KillRamsey
Hall of Famer
- Location
- Hood River, OR
- Name
- Kyle
Ok, my XC 50-230 has arrived from Japan. For the record, I got it on Ebay from a reputable seller in Japan for about $180 shipped. It's the ugly silver one, but I care not one iota, as long as it works (check) and it's cheap (check). I took it out this morning on the way to work, and was greeted by light drizzle and grey clouds everywhere. These have been tweaked slightly, but not heavily. All were hand-held.
ISO 800, 1/120 second, f6.7, 230mm
KBRX9818P by gordopuggy, on Flickr
ISO 640, 1/180 second, f6.7, 230mm, slight rotation and crop
KBRX9871P by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Exactly the same settings as above.
KBRX9875P by gordopuggy, on Flickr
Initial thoughts: For $180, this is stupidly useful. It talks to the camera and runs on auto when I want it to, focus is more than fast enough, there's more or less no CA or fringing, contrast and colors are better than the old film glass by far, it really benefits from being stopped down a click or two, the OIS works pretty damned well (good for 1/30 so far at 50mm, and 1/125 at 230mm). It's shorter than I pictured, until you zoom it out, at which point it becomes comically long. It's LIGHT, thanks to all that fragile plastic. When you click it on, it barely makes a click and doesn't have that "ohhhh hell yeah" solid XF lens feeling. But it has incredible reach, and it does its job WAY better than it ought to.
ISO 800, 1/120 second, f6.7, 230mm
ISO 640, 1/180 second, f6.7, 230mm, slight rotation and crop
Exactly the same settings as above.
Initial thoughts: For $180, this is stupidly useful. It talks to the camera and runs on auto when I want it to, focus is more than fast enough, there's more or less no CA or fringing, contrast and colors are better than the old film glass by far, it really benefits from being stopped down a click or two, the OIS works pretty damned well (good for 1/30 so far at 50mm, and 1/125 at 230mm). It's shorter than I pictured, until you zoom it out, at which point it becomes comically long. It's LIGHT, thanks to all that fragile plastic. When you click it on, it barely makes a click and doesn't have that "ohhhh hell yeah" solid XF lens feeling. But it has incredible reach, and it does its job WAY better than it ought to.