Opinions about Pro Master lense please

[Billie]

I was wondering if any of you had experience with any of the Pro-Master Series lenses?

Thanks in advance.

[Curtis N]

I've had trouble finding info or reviews of Promaster products. They're only sold in the US, and only by local camera shops, not online or mail-order retailers, as far as I can tell.

For the most part, they're rebranded products made by a number of other manufacturers. It's a challenge to match a Promaster product with its name-brand equivalent.

They are generally consumer grade products. They aren't intended for the pro or $eriou$ amateur, and won't come anywhere near the quality of Canon "L" lenses, Sigma EX series, or the top line of other makers.

[Big Hands]

I actually own a Promaster lens. They are rebadged third party consumer grade lenses.

How can I put this delicately....

You get what you pay for... and a little less.

I would advise you to look elsewhere because I think you can do better than Promaster lenses for the same money. JMHO.

Regards,
Jeff

[ron chappel]

I've used many consumer grade lenses but not those actual ones (that i know of)
My experience is that you can get lucky and happen upon a cheap lens that gives quite OK optical performance. The REALLY tricky part is knowing whick model lenses are OK/good ones because there is allmost no established knowledge base -there is no one around that has done comparisons with other lenses.

If you are in a situation where money is a real issue ,there are good options in the better brand lenses.
Just as an example - in x-300mm the telezoom range there are three model lenses that are cheaper than the base model canon 75-300,yet they still give very usefull image sharpness.
In fact one of them-the sigma 100-300DL i own myself even though i can afford a much more expensive lens.I think these sell new for a paltry us$110 ?

[liza]

I own one, too, and it's horrible. Save your money and buy better glass. As Ron said, there are better options out there that don't break the bank.

[Billie]

Thanks everyone! I just purchased one with the advice of the sales person who is a pro wedding photographer (also camera sales.) It wasn't what I asked for, I got talked into it, and it is aweful. I am new to photography, so I wanted to see opinions of others to see if they matched my own. I have tried three times, under three different circumstances to shoot with these lense, and I am coming up with aweful results. I will be returning it to the camera shop tomorrow.
Thanks agian for your opinions.

Billie
Canon 20D, Canon 35-80, Canon 75-300

[liza]

Billie,
A couple of good lenses to start with are the 50mm f/1.8, which is about $70 and the Tamron 28-75, which retails for about $380. There are a number of other great lenses out there. Just read some of the older threads in the lens section for further advice.

[Billie]

Thanks Liza.

I have been on countless numbers of threads, and don't intend on stopping any time soon. There is a wealth of information for me to discover! Thanks for the suggestions.

Thanks!

[2005GLI]

i wish the promasters were cheaper then most. One store had the promaster 12-24 which is the same as the tokina 12-24 but $300 more.

[saravrose]

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=169271

[Dante King]

there is a reason that wedding photog guy has a side job selling gear....