I hit the photographic lottery! Help me decide what to do with it..?

[Markw]

Hi guys! As some of you know, I was expecting a Nikon 80-200mm F/2.8D ED IF (two-ring) in the mail. Well, it came in today! I absolutely adore it from what Ive shot with it so far. It weighs about twelve and a half tons, I believe. Very nice weight, I think. Feels very sturdy.

Anywho, thats not what Im posting this for. I saw an ad on craigslist. The man was selling a Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 EX DC lens with a Nikon 18-70mm F/3.4-4.5G ED DX. The Sigma came with a Sigma carrying case and a Tiffen UV filter. Both came with original caps and hoods. Well, here's the kicker. I only paid $140 for the pair! He clearly didnt know what he had because he took $140 for the pair. Everything works great on both lenses. Here are some photos with the new 80-200mm:

Nikon 18-70mm F/3.5-4.5G ED DX

Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 EX DC

Nikon 80-200mm F/2.8

Now, as much as I really love these two lenses, I cannot keep them both. There really is no reason to keep them both, Id say. This is what I need advice with. These are the three lenses I have:

Nikon 28-80mm F/3.3-5.6G
Nikon 18-70mm F/3.5-5.6G ED DX
Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 EX DC

As you can see, they all cover a generally similar range, but all have different functions. The 28-80mm covers the full frame cameras. I need to have a lens that will cover the full frame range for my Nikon N65 body. So, looks like I will be keeping that one.

Now to the other two. The Nikon covers a much better range. The Sigma has much better light capabilities. This is where things get complicated. I only really want to keep one. I cannot seem to find much of any reviews for the Sigma online, and its dark here now, so no comparison shots. I'm having a really terrible time choosing what to do. Im not asking you to tell me what I should do, Im asking:

If you were in my position, with the equipment listed in my signature, including my wish list, what would you do in my situation?

Mark

 

[pbelarge]

Are you in a big hurry to get rid of one?

If not, I would shoot with them to see how they feel. It might make your choice easier.

One day I hope to have your dilemma.

 

[Josh66]

If you were in my position, with the equipment listed in my signature, including my wish list, what would you do in my situation?

Get a bigger camera bag.

:lmao:

...Seriously though. I mean, you have them - so why get rid of them? Unless you just need the money or something...

 

[Markw]

I was thinking to get rid of one because they do generally the same thing, and I was thinking: "instead of having three lenses that are all for the same thing, basically, how could we deal with this combination of good glass to get the best outcome", or something along those lines. Im not in a huge hurry, and I will be keeping them for a while, but if I was going to sell them, trade them, etc, I wanted to have a goal for the money, ya know?

Mark

 

[Markw]

Get a bigger camera bag

I have the Tamrac 5612 pro 12. Its currently holding the following:

Nikon D90, gripped
Nikon N65
Nikon 28-80mm F/3.3-5.6G
Nikon 18-70mm F/3.5-4.5G ED DX
Nikon 50mm F/1.8D
Nikon 80-200mm F/2.8D ED IF
Sigma 105mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro
Sigma 10-20mm F/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 EX DC
Nikon SB-600
Fong inverted dome knock-off
Lumiquest LQ-107
67" Tripod
Various other things: chargers, extra batteries, card readers, etc.

My camera bag holds all of this, and is officially out of room, more or less.

Mark

 

[Markw]

This is my bag. Sorry about the abysmal picture quality, took it with my cell phone just after situating in the three new lenses.

Mark

 

[j-dogg]

I hit the lottery like this once, I posted a WTB on Craigslist for old school pre-AI and AI Nikon lenses, and a guy replied with a Vivitar 55-135 f3.5, I offered him 100 dollars for it and he shows up with 5 other lenses and a Nikkormat FTN, took it all for 100. Every lens range from 28 to 270mm with 2x teleconvertor. A whole Nikkormat FTN outfit lenses filters bag. Stole that ****. :thumbup:

N65........that's a nice little rig. I love some of those AF 35mm's from the end of the 20th century. I have a Minolta Maxxum 4. The best of both worlds......modern glass and 35mm.

 

[Markw]

Woah, major score!

Mark

 

[NateS]

I'd do some sharpness tests on the Sigma 18-50 f2.8. I remember reading that the non-HSM variant (the first version) was significantly less sharp than the HSM version and that the non-HSM wasn't really as good as the hype that goes with this lens. The great reputation for that lens actually belongs to the HSM version. If you like it and it's sharp for you...great, but just a forewarning that it might not be what you are expecting.

That said, it's still a steal. You could sell either one of those lenses for more than what you paid for both.

 

[myfotoguy]

If the Sigma were an HSM and the IQ between that and the Nikon were the same (or at least very close). I would personally keep the Sigma for the 2.8 aperture. To me, that is more attractive than the extra 20mm at the long end. But YMMV depending on your shooting style and what you need out of a lens in that range. Since you got a great deal, you could keep one as a back-up in case something went wrong with the other one.

 

[ghache]

keep them both

 

[Markw]

I'm running up the local lake tomorrow. Hopefully I will have some test shots to show you then. Thanks everyone so far for your input, though.

Mark

 

[Bram]

Sick baf Markw, I wish I had half that haha. Working student i'll get by and have it someday. :thumbup:

 

[Markw]

Haha, thanks. I completely understand where youre coming from, trust me. Alot of my gear has came just from getting lucky, like I did with these lenses for these prices.

Mark

 

[Markw]

Soo..under my very non-scientific test situations, this is the score:

It works like this: Everything listed under the name is the category that I found that that particular lens had an advantage over the other.

Nikon 18-70mm F/3.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S:
Extra reach
SWM


Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 EX DC:
F/2.8
Light fall-off at corners
Distortion fully zoomed in
Distortion fully zoomed out
Overall Sharpness

Neither lens showed any CA that I could tell, but as far as geometric shapes are concerned, the Nikkor was significantly worse than the Sigma. The Sigma proved to be better with distortion throughout the extremes of both lenses and seemed to me to be sharper at 100% crop than the Nikkor. Overall, besides the zoom range and the SWM, the Sigma seems to be the better lens, which was extremely surprising to me. If you would like the images I used today, I will post them. I will be shooting more tomorrow, with the camera on a tripod, and we will see how everything goes with them.

hmmmm...
Mark