3rd Party Gear

[Myke]

Is there a thread (better if it's a compilation) that has info/reviews/comments on 3rd party lens or flash? I know this is a Canon forum, but, what the heck. :D

Thanks!

[Andy_T]

Myke,

welcome to the forum :D

Take a look at this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=34867)

Also, check out lens reviews at http://www.photodo.com
and http://www.photozone.de/bindex2.html

In general, the 'EOS sticky' thread is a great starting point.

Best regards,
Andy

[Myke]

Thanks Andy for the welcome and help! Appreciate it. I've been browsing the "sticky" threads and yes, I agree, it is a very good starting point. :D

Cheers.

Myke

[Andy_T]

Hi Myke,

read all the interesting posts, don't insult anyone and don't buy anything before asking the forum for advice.

That way, we'll talk you out of cheap lenses and have you spend twice as much money as you initially planned ... but you'll love it :lol:

Best regards,
Andy

[eosster]

Canon only Canon only, coming from experience will spend lot more in future if you go with other brand IMHO(just me).

[Myke]

I agree, Canon for Canon :D But then, there are people like me, the financially challenged, that wants to go serious/further up the ladder in photography. IMHO, it would be good though if we can have a thread that would cater to these. :D

Cheers,

Myke

[Jon, The Elder]

Mike- There are very good 2nd party lenses out there. However, many are "reverse engineered" to accomodate the contact arrangement for the different camera mfgr's.

They also have different "levels" of quality even in their own lineup. If you are interested in a specific lens, ask about it and pay attention to ONLY those who have it !

"I don't have that specific lens.....but my friend does" is totally worthless to you.

www.fredmiranda.com has excellent lens reviews from actual users. Go there first.

Good Luck - Jon

by the way...why do people refer to 2nd party gear as "3rd party"?

[Phil V]

There are some very good 3rd party lenses out there, however there isn't a brand that only sells good lenses. Despite the Canon dogma you see in some of these posts, if you lined up every bad lens Canon has ever made it would stretch for miles.

As others have said, do very specific research, you'll do fine. There are some great bargain lenses to be had and some really expensive lemons.

[Cadwell]

There are some very good 3rd party lenses out there, however there isn't a brand that only sells good lenses. Despite the Canon dogma you see in some of these posts, if you lined up every bad lens Canon has ever made it would stretch for miles.

As others have said, do very specific research, you'll do fine. There are some great bargain lenses to be had and some really expensive lemons.

*applauds* Well said.

[Myke]

Thanks guys for your comments. Yeah, I've been browsing the review sites and reading up on comments, though at times, I don't feel comfy with the reviewers. Anyway, I'll scrounge up more info on specific lenses.

Thanks a bunch again!

Cheers!

[skyphix]

...if you lined up every bad lens Canon has ever made it would stretch for miles...

You got that right :) Car manufacturers are the same way...

I just happened to have a prime example of a bad canon lens (ok, not terrible as it is from 1987, but it certainly isn't great and Im glad I only paid 100 dollars for it)... its the 70-210 F4 (push-pull non-USM zoom)

As far as 3rd party stuff... I've been wondering the same thing. I'm too poor for the L class walk-around lenses from Canon so I've been seriously contemplating the Sigma equivilant...

[DocFrankenstein]

That way, we'll talk you out of cheap lenses and have you spend twice as much money as you initially planned ... but you'll love it :lol:
And by that he means 10^2... not just 2 ;)

[LisaMarie]

by the way...why do people refer to 2nd party gear as "3rd party"?

Defining “3rd party” ( aside from the quality on some brands )

It simply means that while the lens ( be it sigma, tokina insert any brand other than your camera body that you are putting the lens* on ) can be used on the certain camera body the brand is not related or responsible for that other named product in any way or quality of performance . This can also be applied backwards- the body is third party to the lens technically ! But for this and most cases the camera body comes 1st.

1st party Your Camera Body Brand

2nd party You

3rd party the lens of another company




Hope that helps!

[Headcase650]

Examples of the 3 most popular 3rd party lenses right now seem to be
sigma 12-24
sigma 70-200 2.8
tamron 28-75 2.8