Arlene777 Loc: Central NJ

I plan to purchase, finally, the Nikon D7100 tomorrow. B&H has it for:
$997 w/ 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR DX Lens,
$1,197 w/ 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Lens
or I could go with
$897 Body Only and purchase separately for
$469 a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM Zoom Lens for Nikon

I have read the lens with f/2.8 will give me sharper images.
I like to shoot landscape, macro, portraits, parties
Which would be the better value and IQ for having one lens just for now? The body only w/ Sigma 17/50mm is a little over budget, but I don't want to buy a lens that will not give me quality images. Need help deciding which to purchase.

MarkD Loc: NYC

The 18-105 VR and 18-140 VR are both very sharp lenses. The advantage of the 17-50 f/2.8 OS HSM is lens speed. The trade-off is that the long end, 50mm, is not very long, but for what you want, it may be long enough.

You may be able to save some money by buying a refurbished or lightly used D7100. That might allow you to get the 17-50 f/2.8. I just checked B&H. They have factory refurbished D7100 bodies for $799.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Personally, and this is strictly personal preference, I'd spend the extra $160+ on the faster lens.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

When you add parties to the mix of subjects, I imagine lower light levels and for that, the Sigma wins. You may not shoot wide open, but the camera will be able to focus faster and more accurately with the faster lens.

The plastic mount of the 18-105 takes it out of the mix for me.

jfn007 Loc: Close to the middle of nowhere.

I have used my Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 whenever I visit Hong Kong due to the narrow streets and high-rise buildings. I am really impressed with the crispness and clarity provided by this lens. You might check keh.com for a used one. I have purchased four lenses from them and have had no problems at all.

Arlene777 Loc: Central NJ

[



Thank you. I will check out Keh. Just wondering if I should go with a d3200 to help my budget. It has same size sensor and 24 mp as the 7100?


quote=jfn007]I have used my Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 whenever I visit Hong Kong due to the narrow streets and high-rise buildings. I am really impressed with the crispness and clarity provided by this lens. You might check keh.com for a used one. I have purchased four lenses from them and have had no problems at all.[/quote]

philz Loc: Rockaway Township NJ

It seems to me that $100 for the 18-105 is a no brainer as surely you will want to go longer than 50 mm in walkaround situations. The 17-50 will be your preferred lens for situations where you want better IQ and lower light performance and do not need the length.

I am getting the 17-50 f/2.8 for a Canon 60D later today and will be testing it out tomorrow. I sure hope it is better than my other that shoots in this range, a Sigma 18-250 f/3.5-6.3, that has actually provided me some excellent images in the 18-50 range over the past year or so.

By the way, I checked KEH and they do not have any 17-50 f/2.8 listed except one new and $50 more than B&H.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

I had the Nikon 18-200vr lens and bought the Sigma17-50mm lens and loved it. Never missed the longer lens. I highly recommend a constant aperture lens. The Sigma is much faster than the other lenses.

Mr Clickie Loc: Twin Cities, MN

I'll give you my .02 as I have a Sigma 17-70 DC OS HSM 2.8-4.0 which I've been real happy with as a walk around lens. May be a little less $ than the 17-50 2.8 and still faster than the other choices you mentioned.

Arlene777 Loc: Central NJ

Thank you Mr. Clickie, You have given me info that I hadn't thought about. You realize, though, that you have added to my confusion. lol

philz Loc: Rockaway Township NJ

As I posted previously on another question:
I have used the Sigma 18-250 on my Canon 60D on several overseas trips in Asia and Europe since the Fall of 2013. The results have been surprisingly good as long as long one does not go too long in focal length. I also use a Canon 70-200 f/4 L and a 1.4x extender for longer shots as the falloff in IQ along with the 6.3 aperture with the 18-250 above 120 mm is noticeable. Good to have the range if necessary while walking around, though, as the images are still usable for web.

I found that almost all of my images, many of which have won awards at the Salon level at my camera club and the NJFCC, were shot in the 18-70 mm range with only a few above 80 mm. So I decided to buy a highly recommended Sigma 17-70 mm f/2.8-4 Contemporary to see if I could get a big boost in IQ and benefit with what turned out to be a two-thirds stop advantage at most focal lengths. After several test shoots, the answer was NO! In this range, if there was any benefit in IQ versus the Sigma 18-250 it was slight and not worth the $499 price, so this lens went back to B&H last Monday.

Next comparison will be with the Sigma 17-50 mm f/2.8 on the way to me today.

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

[quote=Arlene777][

Thank you. I will check out Keh. Just wondering if I should go with a d3200 to help my budget. It has same size sensor and 24 mp as the 7100?

Keep in mind that if you do decide to go the D3200 route then older nikkor AF lenses that require an autofocus motor built into the camera body will not AF with the D3200.....but will with the D7100.

Additionally, older manual focus AI-S mount lenses will leave you with manual exposure only on the D3200, while the D7100 will still have aperture priority auto exposure.

Food for thought.

jkatpc Loc: Virginia Beach

I have a D7100 and the Sigma 17-50mm lens. I love it--probably my most used lens. Here's a link to some photos I took yesterday at my daughter's house using that lens and camera combo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/112805838@N08/sets/72157649137168840/

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

Given the budget, the 2.8 is the way to go. I am not a big believer in "do everything lenses".
Suggest the Sigma 2.8 for now, and save for a 70-200/2.8. between the two, there is little you will not be able to photograph.
Add a flash in the future and a 1.4 tele-extender and perhaps some extension tubes, and in my opinion, you will have a great set-up.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

:thumbup:
If you look at what are considered the best Nikon pro zoom lenses (Nikon's "Trinity"- 14-24, 24-70 & 70-200) none have a zoom range greater than 3x.