Nikon vs. Sigma
- Thread starter run4fun
- Start date
My concern with a Sigma would be with its future compatibility, too, since some newer Nikon bodies haven't always recognized 3rd party lenses. My Nikon 105 VR is excellent, yet if you look at Backdoor Hippie's photos, his photos taken with the Sigma 105 are gorgeous.
singlerosa_RIP
Senior Member
For $100 more, I'd buy the Nikon. This comes from a guy using the Tokina macro (half of the price of the Nikon when purchased in 2011).
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I have and love the Sigma. It's a rock solid, super sharp lens. I bought it to save me some money because I'm of the opinion that the IQ is no different and have no regrets on that decision. When I bought my D750 I was forced to send it, my 24-70mm f2.8 and 150-500mm back to Sigma for firmware upgrades because each had an anomaly when used with the new body. Sigma does the work for free (I had to pay shipping there, they pay return), and it took less than a week. But it's an inconvenience. If I have one nit to pick on the lens it's that the stabilization system is quite loud compared to any other lens I've owned, but once you know it's supposed to be that way then you stop noticing.
I have and love the Sigma. But if I was buying now and could get the Nikon at only $100 more I wouldn't hesitated to spend the extra. Nikon seems hell bent on screwing with 3rd party manufacturers (when a friend experienced issues trying to get my Sigma 70-300 macro to work on her D7200 she contacted Nikon and was told, "Nikon recommends only using Nikon lenses on our bodies", and offered no other assistance in debugging her issue), so unless you're willing to accept that as part of the deal once you have it then stick with the Nikkor glass.
I have and love the Sigma. But if I was buying now and could get the Nikon at only $100 more I wouldn't hesitated to spend the extra. Nikon seems hell bent on screwing with 3rd party manufacturers (when a friend experienced issues trying to get my Sigma 70-300 macro to work on her D7200 she contacted Nikon and was told, "Nikon recommends only using Nikon lenses on our bodies", and offered no other assistance in debugging her issue), so unless you're willing to accept that as part of the deal once you have it then stick with the Nikkor glass.
Jake, out of curiosity, what problem did you have with your D750 and Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens? I've used that lens only in aperture priority but without any problem...so far at least. Do you remember which mode you were in? And what about your Sigma 15mm fisheye? Have you experienced any trouble as I was considering getting one down the road. Hmm...perhaps I should look for a good used Nikon fisheye instead.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
Curious about this as well...
I've been shooting a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 on my D750, typically in Manual or Aperture Priority mode, and so far without issue.
....
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
IIRC it will not autofocus in Live View. When I was on the phone with Sigma they told me about the problem and not the other way around. The only Sigma lens I didn't have to send back was the 15mm fisheye.
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Someone PM'd me about this and I thought it would likely be a good idea to post it openly.
Sigma is usually on top of compatibility issues with their lenses and recently released Nikon bodies. If you have Sigma lenses and are considering purchasing a new Nikon simply give a call to the Sigma tech support line, let them know what you have and what you're considering purchasing and they will tell you if there are any known issues. If there are you can choose to send the lens in ahead of time so it's ready to go when the new camera arrives. It's a simple firmware upgrade that should fix all known issues, not just for your new camera, so it's not a bad thing to get done, particularly if you can schedule it for a time you're not going to need the lens. You pay shipping to them, they ship it back. No add'l charge.
Sigma is usually on top of compatibility issues with their lenses and recently released Nikon bodies. If you have Sigma lenses and are considering purchasing a new Nikon simply give a call to the Sigma tech support line, let them know what you have and what you're considering purchasing and they will tell you if there are any known issues. If there are you can choose to send the lens in ahead of time so it's ready to go when the new camera arrives. It's a simple firmware upgrade that should fix all known issues, not just for your new camera, so it's not a bad thing to get done, particularly if you can schedule it for a time you're not going to need the lens. You pay shipping to them, they ship it back. No add'l charge.
I appreciated knowing this, Jake, so thank you. Had I not known about it today, I would have thought something was wrong with my D750. This afternoon I took photos in my church's Sanctuary. I've learned the best shots for what I wanted to take are when the tripod is elevated so I placed a chair under each tripod leg and extended the tripod as high as it would go. Then I climbed on a stool.
The camera was a little too high to see through the viewfinder so I switched to Live View while using my Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8. I ran into another problem though. There was a delay before the shutter would fire. I was required to hold down the shutter button for a few seconds before it would work. When I switched to my Nikon 18-35mmG, it took less than half the time for the shutter to fire while using Live View.
To overcome the focus problem, I set my focus point while in Live View then turned off Live View. I partially pressed the shutter to activate the AF. Then I switched back to Live View for the shot. I even changed to manual focus at one point when the shutter wouldn't fire. In any case, thanks again for the info.
