telephoto zoom

Hello Nikonites, I have been looking at these 2 lens

Tamron AF 70-300MM F4-5.6 DiLD

Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 SLD DG

Does anyone have experience with either of the two? They are almost the same price. I'm going to trade in a couple of oldie lens to make the purchase, and I shoot outdoor/wildlife, landscape and some tennis. I know tennis doesn't belong in the group. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance

Yeah...look at the Tamron 150-600mm. The 300mm will never get you close enough for decent shots of wildlife unless you are shooting elephants

If that's the Tamron 70-300mm with a "macro" option, I still have that one somewhere. I only used it for a short period and while it did the job, the Nikon 70-300mm does it much better. I don't know your budget but if possible, get the Nikon. There are loads of used ones out there too.

I don't know how good the Sigma version is.

brother, I'm on a budget. And that's what my hs25 exr is for 30x zoom small sensor and all Lol. Thanks. The lens I speak of is going to cost me under $200 cdn. And I wanted to trade in some oldies aka lens even more discount

Dont know any thing about the Tamron but if the sigma is the APO version we have had them in the past and i still have one in Canon though i never use it,here are the old samples i drag out when the sigma question is ask.

lucien said:

brother, I'm on a budget. And that's what my hs25 exr is for 30x zoom small sensor and all Lol. Thanks. The lens I speak of is going to cost me under $200 cdn. And I wanted to trade in some oldies aka lens even more discount

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So I'd suggest either you wait, save some money until you can afford the lens YOU want, or get either one. They should be roughly the same quality. I personally have a likeness for the Tamrons.

Marcel, I mean no disrespect. I specifically asked about 2 lens. Both at a certain price. I didn't ask about the best lens out there that money can buy. Mikew, those pics look fine in my book. I think they are the same, and it might come down to a personal preference. Thanks for the input as for anymore details about the lens in question. I didn't leave out any letter/numbers regarding either.

lucien said:

Marcel, I mean no disrespect. I specifically asked about 2 lens. Both at a certain price. I didn't ask about the best lens out there that money can buy. Mikew, those pics look fine in my book. I think they are the same, and it might come down to a personal preference. Thanks for the input as for anymore details about the lens in question. I didn't leave out any letter/numbers regarding either.

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The problem with the sigma one is there are two models,obviously the apo is the best

that is the $1 question. Apo wasn't mentioned in the ad. I will call the store to get that sorted out. Still reading up on the 2 lens though. And that's why I came here first

the store said non apo, that means it's a manual focus lens. Thanks but no thanks. That leaves the tamron standing

I checked ebay the apo version is 100 more not worth it for the "same" lens

lucien said:

the store said non apo, that means it's a manual focus lens. Thanks but no thanks. That leaves the tamron standing

I checked ebay the apo version is 100 more not worth it for the "same" lens

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I vaguely remember that the Tamron also comes in two version so better check that too. There was a difference between both but don't ask me what it was. Could be VR, could be AF. Better check.

The Tamron has autofocus. I checked the website. But it doesn't have VR. I can live with that just increase the shutter and or use a tripod. I'll see what the Nikon is going for as well

Hey @lucien you bought D200 right? You should be able to score an old school Nikon AF D zoom for cheap money. I had a 70-210 AF D push pull briefly at $50 it wasn't bad.....most of the nikon AF d stuff should work good with D200.

Maybe the tammy is decent tho don't know anything about it will defer to others

Hi hrstrat57, no I still have the D50 and it has an autofocus motor on the body. That's why I'm looking at the 70-300mm with a motor on the lens. I'm thinking about a D3200, the D200 is too "pro" for me and a bit long in the tooth. I like my bells and whistles on the screen lol

It's all good @lucien !! Just keep an eye on that local camera shop!!! D200 is sweet and has a magical sensor but definitely limited to low ISO.

I know the D200 is a really nice camera I wasn't saying that it wasn't. I just want something newer and user friendly. I'm just starting out in this field. The 18-55vr is in the mail already, so the 70-300mm would be just about all I would need for now. Down the road. I would get primes, it depends how seriously I get into this hobby.

On a side note but within the same ballpark. Is the Nikon 55-300mm afs vr. Better than the 2 I'm looking at or are they all roughly the same? My Nikon 18-55mm vr came today. Now I can get started lol. The Tamron with Vr and the bells/whistles is a nice lens. But it retails for double my budget. And the Nikon retails for $250 used. No rush will contemplate in the meantime

Whatever lens you buy, you are still going to find that 300mm is NOT enough for wildlife and birds. Just saying. Better than nothing tho, although I got very frustrated at NOT being able to get close enough. You can't even crop in REALLY tight as at full zoom image quality tends to suffer.

Thanks, I'm going to hold off at bit. I was checking out flikr forums regarding the 55-300mm vr nikon and it seems to be a good one. The sigma and tamron don't compare to it. 300mm isn't a lot of zoom but it should be fine for mucking about. Casual shooter here. I see you have a 600mm how much did that baby cost? And how does it perform?