nikon or sigma or tamron

Looking at a zoom around 55 to 300
I have looked at the sigma, and tamron 70 to 300 also Nikon 55 to 300
Any thoughts on these. Getting confused, but leaning towards the nikon.
thanks for any help
MIke

harleymike said:

Looking at a zoom around 55 to 300
I have looked at the sigma, and tamron 70 to 300 also Nikon 55 to 300
Any thoughts on these. Getting confused, but leaning towards the nikon.
thanks for any help
MIke

Click to expand...

Speaking strictly of 70-300mm zooms I'd tell you to go with the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VRII IF ED. It's a little soft at full zoom and you'll have some chromatic aberration to deal with but all things considered, including price, this is the one in my book.

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You don't say how much you want to spend. I have the tamron 70-300mm lens. I only paid £50 for it of eBay. Good lens for the price I paid.obviously if you pay more for say the Nikon 300mm lens you will get better quality.

Want to keep price down. Under 400 dollars.

You don't say where you are located. Nikon US is offering 10% off their refurbished items through tomorrow (Nov. 24th). The 70-300mm VR is listed as $299.96 then with the 10% discount, it brings it down to $269.96. It's a VERY good lens.

Oops...forgot the link.

Refurbished Cameras from Nikon | Used DSLR Cameras

I have the Tamron SP 70-300mm F4-5.6 Di VC USD and the Nikon 55-300 VR. I find the stabilization better on the 70-300mm and sharper when engaged. Between the Nikon 55-300MM and the Tamron 70-300mm I would buy the Tamron 70-300mm. I can't speak to the Nikon 70-300mm or the Sigma.

My Nikon 70-300 AF-S VR is fabulous, much better than I ever dreamed.

Same here, I have the Nikon 70-300mm and it's a decent lens. Even at 300mm it delivers pretty sharp shots (if I shoot it well).

My order of preference would be

Nikon (latest VR model) 70-300
Tamron (latest OS model)70-300
Sigma (latest VC model)70-300

So long as you go for the latest version of each i dont think you will see much difference if any

The 55-300mm is as cheap as chips now, and does a good job. The downside is that it won't work on a full frame (If that comes into your equation) and I find that mine while great on the D3100, it leaves me wanting more on the D7100 - Although for trips to the zoo and "Snaps" it still does a decent job. If I were staring out again, I'd go for the Nikkor 70-300.

I think it is slightly out of your budget: the Nikon 28-300. Some seem to like the sharpness a lot, even if you need post processing to work away some of its faults.

For lens evalutation I generally use this site for some info on the good and be aware part:
Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR (FX) - Review / Test Report - Sample Images & Verdict

They seem to say that the Tamron is a bit better then the Nikon, but on the other hand remain aware that Nikon with Nikon will be more sure for the future.

Hi Harleymike
You did not say which Nikon you were using that could make a difference on which lens you might buy especially if there is a chance you may move up to a full frame. I have some older d lenses that only work on Nikons that have the focus motors in the camera body. They work great on my D 70 as well as the d7000 or the next full frame I buy in the future. They will not work on the entry level bodies.

The 70-300 is waayy better than the Sigma , i had the Sigma before the Nikon and it was like night and day for quality of my pictures.And yes it is a bit soft @ 300mm but considering that you'd need to spend double to get a sharp @ 300mm it 's not a bad tradeoff. It's very good at F8 from what I've found .

I would get the Tamron 70-300 VC over the Nikon VR even if they were the same price. I found the Nikon 70-300 VR to be soft at 300mm while the Tamron VC was sharp at 300mm. Not every lens is going to be great at all focal lengths, but if I'm buying a lens for reach, it needs to be it's best at the furthest point.