive.

PLUS:
I think the D90 has a crop factor of only 1.5 instead of 1.6 for the 550D.
This means the wideangle side on your travel lens will be more effective than on the Canon.

550D: 18mm * 1.6 = 28.8mm
D90: 18mm * 1.5 = 27mm


Here's another shot made with the Tamron at 18mm and 2 crops