Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: camera, DSLR, canon | Themes: Digital Cameras
11. Lenses
With a good digital SLR, the lens is fundamental for final image quality. We’ll start by applauding Canon’s very good practice of supplying a USM lens. The motor in this f/3.5-5.6 18-55 mm is no speed demon (Nikon’s is every bit as fast), but it does provide the happy advantage of silent focusing.
The optics that replace the 18-55 mm that came with earlier entry-level SLRs — whose results were mediocre at best — have been entirely redesigned (several aspherical lenses are used). Vignetting is still very apparent at full aperture. But it decreases quickly and becomes imperceptible at two f/stops down from that. Distortion is still in evidence in wide-angle at full aperture, but much less so than on the previous model, and it diminishes gradually, though it never totally disappears. At the longer focal lengths, it’s very unobtrusive. These very acceptable results show that Canon has finally come up to the level of its competitors as far as the supplied normal zoom lens goes.
Results with the 18-55 mm Nikon supplies are close to the ones we just saw with the Canon. Vignetting is evident at maximum aperture and becomes almost imperceptible two stops down.
Distortion is a little less perceptible in wide-angle and disappears gradually as focal length increases.
The 18-55 mm ALII that Pentax includes with the K200D has exactly the same characteristics as the AL version. The only difference is a new coating that makes the front lens less subject to dust abrasion. There are also the same characteristics as well as the same faults — vignetting and distortion are very slightly less in evidence than on the Canon, but it’s an infinitesimal difference. The K200D’s autofocus motor is fairly noisy, though – but fortunately the camera is compatible with lenses with built-in motors (SDM).
Sony’s 18-70 mm has the widest focal-length range of all the lenses we tested, and logically enough, its results were the least satisfactory. The price to pay for its flexibility is heavy distortion and vignetting in wide-angle at full aperture. The faults become less flagrant as you stop and zoom in, but they’re still more visible than with the competition’s lenses.
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The Nikon D60 and Canon EOS 450D/Digital Rebel XSi are two different cameras.
I think my employer is bad for forcing me to double check and proofread my work. Dr. Tom doesn’t even require you to care about your job.
BTW, for camera review, I’d go to dpreview.com and not Tom’s.
This should be "...The Nikon D60, Canon EOS Rebel XSi/450D, Pentax K200D and Sony α350.
Technically, the XTi(400D) was the first to implement the eos integrated cleaning system; the newer 40D uses the same system.
I fail to see why anyone would want/need a physical button for changing between RAW and JPEG shooting modes.
I don't know if the other software has this, but Canon's Digital Photo Professional also has good aberration correction features (distortion, CA, light falloff, etc.)
If you shoot with Canon, another good review site is http://the-digital-picture.com/
Technically, the XTi(400D) was the first to implement the eos integrated cleaning system; the newer 40D uses the same system.
Only Olympus Dslr's have the most effective dust removal system and they were the first that designed it and implemented it
The first model that had this feature was the Olympus E-1 back in the late 2003
aside from above comment on the dusk cleaning system is pioneered by olympus, the "New" DSLR in this guide are hardly new.. all of them are announced back in Jan(and as we ALL know, 1/2 yr is a long time for tech).. there are new budgeted DSLR released recently such as canon 1000d, olympus 420/520.
40D, e200, a430, 500r, g650, l,m,n,o,p,q...
I don't know about anybody else, but it would have made the article a lot easier to follow if they just referred to the cameras by their manufacturer name (after initially identifying the models). When the last reference to (or photo of) a camera by it's manufacturer is 2 pages back, it's a pain to figure out which camera they are talking about. Unless you're a serious hobbyist or professional, it's hard to follow the reviews when they switch between modes of reference. We all knnow the names Sony, Pentax, Nikon, and Canon; stick with them for clarity.
40D, e200, a430, 500r, g650, l,m,n,o,p,q...
I don't know about anybody else, but it would have made the article a lot easier to follow if they just referred to the cameras by their manufacturer name (after initially identifying the models). When the last reference to (or photo of) a camera by it's manufacturer is 2 pages back, it's a pain to figure out which camera they are talking about. Unless you're a serious hobbyist or professional, it's hard to follow the reviews when they switch between modes of reference. We all knnow the names Sony, Pentax, Nikon, and Canon; stick with them for clarity.
40D, e200, a430, 500r, g650, l,m,n,o,p,q...
I don't know about anybody else, but it would have made the article a lot easier to follow if they just referred to the cameras by their manufacturer name (after initially identifying the models). When the last reference to (or photo of) a camera by it's manufacturer is 2 pages back, it's a pain to figure out which camera they are talking about. Unless you're a serious hobbyist or professional, it's hard to follow the reviews when they switch between modes of reference. We all knnow the names Sony, Pentax, Nikon, and Canon; stick with them for clarity.
I'm surpirsed that Olympus was not included in this review. They have some of the lightest bodies that are cost effective. For those interested in getting into photography - Camera bodies are not as important as Lenses and Olympus makes the best lenses in the market.
Unknown
Yes, lens with no camera is great.