THIRD PARTY LENSES

nicolene · Mar 3, 2015

Planning to buy 18 - 300mm lens. Now is the tricky question, Sigma or Nikon??? I am a amateur photographer that does this for a hobby and the occasional shoot for friends. In other words not a pro. The price difference between the two is around 10 GRAND. The question is would I see any remarkable difference between the two and would I regret going for the Sigma over the Nikon. Can anyone please give some clearance and those who have the Sigma.. what are your feelings about the lens. Will appreciate all feedback.

Thanx Guys

funwitha7d · Mar 3, 2015

IMO if you have made your mind up on a super zoom and you are on a budget, in Issue 39 Nov 2014 N Photo Magazine tested Nikon, Sigma and Tamron lenses and the Tamron 16-300mm was best on test so perhaps consider Tamron although the Sigma also rated high but this was in the 18-200 and 18-250 zoom range. I use Canon mostly but have a Tamron Macro lens and am very happy with it. All choices will have their drawbacks, super zooms are convenient on a bright day but they don't let in a lot of light so could be a little frustrating. What camera would you use, perhaps consider a cheaper prime lens (Canon makes a 50mm f1.8) great light quality and good overall but not a long reach (there's always a compromise).

480sparky · Mar 3, 2015

nicolene said:
Planning to buy 18 - 300mm lens. Now is the tricky question, Sigma or Nikon??? ..... The price difference between the two is around 10 GRAND. .......

Methinks you need to check those prices again. Nikon's 18-300 is $900. Sigma's is 579. Last time I went to school 900-579 is but a mere $321, not $10,000.

qleak · Mar 3, 2015

480sparky said:
nicolene said:

Planning to buy 18 - 300mm lens. Now is the tricky question, Sigma or Nikon??? ..... The price difference between the two is around 10 GRAND. .......

Click to expand...

Methinks you need to check those prices again. Nikon's 18-300 is $900. Sigma's is 579. Last time I went to school 900-579 is but a mere $321, not $10,000.

pretoria south africa?

10k still sounds a little high of a difference, unless the prices are vastly different in their market.

10000 ZAR to dollars - Google Search

FITBMX · Mar 3, 2015

480sparky said:
Methinks you need to check those prices again. Nikon's 18-300 is $900. Sigma's is 579. Last time I went to school 900-579 is but a mere $321, not $10,000.

I just looked it up and a Nikon 18-300 cost 19,011 South African Rand, that's $1,618 US! Ouch!!!
So that's whey your numbers are off.

480sparky · Mar 3, 2015

Geez. I saw the word GRAND. Grand, with a G. US slang for $1,000.

goodguy · Mar 3, 2015

Sorry but I wouldn't touch such lenses!!!
The are very comfortable to use offering super flexible focal range which sounds great but that's pretty much the only positive thing about them.
These lenses (no matter who makes them) are very soft.
Whats the point of buying a good DSLR which has the potential to produce very sharp pictures and then putting a super zoom on it thus creating soft shots ?
They are also very slow.
I would much rather get a Sony RX10 or Panasonic FZ1000 which sounds to me like what you really need.

goooner · Mar 3, 2015

goodguy said:
Sorry but I wouldn't touch such lenses!!!
The are very comfortable to use offering super flexible focal range which sounds great but that's pretty much the only positive thing about them.
These lenses (no matter who makes them) are very soft.
Whats the point of buying a good DSLR which has the potential to produce very sharp pictures and then putting a super zoom on it thus creating soft shots ?
They are also very slow.
I would much rather get a Sony RX10 or Panasonic FZ1000 which sounds to me like what you really need.

Well there are a few people on here that take amazing shots with their super zooms. Coastal, Mr snowy, Jaca, Raj and a host of others. Buying zoom lenses in SA is expensive business. Probably better to get someone to get you the lenses in Europe or the US if you have the possibility. I will be coming home (Pretoria) in December. If you could wait that long pm me, and maybe I would be able to help you.

qleak · Mar 3, 2015

480sparky said:
Geez. I saw the word GRAND. Grand, with a G. US slang for $1,000.

I thought the same when i read it, then looked where they lived

ruifo · Mar 3, 2015

nicolene said:
Planning to buy 18 - 300mm lens. Now is the tricky question, Sigma or Nikon??? I am a amateur photographer that does this for a hobby and the occasional shoot for friends. In other words not a pro. The price difference between the two is around 10 GRAND. The question is would I see any remarkable difference between the two and would I regret going for the Sigma over the Nikon. Can anyone please give some clearance and those who have the Sigma.. what are your feelings about the lens. Will appreciate all feedback.

Thanx Guys

I believe the best options out there are:

Nikkor 18-300mm (there are two versions: f/3.5-6.3G & f/3.5-5.6G)
Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3
Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3

Here's a direct comparison:

I have the Sigma 18-250mm. It has all problems that ALL super-zoom have, but it's a nice lens. Here are my samples photos with it:
Sigma 18-250mm f 3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM - an album on Flickr

goodguy · Mar 3, 2015

goooner said:
goodguy said:

Sorry but I wouldn't touch such lenses!!!
The are very comfortable to use offering super flexible focal range which sounds great but that's pretty much the only positive thing about them.
These lenses (no matter who makes them) are very soft.
Whats the point of buying a good DSLR which has the potential to produce very sharp pictures and then putting a super zoom on it thus creating soft shots ?
They are also very slow.
I would much rather get a Sony RX10 or Panasonic FZ1000 which sounds to me like what you really need.

Click to expand...

Well there are a few people on here that take amazing shots with their super zooms. Coastal, Mr snowy, Jaca, Raj and a host of others. Buying zoom lenses in SA is expensive business. Probably better to get someone to get you the lenses in Europe or the US if you have the possibility. I will be coming home (Pretoria) in December. If you could wait that long pm me, and maybe I would be able to help you.

Ahh thats what you got ebay for, I just bought a NEVER used Sigma 18-35mm lens, bought it super cheap and the lens is simply new old stock.
Buying a lens knowing it produces soft pictures just sounds very counter productive to me.
Can you produce nice pictures with it ?
Sure but even lenses like the Nikon 18-140mm will produce better results for less money.
Another option would be getting 2 or 3 used primes and maybe a used 55-300mm for lens shots.
Not so flexible to use but sure will give you a whole lot better results (for at least the primes will).

dxqcanada · Mar 3, 2015

another suggestion

Tamron AF 16-300mm F 3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Review - Conclusion PhotographyBLOG

tamron 16-300mm - PriceCheck Shopping South Africa

nicolene · Mar 4, 2015

funwitha7d said:
IMO if you have made your mind up on a super zoom and you are on a budget, in Issue 39 Nov 2014 N Photo Magazine tested Nikon, Sigma and Tamron lenses and the Tamron 16-300mm was best on test so perhaps consider Tamron although the Sigma also rated high but this was in the 18-200 and 18-250 zoom range. I use Canon mostly but have a Tamron Macro lens and am very happy with it. All choices will have their drawbacks, super zooms are convenient on a bright day but they don't let in a lot of light so could be a little frustrating. What camera would you use, perhaps consider a cheaper prime lens (Canon makes a 50mm f1.8) great light quality and good overall but not a long reach (there's always a compromise).[/QU

dxqcanada said:

another suggestion

Tamron AF 16-300mm F 3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Review - Conclusion PhotographyBLOG

tamron 16-300mm - PriceCheck Shopping South Africa

Click to expand...

nicolene · Mar 4, 2015

Hi everyone
Thank you for all your replies and comments. I did chuckle at a few responses. Yeah South African rand doesn't buy much now a days especially with imported goods such as lenses. I do appreciate all the feed back. I must mention that I own the nifty fifty Nikon 50 G and find it great for close ups but zoom is obviously another thing. I would love an all purpose lens, especially when travelling. Seems the options is now between Sigma and Tamron as the price of the Nikon lens is 3x the price of the camera. Decisions, Decisions. I must mention the Sigma 70 - 300mm works well with the DX body but the draw back is the wide angle thus looking for the 16 or 18mm and zooming in. But hey anyone still want to throw in the pence worth.. go for it, I'm all ears and eyes.. wonder what's a pence worth in SA☺

goooner · Mar 4, 2015

Hi Nicolene, which lenses do you have at the moment? As some of the guys on here have already mentioned going from wide to 250+ will mean compromises. I would imagine you have 18-55 kit lens already. If you don't have the wide angle kit lens I would suggest the Sigma 17-70 (was really close to buying this lens). The advantage of having a dslr is that you can change lenses depending on the situation. So depending on your budget I would get the Siggy 17-70 2.8 Macro (around $500), and/or the Siggy/Tamron 70-300. Just make sure the lenses will auto focus with your camera body before getting them.