Alternatives to Canon lenses?

[Bobolink]

Greetings everyone!

I'll be getting a Canon Mark III shortly (crazy excited about that), and was wondering if there are any alternative lens brands that deliver the same/close second punch that the Canon lens family will, and are easier on the pockets? I understand nothing beats certain brands, but the Canon and Nikon powerhouse labels eat away at the wallet very quickly, as most of you are familiar with.

In specific, I'm looking for the trifecta: the general purpose lens, the telephoto zoom, wide angle and very possibly a macro.

Thank you!

 

[robbins.photo]

Well I shoot Nikon myself, first thing I recommend before buying any lens is to research that specific lens. Just because it's from a certain manufacturer doesn't mean it will necessarily be the best choice in all situations. For example, recently I've been researching lenses in the 400mm range looking for something roughly in the $600 or so range. Nikon made an 80-400 D model that fits in this price range, and the image quality looks very good. But in researching the lens I found most do not recommend it for sports/action shooting because it is slow to autofocus.

In general I've had very good luck with tamron lenses, and I've owned a sigma or two I liked as well. But mostly it's about researching a particular lens and looking at sample photos, making sure it will suit your needs before you purchase

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

 

[Derrel]

Tamron...24-70 VC, Tamron 70-200 VC, Tamron 90mm AF-SP series macro; their macro line's 90mm model has been very good since the 1980's. I own the 90mm AF-SP from two generations back, still use it regularly, still a good performer on 24-MP class digital, but the newer model has been improved as far as where the actual lens diaphragm placement is within the optical formula, so expect even better performance when shooting into strongly-backlighted conditions.

Tamron has recently released or announced multiple f/1.8 prime lenses in some very useful lengths for full-frame sensor users. Not more than one month ago, Tamron announced its new 85mm f/1.8, stabilizer-equipped lens. Tamron also have two very fast wide- and semi-wide angle lenses, both f/1.8--they have a 35mm and a 45mm lens.

Although one might not think of a 45mm lens as being any different than a 50mm lens--it actually is significantly handier in many situations, to have the 45mm lens instead of a 50mm. I have been shooting my 45mm more and more and more, in favor of my several 50mm lenses.

A 45mm lens is VERY useful for landscapes and for people work at closer ranges, when one wants to create deliberate distortion of the human form: legs, bust, arms on males, at the ranges from 4 to 10 feet, the 45mm lens can create very subtle, favorable foreshortening effects, and avoids the clownish look of foreshortening introduced with shorter focal lengths.

My first SLR camera had a 45mm f/2.8 Zeiss Pantar lens...I learned the 45mm focal length many years ago...I bought the Nikkor 45-P in the early 2000's, and have been impressed with it. Having a new-era, optically stabilized, f/1.8 45mm lens might be something you could check into, depending on what kinds of photos you take.

 

[jaomul]

There are few options. Unless you really need f2.8 in your standard I'd recommend buying the camera with the 24-105mm f4L, if that's not enough for you the tamron already mentioned is good. The tamron 90mm vc usd macro is a good choice, but so is the sigma 105mm f2.8 OS. I've read good things and seen good photos with the tokina 16-28mm f2.8 wide angle

 

[Bobolink]

Well, research is a given and something I take very seriously, especially before buying. I just thought as part of my research I would ask more well-seasoned photographers over here. Thanks for the tip.

Derrel, huge thanks. I am definitely looking into Tamron.

jaomul, thank you as well. As an aside I was in Cork last August and it was fantastic!

 

[robbins.photo]

Well, research is a given and something I take very seriously, especially before buying. I just thought as part of my research I would ask more well-seasoned photographers over here.

Derrel, huge thanks. I am definitely looking into Tamron.

I've used a Tamron 17-50 2.8, Tamron 28-75 2.8, and a Tamron 70-300mm VC all for the Nikon, all are excellent. Sharp, fast to focus, love the way they render.

The Tamron 70-200mm VC as Derrel mentioned is a great lens, but the older non-VC versions are usually not as well regarded. They had focusing issues particularly in lowlight.

 

[jaomul]

Well, research is a given and something I take very seriously, especially before buying. I just thought as part of my research I would ask more well-seasoned photographers over here. Thanks for the tip.

Derrel, huge thanks. I am definitely looking into Tamron.

jaomul, thank you as well. As an aside I was in Cork last August and it was fantastic!

If you get the right weather Cork is nice alright, glad you enjoyed it there

 

[Ido]

There are a lot of excellent Sigma, Tamron and Tokina lenses that are fully compatible with the Canon DSLRs.

 

[Bobolink]

Thank you everyone - Your feedback has been much appreciated!

 

[beagle100]

Greetings everyone!

I'll be getting a Canon Mark III shortly (crazy excited about that), and was wondering if there are any alternative lens brands that deliver the same/close second punch that the Canon lens family will, and are easier on the pockets? I understand nothing beats certain brands, but the Canon and Nikon powerhouse labels eat away at the wallet very quickly, as most of you are familiar with.

In specific, I'm looking for the trifecta: the general purpose lens, the telephoto zoom, wide angle and very possibly a macro.

Thank you!

Some Tamron and Sigma lens are good but for a general purpose lens on a full frame look at the Canon 24-105