Mondo zooms

squerble

squerble

squerble

Soldato
Joined
13 Apr 2009
Posts
6,459
Location
UK
Hey all.

Currently using a Nikon 55-300mm on my D7200 for aviation photography, and whilst it's been perfectly adequate (so far) I'm really lacking in reach in some cases.

Naturally, I'll be looking at the 150-600mm zooms - the Tamron or the Sigma Contemporary - but wondered if anyone had real-world experience with either? They're both £600 grey and seem to have similar reports of image quality. I saw someone at Manchester Airport who let me have a quick play with his (Sigma Contemporary, also on a D7200) and the range is fantastic, but of course I didn't get to take the images home and inspect (it was a quick 2-minute chat).
 
I have the Sigma. Main reason for choosing it over the Tamron was I already had the Sigma dock which allows customisation of AF, stabilisation (can be set quite aggressive or slow and smooth) and for firmware updates to future proof it if/when I change bodies.

You can preset two different configurations of AF, OS etc, changing between the two by flicking a switch on the lens.

Think I read somewhere the Tamron only has bidirectional stabilisation. Might be a consideration for panning shots.

Sigma tripod foot is a bit puny though.

Lens balances nicely on a body with a grip. I love it. Surprisingly easy to get sharp images handheld.
 
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Yes, the contemporary.

Got dock from HK seller for £30 :-) I'd strongly advise getting one if you choose the Sigma. The way the lens is configured from the factory made me think I'd made a mistake buying the lens but a few tweaks and it's brilliant.
 
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On nikon on a crop sensor I would get the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 - sharper and faster.

Otherwise I agree that the sigma C is slightoy better than the tamron, and the Sigma Sports is significantly better overall than eith with much better autofcus. IQ of the Sports is only veyr slightly better but it is better where it counts, 600mm wide open. It may be hard to justify the price difference. But as I say, on Nikon DX just get the 200-500mm The nikon is sharper so the difference in detail is less than you might think, and 750mm equivalent is a huge amount of reach that is already very hard to use.
 
Jono said:
I have the Tamron. I like it. It's all I've tried, though.
Click to expand...

There is certainly nothing wrong with it, and it is way better than all the predecessor zooms form Sigma. But I don't think it is the best offering now there are 2 sigma and 1 Nikon models to compete with.
 
D.P. said:
On nikon on a crop sensor I would get the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 - sharper and faster.

Otherwise I agree that the sigma C is slightoy better than the tamron, and the Sigma Sports is significantly better overall than eith with much better autofcus. IQ of the Sports is only veyr slightly better but it is better where it counts, 600mm wide open. It may be hard to justify the price difference. But as I say, on Nikon DX just get the 200-500mm The nikon is sharper so the difference in detail is less than you might think, and 750mm equivalent is a huge amount of reach that is already very hard to use.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I can justify the price jump up to the Nikon (about £1,000, grey). £600 is my limit really, hence my original question of the Tamron vs Sigma C.

I'd love to get the proper Nikon, and the fixed-aperture would be nice, but jumping up £400 just to get those (and lose out on 100mm of reach) is a bit hard to justify at the moment. :(
 
I'm after a 70-200 f/2.8 but I'm not sure which to go for out of the Tamron and Nikon.
They SEEM to be equally sharp, from wide open to whatever, say f/16, but the Tamron is about £500 or more cheaper. It also doesn't work with teleconverters.

I'm not sure if I mind about this, as I have the 150-600mm Tamron, but perhaps down the line I might want a 1.4/2x TC... to use with the 70-200, if the image quality is that much better...

Nyyyyygggggnnnnn. :(
WWJD?
 
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