Camera Labs

Hi Asif:

Thanks for the photo samples and comments.

I think the lens does a good job for the price and convenience. Have you printed any photos...if so, what sizes and how did they look?

Do you have any indoor and evening samples?

Thanks,

Mitch

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7)

Hi Mitchel,

I'll do some printing at the weekend and let you know the results. In the meantime, here are a couple of indoor evening shots.

With Speedlite 430EXII and Stofen diffuser:



With on-camera flash:



Regards,
Asif

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Canon EOS 7D, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Tokina 50-135mm f2.8, Sigma 18-125mm DC OS HSM, 2 x Speedlite 430EXII, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, Radio Triggers and Panasonic DMC-TZ7.

I forgot to mention that your kids are beautiful!

I think these also look very good, I just don't know what people are complaining about regarding this lens. Thanks for printing some.

I have a feeling those that are complaining only use "L" lenses or view everything at 100% or more in Photoshop and look for something to complain about. I'm sure if you look hard enough you will find fault with a high-end "L" also.

Oh well...to each his own.

Mitch

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7)

Thanks Mitch,

Here's a few more indoor evening shots, all using the 430EXII with Stofen diffuser:

Reading Time



Anisah's Ring



Teddy Bear



I hope to take more test shots over the weekend (and do some printing).

Regards,
Asif

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Canon EOS 7D, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Tokina 50-135mm f2.8, Sigma 18-125mm DC OS HSM, 2 x Speedlite 430EXII, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, Radio Triggers and Panasonic DMC-TZ7.

Hi All,

Just to let you know, there are now over 300 sample shots in my Flickr set for this lens:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tufal/sets ... 513982025/

Regards,
Asif

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Canon EOS 7D, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Tokina 50-135mm f2.8, Sigma 18-125mm DC OS HSM, 2 x Speedlite 430EXII, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, Radio Triggers and Panasonic DMC-TZ7.

I also have the lens and overall I like it a lot, however there are some shortcomings. Shooting indoor is one of them.

Indoor (½ dark):


18mm - canon 50D @ 12800 ISO (ouch the noise... Getting a 50mm f.1.8 II soon - cheap and nice i hear).

But the 18-200mm its great outdoors!



But it does tend to bend images a bit



20mm look at the bend on that nearest flagpole!


Overall I love the lens. It's simply perfect for taking a walk through the city and shooting.

Naturally it might not be an "L" lens and the long range comes does mean its not really a high performer at the end of the ranges, but for me personally, the challenge lies not in the glass but in finding the motives and taking pictures of random people - closer than 200mm

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Canon 50D | 18-200 mm EF-S | My Flickr

Did a few shots tonight at low light/darkness all at 18mm 3.5-4.5:



Daylight:

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Canon 50D | 18-200 mm EF-S | My Flickr

Asif,
Thanks for a good and informative review.
I dont have this lens, but from the review of yours i have to admit that this lens probably is a better "every day lens" than my 17-85

Yes, 17 is wider that 18 but not to much to debate about.

Are your samples straght from the camera, or have you done any postprocessing such as sharpening, levels, or such?
If not, whats your picture style settings in the camera?

Thanks again for a good review !
/K

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Canon EOS 40D - Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM - Canon EF 50/1,8 II - Canon EF 70-200/4L IS USM - Speedlite 430 EX - Lowerpro Nova 4 AW
My Flickr

Hi Khol,

My post-processing skills are quite limited and I did the following in Canon's Digital Photo Professional: (a) tone curve adjustment, (b) increase sharpening to 5, (c) either increase saturation to 1/2 or adjust the white balance, (d) adjust the brightness, and (e) cropping for some shots.

Regards,
Asif

P.S. There are many excellent shots at http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon_ef-s ... m_is/pool/

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Canon EOS 7D, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Tokina 50-135mm f2.8, Sigma 18-125mm DC OS HSM, 2 x Speedlite 430EXII, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, Radio Triggers and Panasonic DMC-TZ7.

Hehehe, yes, that seems to be an unavoidable problem with super-zooms. To be fair though, distortions are likely to go unnoticed in most field conditions. It's plain that nobody who's into architectural photography (or anybody who needs perfectly straight lines for some reason or other) would ever dream on using a super-zoom, but for general purpose use the plain fact is the flexibility and convenience of this lens is all but unbeatable. Looks pretty sharp, BTW.

Very nice review, and the example shots are terrific!

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Nikon D90 | AF-S 18-200 VR II | AF-S 35mm f/1.8 | Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 | SB-600 | Gorillapod + Manfrotto 484RC2