Sigma Vs Tamron 17-50mm f2.8

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Spykee

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Alex
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I currently have a nifty fifty for my Canon 450d and although I love it I find it a real struggle to be able to take the shot that I want without standing too far away from the subject, often not even having enough room in the space that I am in to get half of what I want in the frame.

Having used my friend's 5D MKII and Canon EF 24-70 f2.8 I love it but don't have anywhere near the sort of money the lens costs and also don't think it's worth it with my camera only being a 450d.

Because of this, although I know I won't be able to compare the quality, I was looking at either the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR Di II VC Lens or the Sigma f2.8 EX DC OS HSM as potential options. I believe these aren't the Macro model's as discussed in other threads I have found?

The question is I have no idea which is better as they seem similar spec's and prices with the only thing I can find being that the Tamron is very soft around the edges when the focal length is below 24mm.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :)
 
Haven't tried the Sigma but the Tamron one I have is a great bit of kit

There's quite a few test online comparing these two
 
I have just bought the Tamron non vc 17-50 and am very happy with the results. Sorry not tried the sigma.
 
I have a sony 16 50 f2.8, its a great lens, great for normal use, I heard the tamron is good too.

also sigma 18 35 f1.8..
 
If you want stabilization then sigma, otherwise the Tamron non VC is awesome. The VC version I had was appalling.

Have you looked at the canon 17-55? I know its expensive but its one of the best EF-S lenses Canon have ever produced.
Our Tamron was marginally sharper in the centre but the canon was amazingly sharp even into the corners.
 
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=474&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=3&APIComp=0

That's not the OS version which I would expect to be better.

They look quite similar, if they were the same price I would probably opt for the sigma since it has a silent AF motor and the OS would work instantly as opposed to tamron's annoying 1 second waiting time.

FWIW, I've had two non vc copies of the tamrom and they've both been excellent.
 
I have the Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 EX DC OS HSM, which I use on a Nikon D7100. I love this lens. I haven't tried the Nikkor 15-55mm but the half the price the Sigma is a fantastic lens.

Sorry I can't compare the Sigma with the Tamron as the shop didn't have and couldn't get the Tamron in for testing.

The following three pics were taken (hand held too) with the D7100 and Sigma!


Barcelona-13 by Brayg01, on Flickr
50mm 1/20 f2.8 ISO 1250


Barcelona-17 by Brayg01, on Flickr
27mm 1/30 f2.8 ISO 1250


Barcelona-20 by Brayg01, on Flickr
17mm 1/60 f11 ISO 100
 
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Thanks for the replies everyone, much appreciated.

I've not considered the Canon 17-55 as I don't want an EF-S lens as I am at some point hoping to get myself a 5D mkII as I'm more of a fan of a full frame camera. Obviously if I do I want all my lenses to fit.

From what I can gather based on your feedback both the Tamron and Sigma are good lenses when comparing but the Sigma has better OS and silent AF?

Thanks for the pics Brayg01, are they post edit or the original image? The colours look great.
 
Hi Spykee,

All three pictures have some degree of POST esp the two cathedral pictures but at the time of writing the message they were handy.

I'm going to Croft Circuit tomorrow to watch the Rallycross and even though I'll mainly be using a borrowed 70-200mm f2.8 I'll see if there is a good opportunity to use this lens, hopefully I'll try to capture some fast action (it will be my first time shooting cars though...).

If you would like I'd be happy to send you a raw file?

I think there will be very little difference between the Tamron and the Sigma, I'm sure you'd be happy with either.

I'm very impressed with the Sigma, it's fast and quiet at getting focus, it's light and the zoom and focus ring feels very nice. The OS is amazing (as you can see from the two cathedral shots above, hand held in very bad light leaning again a post or kneeling down).

Cheers!
 
Spykee said:
I've not considered the Canon 17-55 as I don't want an EF-S lens as I am at some point hoping to get myself a 5D mkII as I'm more of a fan of a full frame camera.
Click to expand...

If you had said that at the beginning nobody would have mentioned the Tamrons and Sigmas as they wont work with full frame.
Maybe you would be better off with a cheap kit lens you could sell on, or a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 second hand that would work when you buy the full frame camera.
 
Oh balls, never realised that...shows how little I know! I thought because it's an EF lens it would be inter-changeable with any body.

Is this just an issue with full frame cameras or are they also incompatible with some cropped frame ones as well?

Thanks
 
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