About
Reviews (8)
30 December 2005
Hey - It's cheap.
29 of 34 found this helpful So let's see. This lens comes with the body at a price well under 100 dollars. It has a nice 18-55 range - good for wide angle on one hand and a little distance on the other hand.
I will not compare this to any other lenses. I'm not going to say, oh, it's not as sharp as this, or blah blah, who cares? As another reviewer said, it's pretty much disposable, it's not a professional-grade lens, and it's CHEAP.
The autofocus is medium-fast and is dead on most of the time. It hunts in low light and backlit conditions, but this is expected. The front element rotates when focusing, so circular polarizers are an issue.
The lens has good (hence my rating: good) image quality, good sharpness, although there have been reports of quality control problems. I probably got a good copy. Other people have gotten copies that have not performed very well. The build is decent. It feels sturdier than what you paid for.
I like this lens as a walk-around lens just to have some fun with, although I have taken some serious pictures with it. I have made a 12x18 print of the following picture that I took with the 18-55 and it came out spectacular:
http://nd.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30105784&l=341c1
That's about it. Oh yeah, one more thing: I like its macro capabilities. It in fact does a good job with close-up shots. I found my best pictures came from this type of shooting. Here is an example:
http://nd.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=15715144&l=c047d
I would suggest, for those upgrading to DSLR from point and shoot, to go with this lens as the kit lens. It is worth it.
30 December 2005
Highly Recommended
20 of 25 found this helpful A few months ago I left the point-and-shoot world (Panasonic Lumix FZ-20) and joined the DSLR world (Canon EOS 350D). This is my first DSLR and this is what I think:
The body: The body has a slightly cheapy feel - but then, it is a pretty cheap camera. The buttons are placed well and are easy to learn. The LCD screen that displays the menu/pictures can be difficult to see in bright outdoor conditions. On the other hand, it is fairly large and informative.
Features: The D20 is simply a beefed up Rebel XT. If you are making an entry into the DSLR world and you don't have a lot of money to throw away, save the 500+ dollars, buy an XT, and invest that into better lenses. 5 FPS vs 3 FPS? I consider myself an action photographer, and 3 FPS suits this. I get excellent sequences of surfing, bodyboarding, and bodysurfing (my specialty), along with various other sports. Sure, I'd love 5 FPS, but I'm not taking that over the 70-200 F/4L that I was able to get by not purchasing the D20. No ISO 3200 is an acceptable complaint, although the noise levels at this high an ISO would probably be unacceptable to most people. The noise levels are acceptable all the way to 1600, but I try to stick to 800 because it is significantly better here. So,
Pros
- Cheap
- All the features and more you'd expect out of this price
- Excellent gateway into the (D)SLR world
- The price difference between it and the D20
- 8 MP. A reviewer stated he has 8x12s up on his wall. Do not cut yourself short. I have printed many 12x18s which came out stunningly beautiful.
Cons
- The body is a too small if you have big hands like me (I'm 6'2). Consider buying a battery grip to solve this problem.
- Body feels cheapy
- No ISO 3200?
If you don't have a lot of money and want to get into DSLRs, this is the choice. Save your money and spend it on better lenses - it is DEFINITELY worth it.
30 December 2005
Hey - It's cheap.
28 of 33 found this helpful So let's see. This lens comes with the body at a price well under 100 dollars. It has a nice 18-55 range - good for wide angle on one hand and a little distance on the other hand.
I will not compare this to any other lenses. I'm not going to say, oh, it's not as sharp as this, or blah blah, who cares? As another reviewer said, it's pretty much disposable, it's not a professional-grade lens, and it's CHEAP.
The autofocus is medium-fast and is dead on most of the time. It hunts in low light and backlit conditions, but this is expected. The front element rotates when focusing, so circular polarizers are an issue.
The lens has good (hence my rating: good) image quality, good sharpness, although there have been reports of quality control problems. I probably got a good copy. Other people have gotten copies that have not performed very well. The build is decent. It feels sturdier than what you paid for.
I like this lens as a walk-around lens just to have some fun with, although I have taken some serious pictures with it. I have made a 12x18 print of the following picture that I took with the 18-55 and it came out spectacular:
http://nd.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30105784&l=341c1
That's about it. Oh yeah, one more thing: I like its macro capabilities. It in fact does a good job with close-up shots. I found my best pictures came from this type of shooting. Here is an example:
http://nd.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=15715144&l=c047d
I would suggest, for those upgrading to DSLR from point and shoot, to go with this lens as the kit lens. It is worth it.