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Qianlong

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 23, 2004
154
4
Hello

A lot of people are looking for advice on what digital camera or lenses to buy.
So the MacRumors members have compiled a list of links to help you out.


Feel free to add more links...

[embedguide]Links_for_Camera_and_Lens_Shoppers[/embedguide]

Nikon

http://www.bythom.com/index.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com
http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/index.php
http://www.nikonians.org
http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html - Bjorn Rorslett's Nikon Lens Reviews - the gold standard of Nikon lens reviews
http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html - Bjorn Rorslett's Nikon Lens Reviews - Tech data
http://www.nikonlinks.com/ - links to all things Nikon
http://nikondp.com/


Pentax

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/
http://www.pentaxforums.com/
http://www.pentaxslr.com/
http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_forum.php?id=80


Canon

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Default.aspx
http://photonotes.org/articles/
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php


Micro Four Thirds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_Four_Thirds_system/
http://www.43rumors.com/
http://www.mu-43.com/


Lens Reviews/Tests

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/
http://www.photodo.com/
http://www.photozone.de
http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/
http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/index.php


General Review and Info Sites

http://www.cameratown.com/index.cfm
http://www.dcresource.com/
http://www.dcresource.com/links/
http://www.digitalreview.ca/
http://www.dphotojournal.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/
http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_came...tml?tag=ont.dc
http://www.smartratings.com/photography/digital_cameras
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
http://dpmac.com/
http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/


Other

http://www.luminous-landscape.com
http://www.pbase.com - Pbase.com is a great site to look for real-world pics with almost any camera and/or lens. No more charts and studio setups. Many pics in real situations to see how good or bad cameras and lenses are.
http://www.photocamel.com/
http://www.photo.net/
http://www.radiantvista.com/
http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/forum-31.html
http://www.apug.org/forums/home.php
 
Last edited:
These links are great guys! I knew about some of them but this is a handy little linkage guide to have. Kudos!
 
they HAVE to sticky this.... to many threads about what types of lens to get and is this a good one, I think this can help alot of people:cool:
 
Pbase.com is a great site to look for real-world pics with almost any camera and/or lens. This site made me crave the Canon 100mm Macro, the 70-200 f2.8L and the 30D

No more charts and studio setups. Many pics in real situations to see how good or bad cameras and lenses are.
 
Pbase.com is a great site to look for real-world pics with almost any camera and/or lens. This site made me crave the Canon 100mm Macro, the 70-200 f2.8L and the 30D

This is a great suggestion. Aside from being a great place to publish my photos (I keep them there; link in sig natch ;) ), what's great about this is that you can automatically find all photographs made with a given lens or camera... which can do a lot to tell you how that lens will enhance your portfolio. :)
 
(...) which can do a lot to tell you how that lens will enhance your portfolio. :)

Which is exactly why I posted it :) Also, I've contacted some people on Pbase, asking how they took X picture and I was pleased to see that most are willing to share tips and tricks.That's great for getting the most out of your camera. One more point for Pbase!
 
This is a great idea, kudos to Qianlong :) , but as a sticky it will work best if it's organised in one post, I think.

I've made a start, taking everything that's been contributed thus far. I suggest that those who want to add something, do it before the end of January, then someone (I'll do it if no one else does, but maybe Qianlong, as the person with the idea in the first place, would like to??) can make one glorious, organised list. Finally, we can ask a mod to clean up the thread/sticky the list again.

Any additions that come in after that, could be PM'ed to the person whose name is on the final post (and who therefore can edit it).

Short annotations are good, so people see what sort of general info the thread contains before they click.

Objections? Suggestions to organisation?

Here's my compilation thus far:


PHOTO RESOURCES

Nikon links:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm

http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/index.php

http://www.bythom.com/index.htm

http://www.nikonians.org

Nikon lens link collection:

http://home.zonnet.nl/famwakker/niko...swelcome01.htm

Nikon lens database:

http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html
Bjørn Rørslett's Nikon Lens Reviews- the gold standard of Nikon lens reviews

Pentax Links

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/

http://www.pentaxslr.com/

http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_forum.php?id=80

http://www.pentaxforums.com/

Canon links:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Default.aspx

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/

http://photonotes.org/articles/begin...html#whichlens

Lense Reviews/Tests:

http://www.photodo.com/

http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/

http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/index.php

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/


General review - info sites:

http://www.dcresource.com/

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_came...tml?tag=ont.dc

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/

http://www.cameratown.com/index.cfm

http://www.digitalreview.ca/

http://www.dphotojournal.com/

General stuff:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com

http://www.radiantvista.com/

http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

Pbase.com is a great site to look for real-world pics with almost any camera and/or lens. No more charts and studio setups. Many pics in real situations to see how good or bad cameras and lenses are.

Photocamel

Photo.net
 
I actually would delete Ken Rockwell from the list of Nikon links, as his "reviews" are more anedoctal and subjective than they are genuinely unbiased and objective. Many photographers scoff at his site and do not consider it a legitimate source of accurate information.
 
I've followed annk's suggestion and repasted all the links in my org post.

it would be nice if all new links would be pasted in the no 1 post.
I also like the idea of annotations for some sites.

that's why it's also good to let people post new links and give some comments on their links.

so i wouldn't delete all the posts (as an incentive towards the people who post new links), but leave them and I'll edit my 1st post everytime a new link is posted.
so people can check out the 1st post or scroll down.

but I would keep all the non-link and comments posts (like this one) to a minimum. and have a mod delete them to keep the thread clean.
 
I actually would delete Ken Rockwell from the list of Nikon links, as his "reviews" are more anedoctal and subjective than they are genuinely unbiased and objective. Many photographers scoff at his site and do not consider it a legitimate source of accurate information.

I'd keep it on the list, and for the same reason you argue...
There are a lot of other things (and often more important) to keep in mind other than "unbiased and objective" numbers and pictures of walls... And KR gives a good appreciation -in my opinion- of all those things.

No matter how you take it, a Nikkor is a Nikkor, and a Sigma is a Sigma. Hey, I have bought both. My lenses closet includes quite a few High-end Nikkors and a couple of high-end Sigmas. You just can't compare them... I'm by no means racist :D , I just give my opinion based on my experience. KR, does actually, write something about the lenses, based on experience, instead of copying press reviews. Over the years I've found that he's quite impartial, and that after using some piece of gear, I often agree 100% with what he says. To take an example, the D2x. I bought one as soon as I could. And yes, the camera is top-notch... but as soon as I'm done with my next assignment, I'm selling it. It has too many "things" I don't like...

Don't base your critics on what other people have said. Read his website by yourself and decide if you agree with him.

'nuff said. Your turn. ;)

BTW, sorry for my english.
 
Pentax listing of 'stevesforums' represents a general forum (not just Pentax) of a general test site, and as such is misleading/misrepresented:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/



Also missing (fewer reviews, but they do catch/point out some issues with cameras that other sites miss):

Imaging Resource- http://www.imaging-resource.com/

Check of the 'links' section as many of these general review sites will get you more of the smaller/limited general & specific types of testing/review sites- for example:

http://www.dcresource.com/links/
 
As one here seeking knowledge, I first commend the OP for bringing this forward, and then all of you who have contributed to quickly establishing the necessary reference links. I do thank you. Very well done indeed. I still have a couple brief 'opinion' questions (of course). But, I will take those elsewhere. Thanks for moving my research along so quickly!

Steve
 
I like the idea of this post, however I suggest ordering things on the list alphabetically as opposed to the seemingly random order.

Anyway, here are some other quite useful guides that I have seen when
looking for older glass for my EOS 30D


Ebay Lens Guides for older EF (Canon) glass

http://reviews.ebay.com/Canon-EF-Upgrade-Lens-Guide-For-EOS-Digital-SLRs_W0QQugidZ10000000000955896
http://reviews.ebay.com/Canon-EF-28...-Lens-Buying-Guide_W0QQugidZ10000000000771280
http://reviews.ebay.com/Great-Affor...r-EOS-Digital-SLRs_W0QQugidZ10000000000896295
http://reviews.ebay.com/Cheap-alternatives-for-expensive-Canon-lenses_W0QQugidZ10000000002615204

Older EF Lens Hood Combatability chart
http://reviews.ebay.com/Canon-EOS-E...ompatibility-Chart_W0QQugidZ10000000003158880
 
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