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The time has come to upgrade the kit lens to something faster and sharper.

I believe I have narrowed it down to the Sigma Lens 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC Macro HSM or the Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF].

Originally I had my heart set on the Tamron, but from reading, the older screw drive versions of this are better and quieter whereas the Sigma with the HSM gets very good reviews.

Interested in opinions and/or other options sub $1K.

Thanks.

Hey Ant!

Although I'm a canon user natively.. I'm a lens buster =P

Personally.. the colors that the Tamron give are EXTREMELY good, and minimal CA when shot wide open ( on crop for canon, there's less CA in the tamron than there is in the canon equiv. 17-55 IS USM) we've actually got one of the old screwdriver ones left at the store i work in.


But.... to be honest, I'm not too much of a fancy towards the Sigma 18-50... although it does have hsm, it's the reliability o fthe product that worries me as CRKennedy isn't exactly the best importers of Sigma/ Pentax products, yet Maxwell Australia have given the 2 years warranty on all tamron products.

Have you ever considered the 24-70 range? i know you'll be using it on a D90, but the 17-50 / 18-50 will be rendered almost pointless after a distant or not too distant upgrade to full frame sooner or later.

the 28-75 is tamron's hero 2.8 standard zoom.. I'm considering one myself as I'm due for a replacement on my old old old sigma 24-70.. the only thing I'll ask you to consider though is grey pricing. Topbuy are really good for the grey market area, as much as I'd prefer you purchasing from aussie retailers.. the grey market is alot easier on the pockets =)


If anymore details are required.. i know there are some users on forum that have the tamron and nikkor 24-70's.. for instant aim54x has the tamron and the nikkor, and out of what i see from him... it's mostly the 17-50 attached to his beasts.

But do consider what you put on you're camera, you're headed the right direction =)

photomarcs wrote:Hey Ant!
Have you ever considered the 24-70 range? i know you'll be using it on a D90, but the 17-50 / 18-50 will be rendered almost pointless after a distant or not too distant upgrade to full frame sooner or later.

Have pondered this. I will have to fire up lightroom and see where I am doing most of my shooting, but I have a feeling it is in the wider range.

Thanks.

As a user of the Sigma 18-50 I can give you my opinion of it.

I think it is a really good lens on my D80 and for the wider aspect it is great. Colour and Sharpness is very good and the HSM in anything above bad light is spot on and fast. I have had the odd hunt, but that is when it has been really dark and it does focus after a turn or two. I knew this when I bought it, but the HSM is better than the Tamron. The hunting isn't that bad so don't be put off by it.

I've even upgraded to the Sigma 24-70 HSM over the Tamron 24-70 for the D700 because I like the Sigma HSM over Tamron's flavours and the cost is much better on the pocket

What I would say though, that like a lot of lenses, stop it down to f4 for better all over sharpness, compared to great sharpness at f2.8 with a little softer on the sides.

spesh wrote:As a user of the Sigma 18-50 I can give you my opinion of it..

haha funny how our opinions differ, LOL now it's going to get confusing..


haha but then again.. i am a canon user.. and i guess lens personality would differ on bodies.

photomarcs wrote:

spesh wrote:As a user of the Sigma 18-50 I can give you my opinion of it..

haha funny how our opinions differ, LOL now it's going to get confusing..
:

Two positive reviews, just means I cant make the wrong decision, just different degrees of right

Well since Marcus has already dragged me into this one....

TAMRON!!!!! I have had mine for almost 2.5yrs now and even though I do own Nikkor's 24-70mm f/2.8 I definitely find the Tamron on my D300 and S5 Pro much more often than the Nikkor. Most of the images I have posted on this forum are out of that lens, and there are a number of other happy users of the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 (Dviv, Glen, Malificentmuse to name a few).

I will admit that I have not used the Sigma, but my experiences on the other side (ie selling) have left me with a bit of a sour taste in regards to their lenses and support. I do however own a Sigma 180mm f/3.5 macro and can report that it seems to have a cool cast on my Nikon's, but then this is a very different lens to the 18-50.

Well my experiences with the Tamron... Ive only owned this lens for the past month and a half, and as someone who shot exclusively with a Nikon 35mm f1.8 for a whole year prior to this, I was skeptical of any third party zoom lens meeting my expectations. It exceeded them I was surprised at how usable images were with the lens open wide, and the ability to have two useful ends (I usually use either the 17mm end or the 50mm end) makes this a very useful lens, having a wide perpective (with all its delicious associated distortions) and a "normal" 50mm, which makes for pleasant casual portraiture.

My version of the Tamron 17-50 2.8 is the model with the mircomotor inside, and I found the focusing time to be fast and snappy. Construction does feel solid as well and for the price at which I bought it for ($500 incl. shipping), I think it was well justified.

I used the Tamron for a short time during a meet and was blown away by focus speed, CA and distortion control!! The focus motor was loud but accurate even in low light in my 350D!

Watch out though. There are two types of motors for this lens. One is better. Can't rem which.

surenj wrote:Watch out though. There are two types of motors for this lens. One is better. Can't rem which.

Time for me to NERD OUT on this one...there is actually THREE models of this lens in the Nikon mount.

A16N - Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 for the Nikon mount with screwdriver motor
A16N II - Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 for the Nikon mount with micromotor (a bit slower focus than the A16N but D40/40x/60/3000/5000 compatible)

B005N - Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 VC, this is the newer version of this lens with redsigned optics and most importantly 'Vibration Compensation' (Tamron VR technology - which is good for 3-4 stops), this version has a bit more CA at 17mm (have to look to find it though) and is more expensive...only available in micromotor AF (AF speed is the seems to be as fast as the screwdriver A16N)

If you have the cash...then the B005N is a nice buy, if not then I would go with either of the A16's, they are the optically identical (and identical in size/weight) and the screwdriver version is hard to find.

Thanks for the comments, looks like the consensus here is the Tamron which is the way I was leaning.

Next question, any recommendations on where to buy in Melb... I work in Sth Melb so city is easy to do.

Well I bought the Tamron 17-50mm, non VC version. First shots are in the first images section. Have a feeling I am going to love this lens. It will live on the D90 for the next little while so I can get used to it.

Thanks for all the advice.