Sigma vs Tamron 28-300

[Walter_Kimmel]

My wife is waiting for the announced Sony DSLR with image stabilization (upgrade of the Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D).

She is insistant on small and light, and figures that one of those lenses with the Sony DSLR will be all she would want, other than a super-wide zoom.

Granted that neither lens will be super sharp between 200mm and 300mm, which of these lenses has got better overall optical performance, including at the long end? Has anybody compared them, or know of links to reviews of both lenses? I checked Photodo, but got no really usefull ideas.

[DougAxford]

I just got a Sigma 18-200 for a Canon to replace a Canon lens that got dropped. I also own a Tamron 28-105 2.8 for a Nikon film camera.

The Sigma is far lss expensive than Canons and less than the Tamrons. IMHO it's a cheaper build that you can feel when zooming, but the focus ring is very smooth. We're definitely having focus issues with the Sigma more than the other Canon lenses. DSLRs have more focus problems than the film versions, especially on primarily red subjects. That being said, the Sigma is sharp enough for people shots since we're not after super sharp anyway.

I'd suggest that you try the 18-200 rather than the 28-300. I think you might want the ability to go wider without carrying another lens. 200 on a DSLR is lots for most things. Overall Sigma is good for the price. If I had money to burn, I'd buy better glass.

Problem with Sigma/Tamron seems (from reviews) to be that there are a few bad ones that get shipped and you have to test before you buy.

I've also got a Stabilization Canon lens (big $$) that I use only with IS turned off - simply pain in the ***. Sharp lens and stabilization seem to contradict one another in actual use IMHO.

Doug

[Walter_Kimmel]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Doug. The 28-300 really is in the range we want, and will buy either a 15mm fullframe fisheye or the 12-24mm that Sigma makes, for the wide angle stuff.

We have a full assortment of Canon big lenses (24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8 IS etc., 100-400, 85 1.2, 135F2, 16-35, and more).

But those big bozos are little fun to schlepp around on walks, so we have Tokina 24-200, Tamron 28-200, sigma 24-135, and now have just bought the Tamron 28-300 mentioned in this thread.

As I understand it, Tamron pretty much owns this particular category of lens. Mine, which we bought at Calumet in SF (they were the same fixed price everywhere), really turned out to be an enormous amount of fun. I love running around with it and, while the wider angle of the Tokina 24-200 actually seems to add more than the extra 100mm length of the tamron, the Tokina vignettes in the upper left hand corner at 24mm (We have full-sensor EOS-1Ds and EOS-1Ds Mk II cameras). Not a lot, and usually saveable. But it does vignette.

I can't recommend the 28-300 for overcast days or anything but rather bright lighting conditions because of the small apertures, especially at 300mm. At 300mm I will not use a slower shutter speed than 1/250th without stabilization, and that pushes the f6.3 aperture, on less than bright days. But on good San Francisco weather days, that lens is a gas to run around with. And amazingly small.

For overcast, if I don't want to schlepp the large Canon F2.8 zoom pair, I like the Sigma 24-135mm lens. This is, in my experience, the best optically of these non Canon groups that I own. It is also the fastest, starting at f.2.8 and not getting too small-apertured at 135. My student Ron henggeler (www.ronhenggeler.com) loves the sigma and uses it most. He finds it the most positive-acting in focusing and such and very sharp. Sigma does make various quality lenses, which they even claerly designate as such.

Now, perfect would be a new 24-300mm lens for full-sensor cameras. That would be a real gas.

In the meantime, I have ordered the Sigma 12-24mm zoom to carry along to complement the 28-300mm on birght days. That should give me an enormous range of focal lengths in the smallest space, when I am not looking for the sharpest possible.

Mark

[sjprg]

I orginaly purchased a Tamrom 28-300 for my 5D and found focus lock problems with it. I replaced it with a Sigma 28-300 which I am very happy with.
Very large images.
_MG_2197.jpg photo - Paul Gardner photos at pbase.com