Tamron or Sigma or Quantaray Lenses?

Question

Which 3rd party lens company makes better lenses? I have a Canon XTi.

Answer 1

I have a couple Quantaray lenses that I have had no complaints about.

Answer 2

Sigma

I've tried them all and found Sigma lenses to have the best build and optical quality. However you need to stick with their top of the line lenses.

Optically the better Sigma lenses come close to a good Canon lens. What I've found is that Canon lenses are better built and faster to focus.

The worst thing you can do is buy a cheap lens. In the lens world, you really get what you pay for. Sigma lenses will also resell better in general and have the least depreciation of those 3 choices.

In choosing a lens, give up focal (zoom) range for quality. It's far better to get a higher quality lens with a limited focal range, then get a long focal range for the same price. So don't buy a lens that goes from say 20-200mm so you can cover a large range. Better to get a 24-70 for the same price and get a higher quality lens. You may think it's cool to get a long focal range, but if your not spending top dollar for it, your photos will look like crap.

One of the BEST all time lenses in the Canon line is the 70-200mm "L" lens. It comes in many variations. The highest price one is the 2.8 IS version, the lowest is the 4.0 NON-IS one. However the optical quality is basically the same - EXCELLENT!!!!! It will be one of the best lenses you have ever owned in your entire life. The 4.0 NON-IS is pretty reasonable considering the amazing quality of the lens.

Answer 3

In the case of 3rd party (non original manufacturers lenses) there is no best brand from the choice you have selected. Quantaray is a fairly low grade lens option, while Sigma and Tamron both make some outstanding and not so good lenses. In otherwords it's hard to generalise.

Sigma lenses in general offer good levels of contrast, sharpness and moderate levels of distortion (pincushion, barrel and astigmatism) however Sigma are not known for producing durable finishes on their lenses. Sigma have also had issues with quality control over the years.

Tamron like Sigma have marketed some brilliant lenses and some lemons. Tamron's current lenses tend to look a bit more plasticky than Sigmas but do tend to be reasonably durable.

I'd recommend you try the lenses you are interested in at your local camera store and see which one(s) you like and buy on that basis. Never buy a lens on price alone.

Answer 4

Tamron and Sigma. Quantaray is the "house brand" of a camera store but I can't remember which store. IMO, you're better off with Canon lenses if you can afford them. Tamron would be a 2nd. choice.

Answer 5

Tamron and Sigma both make some really good lenses, but it depends on which oines. Not all of them are great. If you are considering one of them, do extensive webs reviews on them before purchasing.

Answer 6

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