Quantaray - 28-200MM F3.8-5.6 Lens for Nikon AF

Rating:
Summary: Okay lens for the poor SLR owner
Review: Quantaray is Ritz Camera's store brand, and Quantaray lenses are made by Sigma, one of the "big three" third-party camera lens makers (the other two being Tamron and Tokina, all three are Japanese companies).

While Sigma lenses are usually pretty good quality, the Quantaray line is rather uneven, probably due to lowered manufacturing specs. This 28-200mm lens (or 42-300mm on the D70 and D100 digital SLRs) feels rather "cheap", and the autofocus is noisy and slow. On the other hand, the same can be said for low-priced Nikkor (Nikon's own brand) lenses.

On the plus side, this is a lot of lens for a decent price -- again, I want to emphasize that if you are willing to look around, you may be able to find better-quality Tamron or Sigma lenses for the same price. You get a focal range that covers wideangle to moderate telephoto, and this is a relatively modern lens, so its optics is good. Remember, this is a poor photographer's lens, as it cannot compete with official Nikkor 28-200mm offerings which cost at least three times as much.

Bottom line: this is an economic lens that gives okay performance. Not something you want as a professional, but if you are just an amateur and don't have a deep pocket, you may want to get this Quantaray as an all-purpose zoom lens.