Beginner Thinking of upgrading my lens...

fisheyonadishey

fisheyonadishey

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Evening all...

I'm thinking it might be time to upgrade my kit EF-S 18-55mm
f3.5-5.6 iii. I've had some results I've been fairly pleased with, and seeing as I only bought it last year, would persevere were it not for 2 problems...

1. I've started to use a polariser, and the front element rotates during focus, meaning I have to constantly adjust it. Same goes for a graduated ND filter.

2. The lens feels flimsy. The front element moves in and out slightly, which throws the manual focus out slightly. More of an annoyance really, but after spending what I consider to be a large amount of money on a camera, it frustrates me every time I use it. I feel that if the construction is that poor, the optics aren't going to be up to much either.

I've decided to for for a 17-50mm f2.8. I've narrowed it down to either the Sigma AF 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM OS or the Tamron 17-50....(sorry, I can't find the exact model code, but it was the older non vc version which reportedly has better optics). I ruled out the Canon equivalent because of the price, and the majority of comparisons I read didn't give it much advantage over the third party lenses. The tokina 16-50mm seems rare nowadays, and seemed more bulky.

With the above mentioned in mind, what would you all suggest? I'm really tied, and having never used any of these lenses, I'd appreciate any advice.

Many thanks
 
Recently bought the Tammy 2.8 and image quality wise, to me it's like having my 50mm 1.8 on all the time with the versatility of the zoom. That said, I am struggling to nail it every time when the light is less than favourable.

The Sigma and the Tamron you are talking about are different as ones got IS and the other hasn't. I feel I'd have more keepers with my Tamron if it did have IS (VC/OS whatever you want to call it)

I picked up the lens 2nd hand and after selling my kit lens the cost really was negligible so a no brainer for me.
 
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When you say it's like having three 50mm prime on all the time, in what respect?

From what I've read, and I've done some pile of reading, the non vc version is far superior optically then the vc equivalent. I'm not too fussed about image stabilisation either way, if it come with it, bonus, but I'm going to try and choose on the quality of the optics.
 
Both lenses look great for the price, with the fixed aperture.......I'm now getting itchy fingers!! Sorry I can't give any advice, as I own neither lens, but now I want one! :) Happy shopping!
 
fisheyonadishey said:
So you noticed a vast improvement from the standard kit lens in terms of IQ? How do you find the AF on the Tamron?
Click to expand...

That would be a definite yes but I hadn't used the kit lens for a very long time so wasn't swapping like for like. The ability to use 2.8 throughout the zoom range just wins everytime although the extra stops with IS put a different slant on it. I find the AF 'fine'
 
Doing exactly the same thing. I've got a tamron 70-300 zoom the newer VC version but I'll be going for the sigma. I went into my local camera shop to look and feel and it looks and feels like a quality bit of kit, the sigma that is
 
Not directly related to your original post, but if you're looking for UK stock CameraPriceBuster is a great place to get good prices (link), if you;re okay with import\grey then poke around the shopping section on here and you'll see a few discussed.

Sorry if you already know, but always worth mentioning CPB ;-)
 
Oh, and if the best price is amazon - have a quick compare to the other European sites here (link)
 
Managed to pick up a mint Tamron 17-50 non VC today only been used a few times as well, £125 :)
 
I have the Tamron F2.8 VC one and find the motor a little noisy.

Looking at online reviews between them, it seems the IQ is tomato tomato but I would go for the Sigma as its less noisy when focussing.
 
Having owned both a Tamron and Sigma 17-50 f2.8, i would suggest the Sigma is the better of the 2, image quality is so close i couldn't tell them apart, but after a few focussing issues with the Tamron and issues with it not working in live view mode on either a Nikon D7000 or D7100 i would suggest the Sigma, i think it feels a better built lens too, but i'm sure you would be perfectly happy with either lens IQ wise

The Sigma does have the HSM too, so is nice and snappy on focus, quiet too
 
Well today I have pulled the trigger on a Sigma 17-50 DC OS HSM from LCE (£309and have bought my first set of grad filters from Amazon to go with it which arrive tomorrow. I know I could have bought for cheaper but I wanted it now as I have a week off camping in Anglesey next week, so hoping to give it a good work out - pics of kids like portraits/candid and landscapes are the order of the day. I'll report back findings!
 
Am looking at the Sigma myself just now. Just thought I'd note that they're doing a free flash with this lens via redemption if you purchase through a registered uk dealer. More expensive by about £50 but the flash is allegedly worth £170.

Cheers
 
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