name brand vs other brands

[HFPhotography]

I have the canon xti camera. I just bought the canon 50mm1.8. I was looking at the tamron 50mm1.2. Along with a few other Tamron or Sigma lens vs spending two times the amount to get Canon lens. Is there a big difference between buying the name brand or even the brand matching your camera? I mostly shoot portraits, indoors and out, family's babies, seniors ect.

Also anyone know of good websites doing black friday sales on lens?​

 

[orb9220]

I found the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 lens and loved by Canon and Nikon users. Achieves 90% of the Nikon version for a third of the price.

I have had Sigma and Tamron. And when needing faster glass rarely can afford the OEM lenses. So Yep they are a viable consideration. The only thing being 3rd party lens is to buy from a reputable dealer with good return/exchange policies as there can be more bad copies out there. Thread on flickr on the tamron 17-50 resulted in a 15%-25% sort of results.
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[KmH]

It depends.

Camera makers usually have 2 or 3 levels of quality: kit, prosumer, and pro.

The 3rd party makers do the same, though the camera makers lenses usually have better build quality and performance than the 3rd party gear in each category.

3rd party electronics and software have to be reverse engineered so there could be compatability issues, particularly in regards to forward compatability.

 

[tirediron]

In photography, the adage "You get what you pay for" is almost a certainty. You can definitely save a lot of money buying third-party accessories and equipment, but generally speaking the build-quality will be lesser and the performance will be as well. That said, whether those differences will matter is what's important. If you're an occasional hobby-shooter, they almost certainly won't matter. If you're an advanced amateur or professional, then they may be important.

 

[IgsEMT]

Know few pros who shoot almost exclusively with Tamron 17-50(something) 2.8 glass. Images are fine, sharp, crispy and most of all - clients like it.
The brand lenses generally are better but you have to remember, as was mentioned, what you'll be doing - printing billboards, or nothing more then a 4x6.