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In the RE kit list sets (both versions) Hywel writes “Trust me, buy Canon lenses. Don’t be tempted by cheaper-looking alternatives from Sigma, Tamron, etc. they just don’t cut the mustard.”
Now since I shoot Nikon, the first part doesn’t apply 😀 But wrt the second part, I am tempted. On the one hand I do lust for the Nikon 24-70 which is the midrange zoom lens of Nikon’s “holy trinity.” On the other hand, the Sigma 24-70 is half the price, and the Tamron 28-75 is one-third as much. Since I shoot a crop-sensor camera, I would get the sweet center portion, and wouldn’t have to worry about the problems at the corners. (If I had a full-frame camera, I don’t think I would be tempted.)
As an aside: What are people’s experiences with buying used lenses? Hywel? Others?
As a second aside: Who else here shoots Nikon? (Ugol’s law has to apply here, right?)
Hi Lurker,
I can’t say much about Nikon lenses, except that they generally seem to be well thought of.
I think the indie lens marques are very variable. I know that Sigma et al have produced some very highly regarded lenses, but if they are producing what looks on paper like the same spec lens as Nikon or Canon but only charging half as much for it, you’ve got to wonder where they are making those savings. I’m betting robustness of construction and mechanical tolerances.
The glass is not the most expensive part of the lens- it is putting all the elements together with high precision, high stability, mechanically robust operation and tightness of tolerances. That’s why the exact same optics with the same glass from Zeiss costs two to three times as much in CP.2 Cine Lens form http://www.zeiss.com/compactprime as it does in “regular” EF or Nikon form http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/lenses.html?manufacturer=3
Check out DP Reviews’ lens section to see if they have any useful test charts and opinions: http://www.dpreview.com/products/lenses
Personally I found that in glass more than anything else in the camera world, you get what you pay for. Good glass will outlast five camera bodies, so it is worth investing your money at the front of the image acquisition chain. I’m still using all the Canon lenses I bought with my D30, a decade on.
Cheers, Hywel.
It was reading DP Reviews that got me tempted in the first place
I’m particularly tempted by the Tamron 28-75 due to all the reports that it’s a really great lens on crop sensor bodies, but not so good on full frame. Also, the robustness isn’t as good as the Nikon 24-70 (or Canon 24-70) but I don’t put my equipment to the same sort of hard use that you at RE do. So for me, the reduced robustness and performance just might be worth the reduced price tag. Maybe.
Or it might be “penny wise and pound foolish” vs getting a top-of-the-line Nikon lens, instead.
Hi, I’m a Nikon user. (Sorry Hywel :D) I currently use a D700 Which I love. Particularly having upgraded from the D70.
I have the Nikon 24-70 F2.8 Tiss a great lens. I’d recommend it. (It is heavy though)
My Favorite lens is the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VRII. This is the lens that is on my camera most of the time. Though to shoot Full body Bondage at 200mm you need a pretty big room 🙂
The least used of my Lens is the 50mm F1.4G. Mainly because it is just too slow at focusing for my regular photography stuff. However I did use it a lot at the last shoot I did with Ariel. It seems to suit the Studio / Model environment better than the low light live events.
Now, Onto the Tamron Lens. My brother has a couple of Tamrons, They seem fine. But definitely feel less well made compared to my Nikons.
I had a play with my friends Samyang 85mm f1.4 AE IF UMC Aspherical. It is cheep. Comes in both Nikon and Canon mounts, takes amazing photos. Only downside is no autofocus, but the manual focus is so much better that using manual on any of the auto lenses I have. I see one of these in my future before too long.
I had few DX lens for the D70. When I upgraded to full frame, It was most annoying to have to replace all of them. A dx lens on the d700 turns it into s 5mp camera. So, I would recommend Spending money on FX lenses even if you are using an DX camera. At some point you may well want to upgrade to FX and It’ll save having to replace all your lenses…
Just some thoughts…
Sheep.
I don’t see myself going full-frame. Maybe in a future where even the entry-level dSLRs have full-frame sensors, but not likely otherwise. So “I might upgrade to FF in the future” is a minor consideration for me; any DX glass I get today I expect to be using for at least the next 10 years.
OTOH, who knows? And on the third hand, I am shooting longer than I had expected, so a 24-70 would fit me much better than the high-end DX 17-55 lens.
I did have a chance to briefly try the Tamron 28-75 in camera store, since my first post on this thread, and I found myself much less impressed than I had expected. And since on analyzing my shots I find myself shooting longer than expected, the idea of a 50mm prime (which has always been in the back of my mind) is now a lot more tempting.
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