other brands of lenses for d80 - not nikon

J.T. · March 23, 2008

Just looking for some comments or discussion on pros/cons/experience of the other brands of lenses, i.e. sigma, tamron, tokina, and what lines of those companies' lenses you may/may not recommend.

I am looking at purchasing a nice lens in the next week or two for portrait work and low light shooting, something maybe with a fixed f/2.8 aperture. I have a few ideas in mind, but I don't know much about the other lenses other than Nikon's.

Thanks

Ken Lapp · March 23, 2008

J.T. wrote:

Just looking for some comments or discussion on pros/cons/experience of the other brands of lenses, i.e. sigma, tamron, tokina, and what lines of those companies' lenses you may/may not recommend.

I am looking at purchasing a nice lens in the next week or two for portrait work and low light shooting, something maybe with a fixed f/2.8 aperture. I have a few ideas in mind, but I don't know much about the other lenses other than Nikon's.

Thanks

I would recommend the Tamron 90 2.8 Macro. It is great for macro work, but also makes a great portrait lens. It is very sharp, and not that expensive.

ziggy53 · March 23, 2008

J.T. wrote:

Just looking for some comments or discussion on pros/cons/experience of the other brands of lenses, i.e. sigma, tamron, tokina, and what lines of those companies' lenses you may/may not recommend.

I am looking at purchasing a nice lens in the next week or two for portrait work and low light shooting, something maybe with a fixed f/2.8 aperture. I have a few ideas in mind, but I don't know much about the other lenses other than Nikon's.

Thanks

John,

I note in your signature:

"Nikon D80 w/MB-D80 vertical grip
Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
SB 600"

That you have the 50mm, f1.4. On your D80 that is actually a very versatile lens, capable of both portraiture and low-light work.

I agree with Ken that a medium length macro, 90mm-100mm, is also a pretty good portrait length and in particular, the Tamron SP 90mm, f/2.8 Di 1:1 AF Macro makes a great head shot or head-and-shoulders portrait lens.

thegridrunner · March 23, 2008

Ha! This is the exact lense I was planning to pickup tomorrow! I looked at the sigma 105mm f/2.8 but decided the focal length was too high, the nikon 105 f/2.8 VR but decided the focal length and the price was too high and decided on the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 after reading several reviews. I plan on using it as a macro lens first and a portrait lens second. I also plan on picking up a set of kenko extension tubes as well. (I can get lens and tubes for less money than the nikon). The only real advantage I see with the nikon is the VR feature and a very slight edge on resolution (but you would have to blow the picture up to a 4 ft print to notice). The Tamron with the $90 rebate is less than 1/2 the price of the nikon. I plan on getting the new nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, so I'll save my money for that beast of a lense.

J.T. · March 23, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

John,

I note in your signature:

"Nikon D80 w/MB-D80 vertical grip
Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
SB 600"

That you have the 50mm, f1.4. On your D80 that is actually a very versatile lens, capable of both portraiture and low-light work.

I agree with Ken that a medium length macro, 90mm-100mm, is also a pretty good portrait length and in particular, the Tamron SP 90mm, f/2.8 Di 1:1 AF Macro makes a great head shot or head-and-shoulders portrait lens.

Yes the 50mm is a great lens and I use it most of the time. I will definitely look into the Tamron 90mm like Ken recommended, but I was leaning towards getting a lens with some zoom, to add versatility if I do some indoor shots and need to zoom a little.

Are there any zoom lenses that other manufacturers make that are comparable to Nikon's selections around f/2.8 and quality glass and sharpness? Like Patrick said, the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 is on my wish list but not in my budget right now.

ziggy53 · March 23, 2008

J.T. wrote:

...

Are there any zoom lenses that other manufacturers make that are comparable to Nikon's selections around f/2.8 and quality glass and sharpness? Like Patrick said, the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 is on my wish list but not in my budget right now.

The Tamron SP 28-75mm, f/2.8 XR Di LD-IF is a fairly good choice in a medium-tele zoom for your D80, and the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm, f/2.8 XR DI-II LD Aspherical (IF) could replace your kit lens and be used for individual portraits as well as many group situations.

J.T. · March 24, 2008

what about tokina lenses
Any advice on Tokina's line of lenses? They have a 50-135 f/2.8 PRO DX lens.
Are they worth considering?

ziggy53 wrote:

The Tamron SP 28-75mm, f/2.8 XR Di LD-IF is a fairly good choice in a medium-tele zoom for your D80, and the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm, f/2.8 XR DI-II LD Aspherical (IF) could replace your kit lens and be used for individual portraits as well as many group situations.

ziggy53 · March 24, 2008

J.T. wrote:

Any advice on Tokina's line of lenses? They have a 50-135 f/2.8 PRO DX lens.
Are they worth considering?

The test results at PhotoZone are pretty impressive.

http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Canon%20EOS%20Lens%20Tests/45-canon-eos-aps-c/277-tokina-af-50-135mm-f28-at-x-pro-dx-test-report--review

rpcrowe · March 24, 2008

The Tamron 90mm Macro is a great lens...

Ken Lapp wrote:

I would recommend the Tamron 90 2.8 Macro. It is great for macro work, but also makes a great portrait lens. It is very sharp, and not that expensive.

My Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens is the previous model that Tamron offered. The present offering in Tamron's alphabet soup designations has "DI" attached to the lens designation. This is supposed to designate a lens that is optimized for digital.

That said, I don't know how any lens could be sharper than my Tamron. It provides image quality equal to that of my 24-70mm f/2.8L and my 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses - two of the sharpest lenses out there in lens land.

The 90mm focal length, combined with the f/2.8 aperture and the excellent bokeh produced by this lens makes it a great portrait lens and a very nice short telephoto lens for normal subjects. OH YES! Did I mention that it is also a Cracker-jack macro glass.

By the way, since it is a discontinued model, you can sometimes find one at a fairly low price. Mine cost $100 (USD) on eBay in absolute mint condition.

I would expect that the present model is as good if not a smidgen better (if possible) but, Tamron once produced a 90mm f/2.8 "Adapt-All" macro lens which was not as good as the 90mm macros that are built specifically for each camera mount.

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/non-nikon_articles/tamron/90_macro/index.html

Art Scott · March 24, 2008

J.T. wrote:

Yes the 50mm is a great lens and I use it most of the time. I will definitely look into the Tamron 90mm like Ken recommended, but I was leaning towards getting a lens with some zoom, to add versatility if I do some indoor shots and need to zoom a little.

Are there any zoom lenses that other manufacturers make that are comparable to Nikon's selections around f/2.8 and quality glass and sharpness? Like Patrick said, the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 is on my wish list but not in my budget right now.

My 2 currently are the Siggy(s) 24-70 and 70-210 both f2.8...most of my portriat work is with the 70-210 and has been for many many years...I have had a siggy 70-210 f2.8 on Minolta and Nikon film cams for concert, wedding and portrait work....since coming to digital I now have the fantastic 24-70 but am looking to get a touch wider and still keeping with the f2.8.....Siggy is coming around with some vr/os lenses I see and that just might bring up their market share for the canon/nikon users wanting stabilized lenses for less than cam mfg'er prices....

J.T. · March 24, 2008

Art Scott wrote:

My 2 currently are the Siggy(s) 24-70 and 70-210 both f2.8...most of my portriat work is with the 70-210 and has been for many many years...I have had a siggy 70-210 f2.8 on Minolta and Nikon film cams for concert, wedding and portrait work....since coming to digital I now have the fantastic 24-70 but am looking to get a touch wider and still keeping with the f2.8.....Siggy is coming around with some vr/os lenses I see and that just might bring up their market share for the canon/nikon users wanting stabilized lenses for less than cam mfg'er prices....

Art, is your 70-210 VR or image stabilized in any way? It sounds like you're pleased with the results while using it as a portrait, wedding and low light camera for work with concerts. I am assuming you're using it hand held for those events? If so, do you feel that you're limited with what focal lengths you can shoot at in low lighting even with the fast speed of the lens and still get acceptable sharp results without any blur?

I guess, I am just concerned about buying maybe a Tokina 50-135 or Sigma 50-150 WITHOUT any VR on the lens and in my camera (D80) right now, as opposed to waiting for one with VR.

Mitchell · March 24, 2008

With all your Nikon glass, why not consider the Nikkor 85mm, f1.8. I think this low light lens is a great deal for the money. Makes a nice portrait lens at a great price.

There are also some great deals on the Nikkor 28-70mm, f2.8 nowadays since Nikon came out with the 24-70mm. I have the former which I shoot 90% of the time. Far and away my favorite lens (of which I have many)!

Tee Why · March 24, 2008

Sounds like you are looking at a f2.8 constant aperture telephoto zoom lens.
I hear Tokina 50-135 is a nice lens but it's a bit more expensive that the Simgma 50-150mm f2.8 II and has more CA. So if you want relatively cheap and light lens, the Sigma 50-150mm II may be a good one. Compared to the Tokina, it has a HSM AF motor, which is like Nikon's SWM AF motor (IIRC).

If you want lenses for a full frame, Tamron is introducing a 70-200mm f2.8 for about $699 which is a great price, again it has an older style AF motor. Sigma has a 70-200mm f2.8 Macro II for about $800 or so and of course there is the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 just a bit more.

J.T. · March 24, 2008

Tee Why wrote:

Sounds like you are looking at a f2.8 constant aperture telephoto zoom lens.
I hear Tokina 50-135 is a nice lens but it's a bit more expensive that the Simgma 50-150mm f2.8 II and has more CA. So if you want relatively cheap and light lens, the Sigma 50-150mm II may be a good one. Compared to the Tokina, it has a HSM AF motor, which is like Nikon's SWM AF motor (IIRC).

If you want lenses for a full frame, Tamron is introducing a 70-200mm f2.8 for about $699 which is a great price, again it has an older style AF motor. Sigma has a 70-200mm f2.8 Macro II for about $800 or so and of course there is the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 just a bit more.

Yeah I think I am leaning towards a 2.8 fixed telephoto since I already have a 50mm prime and 18-55 kit lens. Actually, the Sigma 50-150 is more than the Tokina but not by much.

I could do something in the range of a sigma 28-70 since they're much cheaper than Nikon's, but since I have the 50mm prime, I wanted something with a little more range past it.

I am still a little concerned about the range of 50-135 or 50-150 and not having any type of IS or VR and what limitations I may have with shooting handheld with that range...

Selena L. · March 28, 2008

I have also heard good things about the Sigma 30mm F/1.4. A good friend of mine recent purchased this lens & LOVES it! her shots are VERY sharp!

Selena
Nikon D80
SB-800
18-135mm Kit Lens
50mm 1.8 Nikkor
35mm 2.0 Nikkor
85mm 1.8 Nikkor
Gary Fong LS
Expodisc

other brands of lenses for d80 - not nikon

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