Nikon lenses: Hi I use a nikon d5300 and recently rented a nikon 18-300 for a airshow and thought it was a great len. But now I'm looking to buy one but not sure if to stay with the...

sparks72

Hi I use a nikon d5300 and recently rented a nikon 18-300 for a airshow and thought it was a great len. But now I'm looking to buy one but not sure if to stay with the nikon the sigma or the temron any help is welcome

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

If you thought it was a great lens, then it met your expectations. If you want a better lens than the DX 18-300mm, I suggest you get the FX 28-300mm. Tamron and Sigma are very good third party lenses too. It depends on your budget to choose.

Rob Almeda Loc: Gaithersburg, Maryland

I second mas24's recommendation. Get the FX 28-300 or the 24-120 (full frame lens) and it will serve you better when you upgrade to a FULL Frame body.
I have the 24-120 with a gold ring and in my observation and comparison, it has a better quality image than the 28-300. Just get a Nikon lens if you have the budget.

mas24 wrote:

If you thought it was a great lens, then it met your expectations. If you want a better lens than the DX 18-300mm, I suggest you get the FX 28-300mm. Tamron and Sigma are very good third party lenses too. It depends on your budget to choose.

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

sparks72 wrote:

Hi I use a nikon d5300 and recently rented a nikon 18-300 for a airshow and thought it was a great len. But now I'm looking to buy one but not sure if to stay with the nikon the sigma or the temron any help is welcome

Before you make a decision on lenses, read some reviews:

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/778-nikkorafsdx183003556vr?start=1

http://www.photozone.de/nikon_ff/578-nikkorafs28300vrff

Niether lens is great, but compared to what hold is the worst lens in Nikon's current production line, the 18-300 seems to do better at all focal lengths, especially at the edges and corners. The 28-300, at least on FX, is just terrible.

I have used three different copies - one which I borrowed from the NPS inventory, and two that belonged to friends - hoping that there were sample variations and the bad image quality was an anomaly. Sadly it wasn't.

Nikon, and other companies, offer better lenses. In fact, for DX, the 18-200 is pretty good. It's not 300mm, but it is usable at 200mm.

Better to have lenses that are sharper through a shorter zoom range, even if they don't provide 20x zoom capability. Just sayin'

BebuLamar

Nikon 18-300mm is made in Thailand. All Sigma lenses are made in Japan. Does it make a difference?

JPL

BebuLamar wrote:

Nikon 18-300mm is made in Thailand. All Sigma lenses are made in Japan. Does it make a difference?

No

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

Generally, the higher the multiplier (18-300 is more than 16X while 24-120 is only 5X) of focal length, the larger and heavier the lens, the slower the lens (maximum aperture) and in most cases (there are exceptions) the lower the image quality, especially at the widest and longest focal lengths.

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

Nikon's FX lenses generally provide better IQ than their DX lenses. If you are shooting distance and don't need the versatility of an 18-300 or 28-300 or 24-120, then I would seriously consider the 70-200 F/4. If you are into air shows and want the best at an affordable price, check out the 300mm f/4 prime. There are 2 versions - you probably don't need the PE/VR one.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

sparks72 wrote:

Hi I use a nikon d5300 and recently rented a nikon 18-300 for a airshow and thought it was a great len. But now I'm looking to buy one but not sure if to stay with the nikon the sigma or the temron any help is welcome

What is your problem? You used the Nikon 18~300 and thought it was great. Now you ask about other, less well made lenses? Why???? If you are prepared to rent all of the lenses suggested by other people - by all means, do so. If you're not going to actually use all of the suggested lenses, why not stay with the one you already used and thought was great? BTW I consider the 18~300 my "Work Horse" lens. It's the lens that is on my camera more than any other Nikon lens that I have.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

sparks72 wrote:

Hi I use a nikon d5300 and recently rented a nikon 18-300 for a airshow and thought it was a great len. But now I'm looking to buy one but not sure if to stay with the nikon the sigma or the temron any help is welcome

As Gene51 said, read reviews and also Google comparisons. Millions of shooter use third party lenses, so there must be good reasons. The 28-300 is one of my favorites.

SueMac Loc: Box Elder, SD

Depends on what you are going to be shooting with it. Landscape shots were fine. Panning it wasn't as sharp as I'd like. But over all it does a good job. We have the Nikon version.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

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lyndacast

I have a Nikon 7100 and needed a longer lens for my camera. I went with the Tamron 16-300 for a good walk around, all purpose lens. It was about $600.00 and was a bit cheaper than the Nikon 18-300. I bought it at a local camera shop that specializes in Nikon gear. The pros there who assisted me were quite impressed with its performance and I have not been disappointed.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

sparks72 wrote:

Hi I use a nikon d5300 and recently rented a nikon 18-300 for a airshow and thought it was a great len. But now I'm looking to buy one but not sure if to stay with the nikon the sigma or the temron any help is welcome

If you can afford the Nikon lens - Buy the Nikon lens. While others will tell you what they use and what they are satisfied with, no one will ever tell you that you were wrong to buy a Nikon lens that you used and thought was great.

Leon S Loc: Minnesota

The only lens aside from a super zoom I would get that is not Nikon would be from a garage sale for very cheap. Since you can only use one lens at a time, its worth buying the best right off the bat.