[luke0622]

I was recently at the local camera shop Christian Photo in Urbandale, Iowa, they've been in business for years... I was curious why they didn't stock Sigma lenses, the owner's son told me that Sigma has crappy lenses and they tend to break easily... All the third party lenses they carry are Tamron(95%) and Tokina(5%)...
I just got my Sigma 70-200/2.8 II, it feels solid built and works great... I had my chance to use a Tamron 70-200/2.8, it feels cheap made(material), doesn't feel right to me for some reason...

What do everybody else think about the Sigma and Tamron lenses?

[wallyb]

There are so many threads about this subject already on this forum. You can even just scroll down the page, and there is a "Similar Threads" box with at least 3 relevant threads that already ask your question. Good luck!

[luke0622]

just curious about what other people have to say, to be honest, I don't care too much about either brands... the Tamron lenses are really limited, Sigma has a lot of choices...

[Pentaxor]

Sigma has it shares of lemons in the past and they still do. usually you'll get 3 lemons before you get yourself a good copy. I believe this is the reason why they made the EX line which are better built and have great optics. although there are still a few bad copies that comes along the way. the 10 year warranty gives the owners a sense of security. I'd be more willing to invest on the fast Sigma EX DG primes/zooms rather than getting the DA* zooms.

regarding the Tammy, they do feel quite cheap and are often inferior to the Sigmas. but the the Tammy 70-200/2.8 is optically superior than it's Sigma counterpart.

as far as IQ is concerned, some Tammy's are better than Sigmas and some Sigmas are better than Tammy.

I own one Sigma btw, which is regarded as one of the best Sigma lenses, it is also an excellent copy with no problems whatsoever.

[luke0622]

I'd wait to see what Pentax will release on full-frame compatible lenses, I'd start from Pentax lenses before moving on to third party ones to fill the gaps...

[Ash]

I've had both and honestly don't agree that the Tamron feels any 'cheaper' in build quality than the Sigma.
They'd be quite equally rated IMO but both certainly not to the standard of DA* 50-135, let's say.
I've stuck with the Tamron for its image quality.
Threads to back this up:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/72242-sigma-70...lity-test.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/83402-tamron-7...-practice.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/69207-request-...0-f-2-8-a.html

You might be waiting a while for that elusive Pentax FF telezoom... If you really want, go find yourself an FA* 80-200 - they do pop up on the forum's marketplace once in a while. Then again, they're not a great deal above the Tamron in IQ.

edit: Just saw your FA* failure thread on the forum - OK, you may not want to go there again... carry on...

[luke0622]

oh, it's ok, getting my FA* 80-200mm/2.8 repaired for $200, I am pretty stoked about getting it back, just don't know when yet lol