thequintessentialman

Hmmm, looks like my decision may have just gotten easier. Nikon has some deep discounts on the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR (and other glass and bodies.) Unless I'm confusing things, this lens is second to none in its class. A little over my budget but I can probably justify the extra to cover the distance between this and the Sigma. Last time I looked, this Nikon was close to $3K. Kind of curious (concerned) though, historically it's been a little unusual for Nikon to offer such discounts on flagship items except when offering a newer LaG model, maybe it's just a different game now...

OK, maybe BIF was not the best example but before I got the Sigma 150\600 Sport, a Nikon 80\200 AFS was all I had for BIF or anything else far off and moving. As good as Nikon glass is, as an amateur it's just getting difficult to justify Nikon pricing with some of the third parties producing such quality equipment at a much lower price. If my living depended on it, I would get the Nikon hands down (may still depending on how well the Sigma compares). I was a Nikon snob for years and would not consider third party lens but rolled the dice on the Sigma Sport 150\600 and have been pleasantly surprised. Made it much easier to gamble on the Art 135 (again, no regrets). So FWIW, what I've read on the siggy 70\200 looked really good on sharpness, I was just waiting on reviews of its target acquisition, lock, and fire capability.

Anyone found reviews comparing it to the Nikon, some BIFs, or other action shots. From the reviews and pics I've seen it seems to be a pretty sharp lens, I'm just wondering how quickly and accurately the AF acquires and locks on to a target. All the reviews treat it as just a portrait lens and it causes me to wonder why.

Does no one here shoot the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM A Nikon? Just out in 2017, it;'s getting some good reviews.

Pretty much been a life long die hard Nikon fan; still think they make the best equipment but they are starting to price me out of their market especially with the way third parties are encroaching on Nikon performance at 1/2 the price. I've got my old 80-200 AFS D2.8 scheduled for replacement and just limping along waiting until Sigma ever decides to release it's 70-200 Sport; almost pulled the trigger before Christmas on the Tamron when I learned about Sigma's impending arrival at some point hopefully in my lifetime. I've sent my Nikon back to Nikon service three times in about 8 years. I sent my 28-70 back last summer and as far as I can tell, even though they took my $400, it still has most of the same issues. Compounding the problem, Nikon tends to ignore email requests finally responding to my last email after the lens was returned. I only wanted an assessment of its condition vs investing the repair money toward a new lens. [End rant} I need suggestions for a replacement for the Nikon 28-70. The thing is I don't use it that often but when I do, I burn through a lot of shots. As an amateur, I burned close to a thousand shots at a recent event I volunteer to photograph; most with the 28-70. I had a lot of missed shots due to inability to focus and loss of armature control. When I caught it, turning the camera off and on usually fixed it for a while. The 80-200 will sometimes not focus and I simply turn the manual focus ring with will usually start it. This is what I sent it in for originally but the thirty minute Nikon Warranty has expired. (OK, apparently I;m still ranting...) The 80-200 is generally my "go to" but in the close quarters of the event (Chinese NYE celebration with lots of colorful dress, lions, dragons, and fast paced Kung Fu action) it is usually too long for the performances. It works great for candids though... you don't know how many times I've fantasized about a Nikon f2.8 AFS 18-200. :) Any idea what is current and who is planning upgrades soon? This will be mounted on a D800 with its unforgiving 36 meg CCD. Even though I'm doing some googling, I thought I would tap into the brain trust. :)

I ran across this from back in March along with a couple more references but some were just reposts. Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports Lens Coming in Late 2017 - Daily Camera News I was hoping someone else maybe had better sources.

The suggestions have been helpful. I think I will rethink this and approach from the direction of a smaller notebook (or carry separately as suggested.) Thanks

Seriously past due for a camera gear bag update and things are now becoming a bit cumbersome and unmanageable. Ideally it will be a backpack that will fit the overhead compartment on a commercial air liner. I've found some backpacks that would work well but will not accommodate my 17" PC. The equipment is a Nikon D800 w/ and battery grip, Sigma Sport 150/600, Nikon 80/200 afs, 28/70 afs, and a Sigma art 135 plus flash, extension tubes, and other support gear. (Tripod's a little bulky so not sure how to factor that in.) Then again, maybe the question should be over an inexpensive table device that will perform the necessary photog related PC duties until I return home. Especially now since smartphones handle the email and web stuff we normally use a PC for. Any ideas?

OK, jokes aside, anyone have any info (opinions) on the rumored Sigma 70-200 Sport due out Q3/Q4 2017? I was dead set on the Tamron but now thinking maybe I'll give it a little longer to see what Sigma comes out with.

Maybe a bit premature but these are some of the first images from the lens. I went down this morning and picked it up. The passion flower was shot through a Kenko 36mm ext tube. Everything is just as it came out of the camera except the RAW to jpg conversion. .

Anyone here getting good reception on their crystal ball (thinking 'bout changing providers)? Lately I've been seriously considering updating to a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 but ran across some info that Sigma was scheduled to release their new Sport 70-200 sometime Q3 or Q4. From the reviews I've been reading, the Tamron is a golly gewhillikers fine lens and a bargain price compared to the Nikon but Sigma has been on a roll lately putting out some pretty good stuff. Now thinking maybe hold off a bit (if I can) to see what comes out... y'all heard anything new regarding reviews or a release date?

Sometimes a Lens is just a lens... Well, once I get it and get the bugs worked out, I'll try to post some pics. I've never had a prime so guess I'll have to get used to not standing in one place... expecting a bit of a learning curve with this one.

Anyone tried this lens yet? The specs and reviews look great. It will be mounted on a D800 and would be my first prime. Apparently Sigma and Tamron both have started taking their Engineering and QC seriously... and good for us. The 85 that Siggy released a few months ago has highest DXO Mark score ever and I've read other reviews stating that this lens is just as good. Thoughts and comments?

Wow, that's a bit underwhelming. I had envisioned something a little more... user friendly; what you described sounds painful. Thank you (I think.)

AF-S Nikkor 80-200 f2.8D. The issue is not back or front focus so much as just a lack of overall sharpness compared to the newer 150-600 Sigma Sport I have. The question is could I get noticeably better performance (sharpness) from a newer lens? I don't know if it's the age of the technology, the state of this particular copy, or my expectations that's causing the problem. I don't recall ever taking a shot with that Nikkor that did not benefit from a little sharpening PP.

That's good to know about the Sigma base. I was aware it could make adjustments but was under the belief it was either one end, the other end, or somewhere in the middle. (A base is on the list though; there have been some updates to the focus speed, which is already pretty good), Regarding your docking question, from my limited PLC background, my thought would be possible interaction of the camera electronics and the "programming module". We are also talking about two different competing vendors one of which doesn't really want to play with the other. Calibrating first off camera, then calibrating the camera to the lens, should increase accuracy. Again, this is from a controls automation perspective and not camera electronics so I could be wandering lost way out in left field...

Sort of suspected the focus on my "old reliable" zoom is less than optimal, for a while now. I see photos on the interweb with the same D800 body and newer "VR" versions of this zoom, and the sharpness is much better. At first I thought it was just my skill level (and a large part probably is) but after acquiring a Sigma Sport 150-600, the difference in sharpness was quite noticeable between the two with the Sigma being the sharper. This is even with manual focusing of the Nikon using the LCD viewer zoomed in. Last night, I found a focus calibration scale online, and I set up a test bench; I've NOT touched any calibration controls. The lens is a little front focus at 200 and a little more back focus at 80. I neglected to to measure the lens to subject distance but the shots were taken at about 6'. Just for curiosity, I took a couple of shots with the Siggy too but moved it back a bit. The scale on the calibration tool appears to be in inches after allowing for the angular offset. My best uneducated guess is the lens front focus is about 0.25" at 200mm and about 0.5" back focus at 80mm. There is still noticeable difference in sharpness between the Nikon and Siggy at any distance. The Siggy follows the same front back pattern with slightly front focus at long end and a little back at short end (an almost dead even split). FWIW, this was discussed on another forum but I had not done any testing. My thought is, that even though this lens was initially designed for a Full Frame film camera, the detail afforded by the 36 mpx sensor is is just too much for this older lens. I'm seriously considering the Tamron 70-200 now as a replacement. FWIW, the Nikon has been back a couple of times in the past few years to the Nikon Service Center. Thoughts, concerns, etc...?