Tammy 17-80/2.8 vs Sigma 18-50/2.8: hunting issues

PatrickCheung

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i'm an owner of a Tamron 28-75/2.8 with motor... it hunts like MAD. it can't seem to focus, even in broad daylight... it kinda focuses half way... gets confused, stops to think about what it's focusing on, then about 2 seconds later it'll finish focusing. event hen it still somehow manages to miss half the time. in broad daylight. that's when it's behaving though... when it isnt, it'll just hunt like mad. it's become a manual focus lens for me... really... so i'm thinking of replacing it with a tammy 17-50/2.8 or sigma 18-50/2.8 HSM... i've heard pretty good things about these two optically, but what about hunting?

i've heard the tammy hunts... but havent heard much about the sigma.

thanks in advance! :]
 
I would think about sending your lens in to Tamron to have them check it out. I have a 28-75/2.8, and it focuses well, with the exception of in low light.
 
I own the Tamron 17-50mm. Overall, the AF works just fine except in very dark situation. As for the 28-75mm, I tried that lens for an hour before and did not noticed any issue with AF as well (daylight).
 
I just got hold of the tamron 17-50 2.8 today and did some comparisons against my canon 17-55 2.8 IS. I have not, at this time, done any tests on the AF of the tamron (just a couple of quick shots using AF, sounded quite noisy but seemed to work fine) Optically speaking, the tamron was as good as the canon in most cases, and even significantly sharper wide open at 17mm. It did lose out to the canon at 50mm when it began to show signs of softness, but overall it was excellent.
 
I have the Sigma 18-50 and don't have any focusing or hunting issues with it; I've been very satisfied with it.
 
Yeah i had that issue with my 18-50 sigma when i had it
 
To the OP....what body are you using this on?

I have had no problems with my Tamron 17-50 f2.8 getting focus. It nails it everytime and is pretty quick to get it. It has trouble (as has been said) in really low light situations however. The AF assist light fixes that, but I don't use it because it's annoying to the people I'm shooting.
 
humm... thanks guys!

and another thing i'm noticing is that it disconnects with my camera sometimes... it hasn't done so since i switched to my D200. I took the D200 and Tammy out for a full day of shooting today (what better way to spend you birthday, am i right?) and i didn't encounter TOO many problems in daylight, but it can never seem to find focus when i'm trying to AF on someone's face. i'll have the AF point on the subject's eye, focus half way, stop for a second... slowly creep the rest of the way and finish focusing (camera makes the beep sound!)

kinda annoying since i had a complete stranger, a really pretty lady, stop and pose for me out of the blue, and all i got was a blurry photo. ;)

anyway. :] think i should see if i can get the store i bought this lens from to do a switch for me? 28-75 for the 18-50 or 17-50? i'm kinda sketchy about the 18-50/2.8 as i owned the sigma 17-70/2.8-4 HSM... and it was soft... and hunted more than this lens did...
 
anyway. :] think i should see if i can get the store i bought this lens from to do a switch for me? 28-75 for the 18-50 or 17-50? i'm kinda sketchy about the 18-50/2.8 as i owned the sigma 17-70/2.8-4 HSM... and it was soft... and hunted more than this lens did...

On this point, when researching before I bought mine (between the Tamron and Sigma versions), it seems that some previous versions of the Sigma 18-50 had a lot of problems and was pretty hit-or-miss as to whether or not you'd get a good copy. I haven't seen or heard of any such problems with the latest.
 
For sure bring it back to the store and have them check it out. Worst case scenario, you need to send it to Tamron for repair if you have focus issue only with this lens when shooting outdoor during the day.
 
alright, thanks guys!

if anyone's still reading this thread, can someone clarify everything for me? so far all i know is...

1. Both Tamron and Sigma 17-50 and 18-50 have focusing issues in low light, but nothing that can't be fixed with the AF Assist Light
2. The Tamron 28-75 I own shouldn't be having focusing issues in daylight.

is that right? :p

it seems the Tamron 17-50 is more popular than the Sigma 18-50 here...
humm...
 
One other nice thing about the Tamron 17-50 (I love mine) is the 6 year Tamron warranty.
 
it seems the Tamron 17-50 is more popular than the Sigma 18-50 here...
humm...


The older Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 lens is not as good. From what I read so far, the newer HSM model is much better. However, Nikon mount only. For some reasons that Sigma does not make that lens for Canon nor any other camera brands.

So if someone want to buy a good 3rd parties fast standard zoom lens that fit non-Nikon camera, the Tamron is the best choice in my opinion.
 
i'm an owner of a Tamron 28-75/2.8 with motor... it hunts like MAD. it can't seem to focus, even in broad daylight... it kinda focuses half way... gets confused, stops to think about what it's focusing on, then about 2 seconds later it'll finish focusing. event hen it still somehow manages to miss half the time. in broad daylight. that's when it's behaving though... when it isnt, it'll just hunt like mad. it's become a manual focus lens for me... really... so i'm thinking of replacing it with a tammy 17-50/2.8 or sigma 18-50/2.8 HSM... i've heard pretty good things about these two optically, but what about hunting?

i've heard the tammy hunts... but havent heard much about the sigma.

thanks in advance! :]
Wow, it's acting kinda like a human that can't hit the shift key, huh. :lmao:
 
I have the Tamron 17-50 (IF non-VC). It is a decent lens, but the focus speed, and hunting, compared to my Nikon kit lens with AF-S(18-70) drives me insane. I use it anyway because of the IQ and constant 2.8 aperture. The front of mine came loose and almost fell off until I noticed it and screwed it back on.. I also lost the hood at a convention last year because it just wouldn't stay on tight. Build quality just isn't great, at least mine. Today I bit the bullet (or my wallet did) and ordered a Nikon 17-55mm.
 

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