Why this lens is not expensive, if you compare with another stores.... the difference is 300 usd!
148324
no HSM (hyper sonic motor) so it wont work with the d3000 series and d5000 series. if yours has a built in focus motor, then your good
501845
Amazon tends to raise their price autmatically (?) if there is more interests for the item. e.g. more clicks and page views increases the price. I think the price drop for a bit due the rumor that waterpoof version of this lense is going to be out soon. This is not a water-proof lense but a great one indeed.
1296629
There is 300 USD difference for a start!You are correct about the mirror. The video auto-focus is far faster and 10fps is the fastest you'll get at that price.
296482
Not mine... I'd expect that model to be significantly more expensive, seeing as a lack of these features allows for such a cheap lens to begin with.
1690496
Thanks for your question! I'm sure it's disappointing to see an increase in the price of the lens you were planning to purchase. Because we constantly receive new data from our suppliers, our prices regularly change. The price you saw was the lowest price we were able to offer at the time. More details about our pricing can be found on our Help pages:
1531926
I received mine over the weekend from Amazon, but have done similar research as you did for over a week. I've noticed the same thing as you do on the price increase. IMO I chaulk it up to supply and demand. I shopped around and found the prices to be generally very close amongst online stores, and no more $435's available except at one reputable NY store selling it at $439 just the other day, and is back-ordered. The thing is that with Amazon there aren't even other vendors selling this camera at any price, so it's completely up to Amazon to charge what it thinks is appropriate. Even the used prices (which are mostly by Amazon in this case) have risen by a large margin. However, the camera is fantastic! So it's still a value proposition in my case. Since I sold my M43 gear, this $500 price tag is downright low. Look at it another way, there are no M43 or DSLRs (bodies only) that shoot at 5.5 FPS with autofocus or 12 without that come in at less than a grand. The lens range and aperture are in the same situation, there is nothing in the inter-changeable lens world that come close without costing multiples of this FZ150. Seriously, an Olympus 28-200'ish mm equivalent M43 lens runs at $450; a Nikon 18-200 VR for APS-C sensor is at approx $900; a Nikon 28-300 VR for full frame is about $1k (while non of these open to f 2.8). True, those cameras have larger sensors and the lenses are quality stuff and can do different things (we're not totally comparing apples to apples here), but if this camera is right for you for what you do as it does in my case for what I intend it to do, which is for travel (light) and take photos of my son at baseball games, the price is a steal. Frankly this camera out guns my DSLR by a large margin and does 1080P video with fast accurate auto focus at 60p :) I cannot do manual video focus of sports - at any price! On the other hand, other options may be to wait and see, or buy used. I checked out eBay, no luck there (but Amazon pricing staff already know that).
876255
You are not looking at very expensive optics here, and you can't compare the performance of this lens to one costing thousands of dollars. That being said however, this lens will perform pretty well shooting the moon. You will find it hard to get perfect focus on infinity. If you have the extender, which will double your length, you will get even closer shots. Also, some people can't stand that this lens is all mechanical, just like the old 35 MM lenses. I love shooting with this thing. You can actually hand hold to get some very good bird shots. I hope this answers your question. Good luck. For the price, you should do okay!
372350
Absolutely! There is nothing sharper at 300mm under $5000. I use this all the time to photograph my daughter's soccer games and get amazing results. It is very light weight and easy to hand hold for the entire game. I also have taken it bird watching in the local wetlands for 2 hour walks and have not had problems hand holding the entire time. I use a high shutter speed to ensure that my shots are sharp. Kids and birds move so fast that 1/2000 or faster is necessary.
313060
The first two answers are spot on. I bought this lens because it is far less expensive and I use a tripod most of the time.
320072
Your image quality will be second to none when comparing against the 28-300. We have the 35, 50 and 85 (all 1.8), and we couldn't be happier. May look into selling the 28-300 and getting a 70-200 in addition to the 3 primes.
1773175
I think this is the best option without going nuts on budget, not cheap not so expensive. Distortion for Architectural is acceptable, obviously the more closer you are you will notice some, its not the 24mm or the zoom but believe me is sharp as hell, even more at f2.5 and f8 ... careful with a lil shift focus at night mostly at f4, other than that im super happy with this lens and i take it to travel a lot
1069243
I own both. This is sharper and faster to focus than the 70-300. With either lens, "faster" is not a consideration. Both lenses are sharpest at f8 and require plenty of bright light. BTW, the lens hood from the 70-300 works on this version for those wondering...
2193888
Close, but no. If you're looking for the speed of the 35 mm lens, you'll want the 18-300 mm lens, approximately $900.00. But the speed is so close that I don't worry about it, I just change settings to try and compensate with the camera.
1582486
Brandon. It doesn't say when you asked this question but I figured the answer out. First, I just purchased the last one that a storefront had for $289, so i'm sorry if I stole the lens from you :X. Second, the price is going to be interesting on this lens from here on out. It has been discontinued due to a recently announced new model. The question is how much will this new model cost? To my knowledge that hasn't been answered. I decided to snag it at this price because if the new model is upwards of $400 then it out of my price range anyway. If the new model comes out sub $400 this older model might tank in price. Supply and demand will dictate based on that information. As for big stores, I don't see you having much luck. Most did firesales and liquidated their stock already to mitigate the price risk. I can tell you that this is my first fixed lens for general photography. It hasnt even arrived yet, but when it does I plan to test it out. If its not to my liking I can resell it to you at the price I purchased + the tax I paid + shipping. I would generally just return it but that lowers your chance of it ending up in your hands. If this was a recent post just come back to me and I can show you proof that it hasn't even arrived yet :). Take care!
150329
Stay with the 200. Vignette is minimal to none and the clarity of the 18-200 is very impressive. Clear and sharp edge to edge(this impressed me the most.) You wont miss the 300 and you can take the money savings and apply to another lens.
501844
Amazon tends to raise their price autmatically (?) if there is more interests for the item. e.g. more clicks and page views increases the price.I think the price drop for a bit due the rumor that waterpoof version of this lense is going to be out soon. This is not a water-proof lense but a great one indeed.
1477145
Also I'd look into the seller SSE of this lens. It's listed for only 1, 000 and comes with accessories.