Nikkor 18-70 vs Sigma 18-50

[neil l]

Not another lens dilema!! <p>

 

Whilst camera reviews are everywhere on the web and in magazines I

find lens reviews less easy to come by and even more so reviews that

directly compare one against another. <p>

 

I am looking at buying either the Nikkor 18-70 or Sigma 18-50 2.8.

I'm drawn to the Nikkor as firstly it is a Nikkor and I would expect

better reliability/compatibility and secondly it has a little more

reach at the telephoto end. The Sigma on paper looks a better lens

and is faster but as a 3rd party lens I would have some worries over

build quality and durability. <p>

 

Often I wonder whether price differences on lenses such as these 2

are down purely to speed and not image quality. As a landscape lens

speed is ot an issue to me, sharpness, distortion and CA are though

(even if correctable through PS). There is also the issue of

relative peformance on full frame and 1.5/1.6 crop. In theory a lens

that is average or good on full frame could jump to excellent on a

DSLR with the edges cropped off <p>

 

Anybody fancy starting lensreview.com ? <p>

[jason_thomas1]

Thought they were both DX sized lenses, so I'm sure they perform very mediocre on a 35mm frame; unless you're looking for some serious vignetting, of course.

[neil l]

I have a D70 and S3 pro DX both DX sixed sensors!

[jason_thomas1]

Then why the question about relative performance to "full frame" in reference to these two lenses?

[fivetonsflax]

I have the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8. Haven't tested sharpness but it focuses pretty well, is

not too loud, and gives a subjectively pleasing rendering, as far as I'm concerned --

especially for night shots in available light. Some vignetting at the wide end if you have

the lens hood on. Built for APS-C size sensors, which, aside from the obvious

disadvantage, makes the lens smaller and lighter. I'd say this is my favorite lens right

now, and it has been for some time. BTW, I use it on a Canon 20D, but I expect that my

experience is relevant to a Nikon user too.

 

I hope this helps.

[steve_chan5]

I have the Sigma in Nikon mount, but have been too busy to do any shooting with it (hopefully will change this weekend). Reviews of the lens seem to be uniformly good, and a few people on this forum, and others have been very happy with it (which is why I picked it up).

[terry_rory]

I bought the Nikon 18-70mm with my D70. It is an OK lens but I needed the extra speed and bought the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC.

 

I stays on my camera almost all of the time now. (Except when I ocasionally use a 50mm f/1.4) The Nikon 18-70mm is back in the box as a 'spare' or backup. The only advantage of the 18-70mm is a little extra range which does not bother me.

[dennis_sigler]

I have the Nikon 18-70 and like the results even under poor light. I have used it at the Baltimore arena for monster truck pictures and in school gyms for grand daughters soccer games. Around the house and general use it is great. Thought of purchasing the Sigma 18-50 with the 2.8 but to gain 1/2 to a full stop not sure it is worth it when I can change the iso. The build quality of the Nikon is great.

[dennis_sigler]

I have the Nikon 18-70 and like the results even under poor light. I have used it at the Baltimore arena for monster truck pictures and in school gyms for grand daughters soccer games. Around the house and general use it is great. Thought of purchasing the Sigma 18-50 with the 2.8 but to gain 1/2 to a full stop not sure it is worth it when I can change the iso. The build quality of the Nikon is great. Will try and enclose an example.

[dennis_sigler]

I have the Nikkor 18-70 which is a very good lens. How ever I have found that I need a faster lens and I and ready to order the Sigma 18-50 2.8 and the Sigma 70-200 2.8. Yes the 18-50 loses some zoom but the difference between 75 and 105 is not that much. I thought of going to the 24-70 2.8 but the difference between 27mm and 36mm is a big change. I would rather lose the zoom then the wide angle.<div></div>

[inquisitive_jack]

I have spent last week or so testing both of these lenses on D200. They produce similar results, but you get better

performance out of Sigma in darker conidtions. Difference in focal range is insignificant to me. Build quality good on

both. Sigma shows a bit softer colour tones when wide open and max zoom (50mil) as comparred to wide open

Nikkor @ 70mil, I like it personally. Both are equally sharp, but sharpness on both leaves a bit to desire, even

comparing to my P&S Canon G9. Maybe I have not figured this out yet, but I cannot manually zoom with Sig, which

is a bit of a shorcoming, but I guess I can live with this considering this lens is faster than Nik. I think I will keep

both, Nik acting as a backup.