Canon? Tamron? Sigma?

blade_922

blade_922

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Omar
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Everyone will have their own opinions on this for very different reasons. But first i have a couple of questions, when buying a lens what differences are noticeable between canon/tamron/sigma lens apart from obviously the price? I know quality sometimes is noticeable? am i correct? What sort of difference to the quality can each make?

I personally have owned a canon 550d DSLR around 3 months now and have only ever bought canon lenses. The most expensive being my canon 55-250mm IS. I am thinking of getting a lens maybe up to maybe 400mm or 500mm, what lens would anyone recommed? My only issue here is price, im no professional, maybe close to amatuer but i do photography more out of enjoyment. Would i notice a big difference in the brands in the outcome?

Finally what do you fellow members go for when buying a lens? Does brand come first or close to first?
 
Goos things have been said about the Sigma 150-500, some say as good as the canon 100-400 others say not:shrug:

It is well priced though for what it is.(y)

I can certainly vouch for the canon 100-400 as I have one, more expensive than the sigma even second hand, but well worth the money.(y)

spike
 
Hi - IME it really depends on the Lens. I am a stickler for staying with camera branded gear myself - HOWEVER I have had many awesome results with both Tamron and Tokina. I personally cannot comment on Sigma to much degree, my only experience was a 70-300 APO, which TBH I found a little slow to focus and stiff in operation. But my Tamron 90mm Macro has been a cracking Macro lens. The Tokina 11 - 16 2.8 Wide was magnificent and the Tamron 28 - 75mm 2.8 stayed on my D300 almost all of the time and was only replaced eventually by my Nikon 24 - 70 2.8 (Which was 5 times the price of my 2nd hand tammy !!!!!)
So in a nutshell I would say 'suck it and see'. There are only so many reviews you can read - you need to hae a play !! GL and hope that helps a bit :)
 
My budget, around a grand. Maybe sell my 55-250 to fund it as well.
 
Canon lenses are good, but then so are the 3rd parties, differences are sometimes very marginal if at all, so is the "badge" worth the extra cost, erm..... no. Ford Mondeo or BMW 3 series both competant motors which badge costs more
 
I tend to buy branded lenses i.e. Canon only, I had a second hand Sigma that just wouldnt work on the body I had at that time, I found out later that some Sigma lenses were (are?) reverse engineered to work on the latest manufacturers electronics, consequently sometimes they dont work on later models. If you buy a Sigma lens now and change to another Canon body later that lens might not work, or maybe it will, but there are some doubts around regarding compatability issues in the future and if Sigma can/will re-chip to solve the problem.
Matt
 
artyman said:
Canon lenses are good, but then so are the 3rd parties, differences are sometimes very marginal if at all, so is the "badge" worth the extra cost, erm..... no. Ford Mondeo or BMW 3 series both competant motors which badge costs more
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I see what you mean Ken, what would you recommend? canon 100-400, sigma 50-500? sigma 150-500?

Or is there anything else anyone would recommend with roughly the same range and cost?
Is there any examples between the canon/sigma/tamron final result online?

I have a Canon 55-250mm at the moment. Bought it brand new, its never left the house, i have used it to take maybe 10-15 shots in and around the house. What do you think i could/would get for ot?
 
I've had the 150-500mm siggy and is was a very competent lens sharp with good IQ , the only problem is its f6.3 at the long end and this makes things difficult in poor light, now I've got a siggy 120-300mm f2.8 which i use with a 1.4 for 420mm @ f4 or 2x for 600mm f5.6 - but its a bit of a beast.
 
If I had a grand to spens on a upto 400mm lens then it would be without boubt a 2nd hand canon 100-400mm.

Thats what I did

spike
 
Im considering the 100-400mm, has great reviews and has IS. Is there anywhere i can compare image results at 400mm and 500mm?
 
Yeh Scott if you could do that, that would be great. Thank you.

I might take a trip down tomorrow and have a look at these lenses.

Im sitting here and my mind is like a see-saw just now between the 150-500mm(that come with OS as well?) and the canon 100-400mm. Im usually a sucker for always buying same brand i.e canon with canon. But after reading some reviews on the sigma 150-500mm im swaying towards it. If i get the 150-500mm i'll probably hold onto my 55-250mm canon lens as well, as the 150-500mm is well priced. Anyone got some shots from this lens?

Im thinking if i get the 150-500mm, i'll regret not getting the 55-500mm just so it means i dont need the canon 55-250mm as well. But then again i would like to hold onto the canon as well. Is there much difference apart from range between the 55-500 and 150-500?
 
I try to buy the best lens with the specification I want at the price I'm willing to pay and for me with a Canon 20D (APS-C) most of the time that isn't a Canon lens and I therefore own Sigma, Tamron and Canon lenses.

All of my lenses are arguably the "best" or at least they were when I bought them and until Canon make the best lens in every category and price point I'll continue to cherry pick from what's available. To limit myself to Canon lenses seems daft, therefore I wont.
 
Thanks Scott. Much appreciated. The 55-500mm does look a tad sharper. I've been looking for both online to see what stores i could visit tomorrow to have a look at them and both are not in stock anywhere. I'll keep on looking
 
Been researching both Lenses for the past few hours and everytime i keep seeing the 50-500mm coming out in top on picture quality. Only downside i read is something to do with OS or IS on the 150-500mm which some say lacks on the 50-500mm? Right?

Most likely i will get the 50-500mm. Where does Sigma stand on compatibility with different body's? I use a 550d at the moment, if i was to upgrade on the future, would/could there be any problems?
 
Scott, your first image in post 24, do you have the full size image for this? I would like to see it if you allow. Thanks
 
I've not experience at the long end of the range, but my personal experience is that every time I've bought Sigma, I've regretted it. No big catastrophes, but I've just been much happier with my canon lenses. The build quality, picture quality and *feel* of them just seems superior in my opinion.
 
Canon 100-400, 1 year warranty, £1190
Canon 100-400, 2nd hand, NO warranty, £800 ish
Sigma 150-500, 3 year warranty, £770

I'd be very surpised that you'll see any difference in the results unless you'd prefer to pixel peep rather than print......

You could even buy yourself a Sigma 105mm macro with the difference.........



*New prices from Camerapricebuster.co.uk
 
starabo said:
I've not experience at the long end of the range, but my personal experience is that every time I've bought Sigma, I've regretted it. No big catastrophes, but I've just been much happier with my canon lenses. The build quality, picture quality and *feel* of them just seems superior in my opinion.
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It's gotta depend upon the lens. For example I had canon 10-22 and 17-85mm lenses and both to me looked and felt cheap, my 70-300mm is a clunky thing that mechanically seems years out of date as does my 50mm f2.5 wheras my Siggy's all look modern and feel much superior.
 
Now whats the deal with Sigma, some people i have read complaining about getting a lens that is not calibrated properly or something, some getting good lenses and some not so good.

How can you tell?

Im looking online and prices in store to get a good deal. But Im holding back to see what the deal is with what i wrote above. I can pick up sigma 150-500 for around £650-£700 on an online store and the stores i have rung around today all doing it for £849. So would be saving 150quid if i got it online. Is there a risk in buying it online and what are some good reputable online camera stores, that if there is a problem are happy to exchange or refund.

The 2 lenses i have currently i have bought instore. I look at it this way, if i buy from instore for £849, i can pay another £150 or so and buy the 50-500mm lens online.

So online/instore? Any recommendations for online?
 
I ended up going for the 150-500mm. Went tried it out and was good. Whats the best way to check its calibrated correctly?
 
blade_922 said:
I ended up going for the 150-500mm. Went tried it out and was good. Whats the best way to check its calibrated correctly?
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Use it :shrug:





sorry couldn't help that :LOL:

Take a few shots in AF & manual and compare them, if the results are consistently different between the two then it may need a tweak
 
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