a sigma choice lens for nikon

[william_varcas]

Sigma Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 28-70mm f/2.8-4

 

Should I get one? I want a zoom so badly...

[mharris]

Sorry William, I don't know alot about Sigma lenses. I do use some Tokina lenses and find them to be excellent.

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

William, I can't help you with the Sigma lens, but someone I trust fairly well recommends this lens the Tamron f2.8 28-75. According to him & this is a quote from him

 

"Tamron f2.8 28-75 has been tested by many and is at the top of the pack - even better in sharpness than the Nikon f2.8 28-70"

 

He recommends to do a search through google on it. I also think it's a constant f/2.8 which would be better than a f/2.8-4.

 

You may wish to check that one out.

 

Here's a web site which may help you out. They rate a lot of different brand of lenses.

 

http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/index.php

 

hope this helps in some small way.

 

Lil

[rob_sato]

I would personally recommend Tokina AT-X type lenses. They are commonly used among working professionals as more affordable alternatives to Nikkors and Canon L glass. I myself have owned several examples of their lineup including a 28-70mm f/2.8, 20-35mm f/2.8 and 80-200mm f/2.8. Tokina has extensive experience with fast constant aperture zooms at an affordable price. Their old manual focus 80-200mm f/2.8 was one of the first to offer that speed and focal length among third party manufacturers. They were also the VERY FIRST company to create an f/2.8 28-70mm , before Canon, Nikon, etc. I had that model for over a decade.

The lenses (especially the older models) are ruggedly build and made to withstand pro level wear and tear. I wouldn't get a variable aperture f/2.8-4 personally. I either use constant aperture f/2.8 s fast single focal length primes ( 24mm f/2.0, 50mm f/1.2-1.8, etc) or go straight to high ratio variable apertures (35-200 f/3-4.5, etc.) If I have to put up with the annoying inconvenience of a variable aperture (especially for metered manual exposures) , I'd rather go straight to a zoom with a high ratio. 28-70mm is too short a range to put up with a variable aperture. Just a suggested recommendation. Whatever you decide, good luck.

 

Tokinas are super cheap on the used market.

[elliot1]

Many Nikon owners use Sigma lenses and are very pleased with the results. The only non-Nikon lens I have is the Sigma 10-20 and it performs flawlessly and gives me consistently sharp, colorful and contrasty images.

 

I have used third party lenses in the past only to be disappointed with them. It was very difficult for me to buy the Sigma but so many people in this forum recommended it, I decided to try it. And I really, really like it.

 

On the other hand, I have avoided another lenses I wanted because it was not highly recommended here. I finally decided to try itanyway. And found that I really liked it too.

 

Do a search on Photo.net. There are many, many threads with info on this lens. Read through the various posts and you may find it is a good lens to buy and try out. If you order it from a store that accepts returns, you can always return it if you don't like it.

[bill_keane2]

William, are you using a DSLR with an DX format size sensor? If so, I would consider the zooms in the 17-50mm range which effectively behave like 28-70mm's did on film. In other words, on a DX camera, the 28-70 will not be a very wide-angle lens (more like a 42-105mm). Perhaps this is what you want though...

 

If you actually want decent wide-ange capability then you may wish to start looking at the 17-50mm models, of which Sigma, Tamron and Tokina make some beauts. I believe all of them are a constant 2.8. My 17-50 2.8 Tamron is excellent, but the new Sigma 18-50 2.8 has also tested well.

[Peter_in_PA]

Like Bill says, we need to know what your camera is.

 

If it's a digital, you should really consider the 18-70 from Nikon. It's not f2.8 throughout,

but do you really need that with digital in a wide angle zoom?

[mike_earussi1]

I own the Sigma 17-70 and it is an excellent lens. I prefer it over the other lenses because it has the widest zoom range while still offering pro level quality.

[russ_butner___portland__or]

I think you'd find the Nikon 28-105 or Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, to be much better lenses.

 

Russ

[frank_skomial]

"a Sigma lens choice for Nikon" ..." - 120-300/2.8 is the one Sigma to get.

[eric_arnold]

all depends on what your intended usage is.

i wouldn't consider a non-EX sigma, unless price is your only concern.

among the EX series, the most highly touted are:

30/1.4 HSM;

105/2.8 macro;

50-150/2.8 HSM (have this, it's pretty good);

18-50/2.8.

 

sigma also has a bunch of EX primes and mid-zooms -- the 24-60 can be had cheap on amazon -- with varying results. photozone.de clearly prefers the 17-50 tamron over the 18-50 sigma, while pop photography prefers the 18-50 over the nikkor 17-55 (!). you'll find plenty of pros who use the tamron 28-75 and swear by it, with the sigma variants (24-60, 24-70, 28-70) in less wide use.

 

if i were you, i'd probably go for a constant aperture lens over a variable aperture model, just because the low-light performance is so much better. in any event, there are plenty of choices among the 3rd party manufacturers in this market, so check out as many as you can if possible. in general, tokina AT-X has the best build quality, followed by sigma EX, followed by tamron SP. optical quality is another story; all make very good lenses, but sample variation is an issue. if you get a good copy, it will be very good and you will be happy. if not, you'll be bummed. but that's the luck of the draw -- there is also sample variation with nikkor lenses, even the pro ones. if you can test a lens in a shop before you buy, you'll know what you're getting.

 

good luck!

[michaeldavidphotography]

Well i had the sigma 28-70 and i hated it. I mean i bought it for low light and it was just not good at 2.8 very soft. It was good after 5.6. I sold it and got the nikon 17-55 and have not regreted it yet

[bsd230]

If you want an excellent lens from Sigma, you can get the Sigma EX 24-60 2.8 from amazon for 179.00. That is about 400 below retail and 220.00 below the best prices on the net. I bought one and it is one of the best lenses I have bought for this range especially for its price. Wide open the pictures are very usable and at 4.0 and above the lens is razor sharp. Its a fast, light lens(for an f2.8), great image quality. For the money you won't even get close to the performance. I see they went up in price to 219 but still a steal.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-24-60mm-Aspherical-Angle-Cameras/dp/B0002ALDKO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1674981-0624008?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1191820969&sr=8-1

[michaeldavidphotography]

Another choice is if you want to go the prime route is the 50mm 2.8 extreamly sharp. I love it i use it for food photography

[Mike D]

I have a couple of Sigma "EX" lenses and I really like them.