deal? or not? you tell me

[maxwel9]

looking around ebay and dreaming so lets just say that you have $1,700 to spend on camera equipment, is this a good deal?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43456&item=3817118500&rd=

also, the 100-300 lens in this auction says that it is auto focus. does that mean that you can't manually focus it, or that it has the ability to auto focus, as well as manual. This is the kind of post you get when it's 11:40 at night, and you have big dreams.

 

[drlynn]

Well, I'd be a bit skeptical of the listing for one reason.

Neither B&H or Adorama lists either of the lenses that are supposedly included in this auction as being available from Sigma.

I priced the camera, the closest 2 Sigma lenses I could find to the description, the same memory card listed, and the closest match aluminum case I could find ( a little bigger than the one listed) and the total without shipping was $1330.

Wide-angle adaptor lenses with 58mm rear threads start at $140, a Vivitar tripod with the specs listed should be in the $50-75 range at Wal-Mart, etc.

Plus B&H and Adorama are both well-known, respected businesses that are probably going to be in business next year to give you service should you need it. What do you know about Digitalcorp?

I don't know anything about them. They may very well be well-established and well-known. I noticed that in the "Location" section of the auction listing, they had an 800# instead o a location.

For my money, the peace of mind of buying at the same or better price from a business I know is a smarter purchase.

And maybe I've just made your dream a few $100 more affordable!

 

[drlynn]

Oh, and to answer your second question (duhh, me)
most AF lenses can also be manually focused, should you so desire.

 

[voodoocat]

I would stay away from those ebay "kits"

I would go with the Kit ($1300 @ b&h) with the 18-70DX lens, which will cover the wide angle, and then the Sigma 75-300 APO super macro II zoom ($209 @ b&h) to cover the telephoto. It focuses 1:2 for some close up work. The 3 filters included in the link you provided are going to be of average quality. Just get yourself a nice Polarizer elsewhere. That table top tripod included is worthless for anything larger than a point and shoot. The regular tripod, like drlynn said can be purchased for cheap from wal-mart. I would also invest in some high speed memory. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000CD08M/qid=1085415252/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-7629710-4304061?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846]$102 for 512M SanDisk Ultra II[/ame] That's what I use and with the speed of the D70 it really comes in handy.

 

[maxwel9]

wow thanks for the great posts guys! Extremely helpful information. I haven't heard of Sigma lenses, is that all they do is lenses? Would you buy a Sigma or a Nikon lens? Thanks alot i guess I should have looked and added everything up for myslef. Everything you said drlynn makes perfect sense, thank you very much.

 

[voodoocat]

Sigma and Nikon make good and bad lenses. I think the build quality on the Nikon is better.

Sigma makes more than lenses. They make cameras and other accessories. The DSLR they have is the SD-10 with the x3 sensor.

 

[havoc]

Those 2 sigma lenses are not good quality. MSRP on the first one is way off at 1300 dollars. And yeah, the ebay kits you wanna stay away from unless your truely desperate.

 

[Skittles]

I have a sigma lens (100-300mm) for my Canon camera. I had it less than a year when it developed problems interfacing with the camera. The symptoms varied, but were so severe, I would have to turn my camera off and back on to go to the next shot. That was almost four years ago

I set the lens aside as I couldn't rely on it. I finally paid to get it fixed last summer. They said they had to replace the microchip and I was told this lens can develop problems with the chip if it is dropped, or jostled too much. It cost me over $125.00 for the repair. Less than 4 months later, it started exhibiting the same problems. Having been told what caused the problem, I was especially careful with the lens, which was either in my padded case or on the camera while shooting.

It now sits on a shelf in my office. I am thinking of sending it back to Sigma with a note about how useless the lens is, and letting them know I will never buy another Sigma lens because of the poor quality of this one. Not that I really think they'll care. But I'll feel better...

I will be replacing the Sigma with a Canon 100-400mm in a few months, when I have the money.

While it is true I may have gotten one of the bad lenses, and Sigma may make some really great lenses, there is one more thing to consider. Will the Sigma lens work with all the features of the Nikon camera?

I have a wireless remote control for my camera. When using the sigma lens, the remote control, which works with the timer feature on, would not work. I suspect that any lens you purchase by the manufacturer of your camera will work with any feature of that camera.

BTW, I can personally recommend B&H. They have great customer service. (I'm glad to hear Adorama is highly thought of, too, as I am considering purchasing a digital camera from them.)

Good luck on your dream, maxwel9.

-Skittles