This lens came with my purchase of a Nikon N75 camera. I have to tell ya, this lens is pretty good for its intended purpose. I like the lens because its reliable, focuses quickly, and is very portable. I have used this lens exclusively for a while now, and found it to be simple and easy to use. I have since acquired more lenses, but this one is a great intermediate lens for those photographers that want something that has a good value, and that provides results. One adds filters to this lens, and it really becomes a versatile work horse. The only thing I really didnt like about the lens, it the feel of it. It can feel a little 'cheap' at times. Also, the colors dont come out as intended sometimes. Also, shadows are too dark, and sometimes the skies get washed out - those 'wonderful' white skies. But for macro, and general photography its a great lens! Worth the money you pay for it, as long as it isnt too much.
Strengths:
-Great value
-Nice range 28-80mm
-Focuses quickly
-Compact
-Light
-Great all-around lens
Weaknesses:
-No color saturation
-Images are never as sharp as they can be
-Minor distortion in 80mm mode
-Colors too dark, brown hair on people can turn black sometimes
-Can be a little noisy
Similar Products Used:
Canon, Nikon
Customer Service:
Pretty good customer service department. They know lenses!
This lens was included in the Nikon N60 "kit" that I purchased a few years ago. I shot many pictures with it until I started aquiring Nikon prime lenses. The 3.5-5.6 maximum aperture is limited in low light handheld shooting. I had to load up with very fast film that was grainy. My biggest complaint is image quality. From 28-60 it's acceptable for the casual photograhper. But get close to 80mm and it's very very soft. And macro can only be activated at 80, so it's not a good macro either. On a positive note, it was very reliable and never failed me, even though it feels like a plastic toy.
Strengths:
Cheap
28-80mm is suitable for almost all occasions without having to change lenses
Weaknesses:
Optics
Slow max aperture
Focus ring is way too loose in man. focus mode
Rating Reviewed by: Pavel Dubsky(Unregistered User)
(Casual)
Review Date November 28, 2003
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for 3 Months to 1 year
Review 3 of 7
Price Paid:
$130.00
Summary:
I bought this lens for my Nikon F70 (in US N70), because new versions ( G ) of Nikkors don´t have aperture ring and i often use him. My previous lens (SIGMA 28-200 f/3,5-5,6) was heavy (17 lenses) and required large filters. This cheap lens is perfect sharp and quite fast. Come with bayonet hood and macro capability.
I scanned today slides with Nikon Coolscan 4000 film scanner and results are very good. Front side of the lens not rotate, this is good for polarizers. Also with my Nikon SB-27 flash the pictures are razorsharp and with nice color. Highly recommended!
Strengths:
Sharp, nice colors, cheap, acceptable barell distrotion, come with hood, only 7 lens group, HF (Helical Focus) - constant lens size by zooming.
I bought this lens with my Maxxum 5 outfit of Sigma 28-80mm and Sigma 70-300mm lenses. This lens is great for its versatility and sharp pictures. I took it to California and produced some great pictures. The pictures came out sharp and great color rendition. Hood is very useful in bright sunlight. Above all, I like the lens, but preferred Genuine Minolta lenses for their compatability. If you want to go cheaper, choose this one. Recommended!!
Strengths:
Above all, this lens is pretty cheap for the quality it gives - great clear and sharp pictures. Macro was good for flowers, plants, etc., but not good for model ships, coins, etc. Lens gives great color rendition and great range for ordinary photography. Oh yeah, this lens is pretty fast at focusing!!
Weaknesses:
Hood is kinda weak and can be easily be lost or fallen. I brought it to California on vacation and lost it somewhere because it was too easy to fall off, but it is very useful in most cases. I went to visit the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach and took some night pictures. Some pictures came out too bright on the subject (a person), and some look too dark - not sure if it's the camera or the lens or is it just me? One day, I took some pictures with a bright background and the picture of the person was undersaturated and dark. For other normal pictures, this lens gives great sharpness and color rendition. The macro mode is useful, but there isn't any adjusting to do like the Minolta Lenses. The Macro is set at 80mm with a click of a switch and that's all there is to it. Whereas the Minolta Macro lens lets you adjust the sharpness while in Macro. I'm not sure what Sigma wants us to do in Macro mode because there's nothing else to do after the click of the switch. I think it's because the Macro on a genuine minolta lens makes the camera go manual for you to adjust, whereas Sigma keeps the camera in auto-focus mode.
Similar Products Used:
Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4 - Sharpest and best lens!!
Minolta AF 28-105mm (newer version with the curvy hood) f/3.5-4.5
Minolta AF 35-105mm Macro (all metal older version) f/3.5-4.5
Minolta AF 28-85mm M
Bought it to replace my Minolta 28-80. It had to be cheap and the Sigma 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical HF was the cheapest to be had. I'm kinda sorry about cheaping out on a lens though. Many of my photo's with it show a lot of distortion and rarely are the images sharp. The macro mode is a nice extra but I rarely use it. I am now looking to replace this one with a Minolta 24-105 f/3.5-4.5 D lens which I found to have a lot of good reviews.
Strengths:
Price, 1:2 macro capability, good build for a plastic lens, comes with lens hood.
Weaknesses:
Not sharp enough, image distortion.
Similar Products Used:
Minolta 28-80, 75-300 f/4.5-5.6 (wish it were faster), 50 f/1.4 (beutiful!)
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