looking for fast midrange zoom

[jl1975]

Hi all,

I am looking at purchasing a midrange zoom and was hoping for some advice. I shoot with a D7100 and currently have the 35 and 50 mm 1.8, the nikon 18-200, and the nikon 70-200 f4. While I would love to get my hands on the nikon 24-70 f2.8, I just can't justify the expense. I could go with the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 which would be quite a bit less. Both of these would be good if I go full frame at some point, but I can't honestly say that will be happening while my current camera is working so well. So that got me to thinking about the sigma 17-50 f2.8. This would give me a good focal length range and it would be fast. Does anyone have experience with this lens? Or, would you have any other suggestions? I can get the 17-50 for $500, while the sigma 24-70 would be double that and the nikon would double again. I would be comfortable spending up to $1000, although less is obviously preferred. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Usul]

I have D7100 and Sigma 17-50 f2.8 and think it's the best options in that range. It's sharp and focus fast but at the same time it has no weather sealing, image stabilisation is not good at least it's worse than on my 70-300 from nikon. Also focus ring rotates during focusing and 77 mm filters are quite expensive. But as I said before there are no other options in that range. Tamron is soft as I heard Nikon 17-55 is big heavy expensive and has no VR. All lenses for full-frame as 24-70 are not wide enough for DX camera in my oppinion.

 

[jaomul]

Have you considered a sigma18-35 f1.8 and tamron 28-75mm f2.8 combo or do you need to to be one lens?

 

[goooner]

I think there is a new Sigma 17-70/ 2.8-4 Macro, might be worth considering. This will probably be my next lens.

 

[shadowlands]

I can't tell you enough, how happy I am with my $700.00 Nikon AF-S 28-70mm f2.8D.
If one can live without the 24-27mm part, it's a jewel of a lens.

 

[jl1975]

Thank you all for the replies. I would like to keep it to one lens as this will be used mostly for pictures of my daughter at her dance competitions. As she is moving around the stage and I can't always pick where I am shooting from, some zoom allows me to get the shot I need. I have my 70-200 f4 for times where I'm further from the stage.

 

[wezza13]

I too have the D7100 and Tamron 17-50 2.8 combination and, to be honest, it's the main lens on my camera 95% of the time. It's fantastic for a walkaround lens and I mainly shoot pics of my kids, family and dogs. Nice and sharp and, also, nice colour. The only time I take it off is when I switch to a zoom for wildlife or bird close-ups.

Highly recommend this lens.

It replaced my kit lens and it makes a world of difference having the 2.8 throughout the focal range.

Hope that helps,
Wez

 

[jl1975]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I ended up pulling the trigger on the sigma 17-50. Now comes the fun part - putting it on and using it