New member seeking lens purchase advice: Hi, my name is Garry and I live in Grande Prairie, Alberta. This is my first posting and I am looking for advice on the purchase of a 70-200mm...

garcritt Loc: Grande Prairie, AB. Canada

Hi, my name is Garry and I live in Grande Prairie, Alberta. This is my first posting and I am looking for advice on the purchase of a 70-200mm lens. My camera is a Nikon D750 and I can't afford the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 but the equivalent Sigma, Tamron or the Nikon 70-200 F4 fall with in my price range. Your recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Check: http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare/Side-by-side

Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD looks good and on sale at B&H.

Welcome aboard! Be patient buying lenses! If you don't get what you want,you most likely won't stay happy. Take your time and make your decision using your reasons. :-)

Mr PC Loc: Austin, TX

I've had very good luck with Sigma as I've moved up through their line. I've had the 18-250, still have the 18-300, had the 150-500 and just purchased the 150-600, it rocks! I'm on a crop sensor, you should get even better results with a full frame. I have always gone to brick and mortar stores and tried them all from each manufacturer and finally settled on Sigma. I've bought locally when I could unless the price difference was just too much. You also might try KEH/com, I got my 150-500 when they were around $1100 new for $600 used in great shape. I just sold it over a year later for $500. It's like renting a lens for a year with very little depreciation. Check here on the Hog, many people buy and sell gear here. And there's always ebay and Craigslist, just be careful. Good luck!

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

garcritt wrote:

Hi, my name is Garry and I live in Grande Prairie, Alberta. This is my first posting and I am looking for advice on the purchase of a 70-200mm lens. My camera is a Nikon D750 and I can't afford the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 but the equivalent Sigma, Tamron or the Nikon 70-200 F4 fall with in my price range. Your recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

Don't forget about the Tokina, which according to tests beats the Sigma and Tamron very easily in all categories!

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Welcome to the Hog Garry.

garcritt Loc: Grande Prairie, AB. Canada

speters wrote:

Don't forget about the Tokina, which according to tests beats the Sigma and Tamron very easily in all categories!

Thanks, I had totally forgotten about Tokina.

garcritt Loc: Grande Prairie, AB. Canada

ebbote wrote:

Welcome to the Hog Garry.

Thanks for the welcome and thanks to those who have responded to my query.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Garry,
I have a Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lens and a Tamron SP 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lens. The Canon lens is probably a best in class or as close to a best in class as you can get. It is a phenomenal zoom lens. The Tamron is not as good as the Canon but, it's pretty darn close. Sure the Canon focuses faster, it also costs about $1000 more than the Tamron. I bought the Tamron a few years ago when they first came out with it and was very pleased. I picked up the Canon because I got a really good deal on it and unfortunately, have a thing for Canon L lenses, but, I still use the Tamron quite often, because it's a darn good lens and probably the best buy for the money. If you can't afford the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8, spend your hard earned cash wisely and get the Tamron SP 70-200 f/2.8, you won't be sorry.

garcritt Loc: Grande Prairie, AB. Canada

rmorrison1116 wrote:

Garry, br I have a Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lens... (show quote)

Thank you. Does your older Tamron have the VC feature. You can still purchase new for approx. one half the price the older model lens lacking the VC feature but I don't think I want to head down that road as I am getting a little long in the tooth and a tad shaky. I guess that I need all the help I can get in the hold the camera steady dep't.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

garcritt wrote:

Thank you. Does your older Tamron have the VC feature. You can still purchase new for approx. one half the price the older model lens lacking the VC feature but I don't think I want to head down that road as I am getting a little long in the tooth and a tad shaky. I guess that I need all the help I can get in the hold the camera steady dep't.

It's the model A009 DI VC USD. It cost around $1400 new 4 years ago. I've taken thousands of photos with this lens and even though I've since acquired the Canon L equivalent, I still use it often. It's got great bokeh and it's quite rugged. In my opinion, it's the best zoom lens Tamron makes. As for VC or VR or IS, probably one of the greatest innovation to photography; of the lenses I use often, only 2 don't have image stabilization.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

garcritt wrote:

Hi, my name is Garry and I live in Grande Prairie, Alberta. This is my first posting and I am looking for advice on the purchase of a 70-200mm lens. My camera is a Nikon D750 and I can't afford the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 but the equivalent Sigma, Tamron or the Nikon 70-200 F4 fall with in my price range. Your recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

A used Nikon is only slightly higher in cost than a new third party lens, and it will have considerably higher resale value. And it's a great lens. Otherwise, take a look at the 80-200 F2.8 AF-D - older design, but still a great lens - used price is around $500 USD.

19104 Loc: Philadelphia

Also consider the Nikon 80 _200 f 2.8 they can be reasonable used.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

garcritt wrote:

Hi, my name is Garry and I live in Grande Prairie, Alberta. This is my first posting and I am looking for advice on the purchase of a 70-200mm lens. My camera is a Nikon D750 and I can't afford the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 but the equivalent Sigma, Tamron or the Nikon 70-200 F4 fall with in my price range. Your recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

Here are links that should help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAAeoB1F7nI
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=687&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=946&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0

drmarty Loc: Pine City, NY

Gene51 wrote:

A used Nikon is only slightly higher in cost than a new third party lens, and it will have considerably higher resale value. And it's a great lens. Otherwise, take a look at the 80-200 F2.8 AF-D - older design, but still a great lens - used price is around $500 USD.

:thumbup: :thumbup:

twillsol Loc: St. Louis, MO

speters wrote:

Don't forget about the Tokina, which according to tests beats the Sigma and Tamron very easily in all categories!

What tests? please site references.

Thanks