Hitachi LL-504 - telephoto zoom lens

Advantages: Light in weight for its size; ultra-fast focussing
Disadvantages: Faster lenses exist (at a price!); zoom range a modest x3

...I used one of these lenses on a 35mm camera for many years and now use it on my Canon 20D. It is light in weight, and, fitted with the essential but pricey lens hood, produces sharp, flare-free photos throughout the zoom range. It is easy to handle and allows manual focussing WITHOUT moving any switches to disengage the motor. In addition, the lens focusses so quickly as to be near-instantaneous and is also completely silent. The maximum aperature varies from a slow 4 to 5.6, which limits its use in dim lighting conditions, such as in a church or theatre. This is the price for the light weight design - a wider front glass makes a for a heavier, and far more costly, lens. The front of teh lens has a 58mm screw thread, allowing for teh easy attachment of a UV filter, which I would regard as essential to protect the front element... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Portable with powerful zooming lens
Disadvantages: Restrictions on using a replacing battery of other brand

...As described in the title, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 is a compact digital camera with great zoom lens. After using it for four weeks, I cannot get rid of it. I highly recommend it to those who are looking for a digital camera for three main reasons. First, TZ7 takes nice pictures. With the lens from Leica, the quality of pictures is guaranteed. Before this one, I had used two digital cameras, including a Canon and an Olympus. TZ7 shoots better pictures than the two, especially in an environment with low light. And it has more options to adjust the sizes of the pictures. Second, it is awsome to have 12x optical zoom within its highly portable size. Before buying it, I did consider buying a DSLR. I had been struggling with the decision for a long time. Finally, I took TZ7 and I was not disappointed at all. Its merits of being portable... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Fast Focus, well built, reliable excellent performance all round
Disadvantages: Heavy, you will need a tripod

...As you may be gathering, I have been investing in camera stuff recently... This is the 2nd lens I bought for my camera which is excellent. It takes very good and sharp pictures all the way through and is not prone to glare, possibly due to the very large hood it comes with! The operation of the lens is very simple and fits on both the Sony a-mount as well as the Konica Minolta mount. Zooming is done through a large in the middle and if you are focusing manually it is through a front ring. Again there is no distance indicator for the focus ring but that is only useful for nerds as you will not be able to focus and measure distance at the same time unless you want to get a tape out to check! The longest zoom is at 300mm. Now bear in mind that digital SLR cameras have a "crop" factor in the majority of cases and the Sony a-100 has... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful