Review 2 of 26
Price Paid:
$800.00
from Budapest Summary: 1st: Dont't be shocked about the price I've paid for it. I bought it used in a tiny shop for half of its new price; a brand new one would cost about 1600 USD or even more because of the high taxes of my country.
It is a very useful and well constructed lens, overall. But it requires a steady hand:-) Strengths: Build. The lens itself has a tank's massivity. IF: during AF nothing rotates or extends from the lens. The only thing what changes is the rotating distance scale under a small window.
The weight and size: In its category, where its "classmates" the Canon 180/3,5, the Nikon 200/4 etc. I think it is still the shortest and lightest lens, even with his 945 g own weight.
Picture quality is superb, not only in the macro range, but even in the whole.
Focus limiter: 3 positions (full; full to half life-size,(from infinity to 0.61 m) and from half life-size to 1:1 (from 0.61 m down to 0.46))Can be very useful.
Accept 72 mm filters (note SB-29 can be used without adaptor)
Bokeh is beautiful, thanks to the 9-bladed diaphragm.
Sharpness, contrast, resolution, colors;(the most important things) I won't write. Just go and see it yourself.
HSM: In a Nikon body it's even better than a Nikor 200mm. Silent. Full-time manual focus: you roughly set the focus, and the AF corrects it.And you still can hold the lens in your hand because focus ring doesn't rotates during AF. Weaknesses: Vignetting. NOTE: maybe YOU WON'T EVER NOTICE THIS.
Open at f/4 and with a light gray background without any pattern in it this lens ONCE "delivered" this. Fully opened I've never noticed it with green or even white background when I used pro slide film.
HSM: silent, but not as fast as you think. It's slow, silent, but in close distances it hardly find the correct focus. But in this range (=>very shallow DOF) the AF remains fast in the finder.
Shallow DOF. This lens is not designed to be your 1st lens what you buy. You need experience to can use it. As you wish.
The category. It is almost useless without a good, heavy tripod. Without it you 'll miss dozens of beautiful shots, and get nothing else but blurred, out-of focus photographs. Similar Products Used: nothing yet. Customer Service: Never needed. Because of the IF, it is very resistant to dust.
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