promaster

[Portrayed1]

what do you all think of promaster lenses? flash bulbs? whatever else they make.....
thanks.

 

[blash]

My local camera shop (Bel Air Camera in Los Angeles) carries their filters, and that's what I've bought - for their cheap, uncoated filters at least, they do the job and appear relatively clear but if you hold them up to the light they look like the dirtiest crap on the planet. I've taken plenty of pictures with them though and I don't really notice that much of an IQ drop (although I'm probably just ignorant).

 

[Dao]

The only one Promaster lens that I may consider buying is the 100mm f/3.5 macro lens from them. Actually, from what I read, it is made by Cosina. And you can find the same version with a different brand such as Vivitar, Phoenix as well as Pentax.

The lens is a 1:2 macro lens but shipped with a extension to make it 1:1. Reviews on the lens is quite good in image quality. However, the body build is very plastic like a toy. And it has a nickname of Plastic Fantastic.

I believe the autofocus of that lens is slower, but for those who use it as a macro lens, manual focus maybe is their choice anyway.

 

[iriairi]

I have a promaster flash. It works well but is a little bulky. Was a good start for me and I will use as a slave to a speedlite when I save up the money.

I had a promaster 17-50 f2.8 that was supposed to be the Tamrom equivalent repackaged. I thought for the money, it was great. I used it with my XTi, but upgraded to 5d and couldn't use it. It was a little unclear that the lens was only meant for crop factor cameras. I think that you just need to be careful and check to see if anyone is using the model that you are interested in.

 

[frXnz kafka]

I have a Promaster 2500PK, which is their film body. I also have the 50mm f/1.7 that came with it, and a 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6. All three are good enough for how I use them, but aren't exactly the pinnacle of quality.