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Anonymous
what does /p/ think of third party lenses like sigma and tamron? how are the optical quality of them? im looking to buy a zoom from about 70ish to 200-300ish. the nikkor 70-300mm is nice, but is rather slow at f/4.5-5.6. the 80-200mm f/2.8 is really nice obviously but is really quite expensive. attached is the sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
>> Anonymous
If you cant afford the nikon 80-200mm or 70-200mm 2.8 then ide go for the Sigma 70-200.. isnt as sharp as nikon ones but its focus is damn fast. I have to say its faster than the focus on my nikon 70-200 2.8 AFS VR.
>> Anonymous
IT depends on the lens, Some sigma lenses are crap, and some are great (120-300 f2.8), The Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro, Has decent quality and sharpness, But wide open its a little soft, and its AF is SOOOO SLOW.
But I just picked up the 80-200 F2.8 Nikon, Was aiming for the 70-200 F2.8 Sigma, BUT someone offered me the 80-200 for a decent deal.
Still waiting for it in the mail :( DAMN YOU WEEKENDS!
>> Anonymous
I've shot with a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 HSM, and it is excellent. Sharp, fast-focusing and not to heavy.
>> ac
I'm afraid of 'em. Canon won't publicly tell them how to interface with its cameras, so third-party lenses might stop working on newer bodies.

(Which I've experienced firsthand with an old, old 35-135 which wouldn't work at anything but maximum aperture on my Digital Rebel, but worked fine on my Rebel II S)
>> Anonymous
>>47161
im using nikon though!
>>47144
you know whats funny, i had actually overlooked the 80-200mm nikkors. i had meant to type the 70-200mm vr, which is around $1700 or so. the 80-200mm nikkor looks like a really good buy granted it doesnt have vr, but hey, its f/2.8 throughout. so as it stands, sigma is out. its now down to whether i want to get the nikkor 80-200mm or save up for a while more and get the 70-200mm vr. i guess i could do the "camp it out until i find one" thing for one of them 18-200mm vr too...the choices, the choices. thisll probably be my only lens purchase for the year, so i want to make it count. well, if i bought the cheap 70-300 i could make another, but meh.
>> Anonymous
>>47249
In that case, it depends on what Camera body you have, If its a pro one like a D200 D2h etc, You can save a bit and Get the 80-200 f2.8 AF-D, New at only like 700$
Or if you have something like a D50, D70, D80 (especially a D40) Get the 80-200 AF-s, At the extra cost you will get much faster focusing speed than the AF-D, And on the D40 it will actually autofocus.
Cost a bit more though, and weighs more (1.5kg, just over 30cm long with the lens hood attached)