A Lens To Save For

[Montana]

If you go Macro, get the Canon 100mm, its great!

Jerry, your 85mm and 24-70 are sharper than your macro? I would get a new macro lens. My Canon 100mm macro is a very fine optic.

 

[Overread]

sharpness can be so subjective and is also highly dependant on shooting style and ambient shooting conditions that anything outside of a side by side comparison on a test image in fixed lighting is going to be a dead end argument.

Sigma are known for having rather poorer standards in quality control, though for the most part this extends more to their zooms (especailly the super zooms) of which they make quite a few - from what I have read and seen round the net the sigma macro primes seem to manage to avoid a lot of the quality control issues in general,

 

[JerryPH]

Jerry, your 85mm and 24-70 are sharper than your macro? I would get a new macro lens. My Canon 100mm macro is a very fine optic.

No kidding.. yes, the 85 is INCREDIBLY sharp and the 24-70 Nikkor is like having 46 F/2.8 prime lenses in one barrel.

I often do some minor sharpening when using other lenses, but with the 24-70, colour rendition is fantastic and sharpness... well, I do not sharpen any portrait shots that I do using the 24-70... it is that sharp. The Sigma is not quite as sharp as either one of these lenses, but it is damn good and the other lenses do not have macro capabilities, which the Sigma has and excellent one. At 105mm, this is the perfect size to have and still be able to hand hold a shot, even at 1:1 macro levels.

 

[JerryPH]

sharpness can be so subjective and is also highly dependant on shooting style and ambient shooting conditions that anything outside of a side by side comparison on a test image in fixed lighting is going to be a dead end argument.

Agreed and since I have the Nikkor 24-70mm, Nikkor 85mm and 105mm Sigma and have taken thousands of pics with each, sometimes in identical circumstances (macro being the exception, the 105mm Sigma is my only "true" 1:1 macro), I feel that I can comment about the sharpness levels that these lenses give me SOOC.

 

[TheLogan]

how about the Canon EF 70-300/4-5.6 IS USM? how does that compare to the Tamron I have? Right now I'm between 100mm macro, or selling my Tamron and getting the 70-200 L-series lens or something like it.

 

[Montana]

Any of Canon's 70-200 are top of the line and very worthy of saving for.

 

[Mike_E]

Sigma 50-500mm and a sturdy tripod with a nice ball head.

 

[Montana]

I have a Sigma 50-500 and used to love it. Its great for the price. Only downside is that it is pretty slow (max aperture). Its built like a tank and focuses fast. Not too heavy. Nice sugestion Mike E!