Lens Comparison - is it worth it?

[Ewan]

Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR over the
Sigma 70-300mm APO.

Basically, is it worth the extra £200? I think the VR would be useful, but what about the other things? No idea what G IF-ED means :bonk:

I'm planning to use it for wildlife - mainly birds and things like that. I'm not sure that the 70-300mm APO on a D70 would give results any better than my Fuji S5600 :shrug:

I'm not bothered about the so called "macro" mode on the Sigma.

Thanks,

Ewan

[CT]

However you dice it up Ewan the answer is "Yes it's worth it"

Sorry! :lol:

[Ewan]

You mean the nikkor would be sharper/faster...?

[CT]

Almost certainly mate I'd think. The IS alone makes it worth it - I'm always pushing it with low shutter speeds and long lenses in poor light and the IS just makes shots possible which you wouldn't get without it.

Faster would depend on the max aperture of course.

[CT]

I'm not really up on Nikon Lens nomenclature but it looks like

D Distance info transmiited to the camera

G No aperture ring on the lens.

IF Internal focusing- lens always stays the same length - niice!

CLICKY (http://www.digitaldingus.com/d100lounge/lensnomenclature.php)

[Ewan]

Thanks CT that helps a lot :)

[Joe T]

Go for the Nikkor!

[Ewan]

Lol thanks Joe - still need to convince my parents though :D

[Brains]

Definitely the Nikon lens!!

The VR is fantastic. I have just done a quick test shot (albeit on a 70-200) at 200mm handheld at 1/10s and have a crisp picture!

[Ewan]

Thanks Brains, that's what I wanted to hear :D. I might choose to buy the 200 - dunno yet.

Cheers everyone :)

[Steep]

The sigma is great up to 200mm but gets softer the nearer 300 you get, don't know about the nikon in that respect.

[Phil T]

Definitely the Nikkor - I use one of these and its a fantastic lens for the price. It has 2 VR modes - one for normal use & the other if you're the one that's moving (as in a car).
Crisp images throughout.
FI the the lens barrel does extend as you zoom (so don't know what the IF refers to as per CT's reply).

[Rich]

Internal Focus, not Internal Zoom like the Sigma 100-300f/4

[Ewan]

Oh right - do you know roughly how far the nikkor extends when zoomed fully? Cheers :)

[Phil T]

20.5cm fully extended. Just measured it!

[Ewan]

I actually wanted it down to tenths of a millimeter ;)

Just kidding - that's really helpful :) 20cm doesn't seem too long.

Thanks for all your help guys :) just gotta find 300 quid now...

[ppp]

Nikkor I have one its great, VR rocks

[mikeyb]

Hi,

I had to make a similar decsion when I bought my dad a Canon 350D, was it going to be the Sigma 70-300 APO (£130 ) or the Canon 70-200F4L (£370 ), in the end I went for the Canon as I figured after using the Sigma that upgradeitis would set in and I would lose money on the Sigma selling it S/H for him so I figured go for the best right from the outset and buy the Canon it WON'T need replacing.

I figure buy the best you can afford at the time and save money in the long run. We now have a Canon 30D each, and share a Canon 100mm F2.8 Macro, Canon 100-400mm L IS, Sigma 17-70mm Macro, Canon 70-200mm F4L.

If it was me I'd save the extra and get the Nikon lens.

Mike.

[R8JimBob88]

I'm going to buy the 55-200mm Nikkor with VR in the near future. I have read a full review on it in one of my mags, sounds very good indeed!

[chuckles]

Nikkor I have one its great, VR rocks

Ummm..... well .... actually, it doesn't - it's not supposed to :eek:

It's very stable ..... extremely!

http://www.smileygarden.de/smilie/Ostern/ostern_65.gif

[Ewan]

Thanks guys :) I think the general opinion is buy the Sigma APO then...? *ducks*

:lol: @ Chuckles :D

[ppp]

lmao chuckles