Friday, May 22, 2009

Choices, Choices...


The Alternative 70 - 200mm lineup for Nikon
I have been doing a lot of reading on alternative 70-200mm lenses for my Nikon D300. I came across this Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG Macro HSM II, released January 2008. I read the indepth review on www.dpreview.com. It got good ratings, average 8.3 out of 10 on a Nikon camera, versus 8.5 for the upscale Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm F2.8G. The Tamron SP AF 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro had better reviews about the optics but fell on focusing and speed, it got 8.2. One bad thing is there is no VR on the Sigma, and there is a bit more chromatic aberration at 200mm, where the red and the blue separate than in the Nikon counterpart. One good thing is the Sigma costs $800 USD versus the Nikon's $1,800. Hmmm... Also on B&H users give the Sigma high ratings, and recommend it as the cheaper alternative. The Tamron's street value is $700.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I just thought to widen the choices to one more lens, hence the update on the blog entry...

Unknown said...

JUMP! !! JUMP!!! JUMP!!! wait...we're talking about a lens... is the tamron some sorta USM HSM focusing thingymagigger?? if not go bigma...

Unknown said...

Julian, on dpreview.com they had this to say about the Tamron lens:

"The big problem with this lens, however, lies in the focusing systems. The autofocus motor is relatively slow and noisy, which puts it at a major disadvantage compared to its ultrasonic motor-equipped competitors, simply because AF performance impacts strongly on many of the typical uses for a fast telezoom lens.

It's also a distinct problem in low light or with low-contrast subjects, where the lens can take what feels like an eternity to achieve focus."

So uummmm I don't think so!

Unknown said...

bigma=sigma i got no idea tamron made a lens...lol not too much of a tamron fan...

Unknown said...

ya i should learn to punctuate in here...