Lens Brands

[Bill16]

What lens brands do you trust to be good quality? Due to a bad case of NAS my lens wants out weigh any possibility of my getting all the lenses I drool over! Lol So I'm often looking at less expensive brands out of curiosity and I have been afraid to give them a try due to them being a brand I'm unsure of.
So what brands to you think are worth buying?
I'm only interested in lenses that are FX. I'm planning on going to a D600 as soon as I can figure out how to get the money for one! Lol

But I am mainly interested in what brands are known to be good quality.


Thank you very much!

 

[Marcel]

From your list of lenses, the one I'd suggest you to get would be a Sigma 10-20 3.5-5.6. This is a not so expensive lens that has great IQ in my opinion. Seems you don't have that range covered with your present set of lenses.
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[Bill16]

I'm only interested in lenses that will transfer over to FX, since I will eventually get a D600. Is there a FX version?
Sorry about this lack of info in the original post. I will add it now.

From your list of lenses, the one I'd suggest you to get would be a Sigma 10-20 3.5-5.6. This is a not so expensive lens that has great IQ in my opinion. Seems you don't have that range covered with your present set of lenses.
​

 

[jwstl]

I no longer hesitate buying third party if the lens fits my needs. I personally have a number of Sigma lenses but would seriously consider the 24-70 and 70-200 from Tamron.

 

[Fred Kingston_RIP]

Bill... One of the things I've become picky about, as a result of the D7000 was the fine tune feature to adjust the lens focus... I have a couple of Tokina lenses that are excellent, but unfortunately, neither the D7000 or the D600 sees non-Nikon lenses in that database... Just a thought...

 

[jwstl]

Bill... One of the things I've become picky about, as a result of the D7000 was the fine tune feature to adjust the lens focus... I have a couple of Tokina lenses that are excellent, but unfortunately, neither the D7000 or the D600 sees non-Nikon lenses in that database... Just a thought...

I don't think that's correct. I can use the AF Fine Tune on my D7000 with my Sigma lenses. I just tried again to be sure and it recognized both Sigmas I tried.

 

[Fred Kingston_RIP]

I don't have a Sigma... Maybe I should amend my statement to say, it doesn't see "the Tokina" lenses that I have...

 

[Horoscope Fish]

I'd suggest you learn the intricacies of the DXO Mark lens database. DXO Lab lens-reviews are independent and seriously thorough. They actually figured out a way to objectively measure chromatic aberration, for instance. Getting the most out of the site will require learning how to interpret things like MFT charts, but that's not too tough...

UPDATE: DXO link goes straight to the lens reviews now...



.....

 

[crycocyon]

Personally, I just like to stick with Nikon. If I can't afford a particular lens, then I go with an older version of the lens used. Or I basically wait until I can afford one. That way I don't buy so many lenses but make the few I do buy count.

 

[donaldjledet]

What lens brands do you trust to be good quality? Due to a bad case of NAS my lens wants out weigh any possibility of my getting all the lenses I drool over! Lol So I'm often looking at less expensive brands out of curiosity and I have been afraid to give them a try due to them being a brand I'm unsure of.
So what brands to you think are worth buying?
I'm only interested in lenses that are FX. I'm planning on going to a D600 as soon as I can figure out how to get the money for one! Lol

But I am mainly interested in what brands are known to be good quality.


Thank you very much!

Bill I feel the same way about third party glass. But also thinking of resale value.
Nikkor glass should hold their value better. I would think.

 

[mikew_RIP]

Any manufacturer is capable of making a good lens,tamron macro, Sigma macro are just two examples,i would love to cover my lens needs/desires with top notch Nikon glass but its not going to happen,i buy the lens that i can afford and will give me the visual image i am looking for,if some one else can afford a better lens with more resolving power good luck,if there image content matches the lenses ability i will click like,if its not as sharp as a Nikon lens but a good picture i will also click like.
My sigma 120-400 cost just over £600 the Nikon i would buy in its place is over £2000,if the Nikon wasn't better i would be bitterly disappointed for anyone who owned it.

mike

 

[Horoscope Fish]

Anyone who thinks buying Brand X guarantees them a quality experience has never owned one of the original Nikon 43-86mm F lenses. I literally could not GIVE that thing away and it now sits on my desk as a paperweight.

A quality lens will hold its value, because that is the inherent nature of a quality product.


.......

 

[Rick M]

Most third-party lens manufactures make some decent products but you have to judge them by the Individual lens. The new Tamron VC Lenses seemed to be very well-made and sharp.

 

[donaldjledet]

I look at it this way.
Nikon does make some of the best glass.
So if i sell lets say DX lens to get Fx. if i
go full frame down the road, i should be able to get
close to the price i paid for it.
​

 

[Rick M]

I found resale value really depends on the individual lens for my Nikon glass I've gotten anywhere from 60 to 90%. Fx glass seems to sell better.

 

[Rick M]

I wish I had done more research on format size before I got into this seriously it would've saved a lot of money.

 

[Bill16]

When I started using my D3100 I quickly realized several things. First I realized that taking photos was something I knew I would enjoy for years to come. The second thing I realized was that I knew I would be upgrading to a higher end model eventually. The next thing I realized was that the FX was the direction my upgrade was going to go.
So I did my best to buy lenses that would also work on FX models. But one of the things I also realized was that some of the better lenses were out of my reach, and that older manual lenses were the best chance I had for now.
Now I've posted this thread to look into another avenue to add to my future options of getting lenses to serve my plans where manual lenses are lacking. Namely other workable brands.

I thank you all for helping me do this!

I have three types of lenses I can foresee needing. A good wide angle lens. A good distance lens like a 400mm or better. And better macro lenses to help improve on my favorite choice of photos!

But I have no intention of selling any lenses I already have. They'll make good back up lenses even if I get an upgrade lens or two in the future.

 

[Horoscope Fish]

I look at it this way. Nikon does make some of the best glass. So if i sell lets say DX lens to get Fx. if i go full frame down the road, i should be able to get close to the price i paid for it.​

Based on my experience I would caution you strongly about this assumption. That, or maybe we have differing ideas about what exactly constitutes, "close".

I found resale value really depends on the individual lens for my Nikon glass I've gotten anywhere from 60 to 90%. Fx glass seems to sell better.

Based on my experience with DX glass I would say your percentages are pretty close, especially at the lower end. This assumes you, as a seller, don't mind weeding out "buyers" who are new to photography and, having no real budget for their new hobby, are looking for people "giving away" what they have, as well as those who are looking for that elusive, mind-bogglingly good deal everyone thinks lurks just around the corner, so they can "flip" the purchase on eBay. If you don't mind that, then yeah, you can usually find someone willing to pay you something over half the purchase price.

 

[Rick M]

I actually picked up a Nikon 70-300 VR for only $220 sold it a year later for $400. You have to be patient to get your price and sometimes you can find local folks that need fast cash and turn a profit

 

[Dennis Kussener]

I think we can't see a brand as good or not, you have really good sigma lenses and also really bad, that goes for like all the brands.
For example the sigma 35mm f1.4 is just studdeling. But the sigma 24-70mm f2.8 has really unusable unsharp corners.

Or Tamron, the old style 70-200mm is really sharp but has really slow autofocus. The new one is actually quite good. Also the 24-70 f2.8 is actually really good

So in short, i don't think you can see a brand as good or bad,
You have to see at a specifique lens