sigma or tamaron 18-200

[bvi steve]

Does anyone have an opinion on which is better, the sigma or tamaron 18-200 f3.5-6.3? I've heard that there have been some compatibility problems with sigma lenses. On paper they appear to be very close. Any thoughts on sharpness, contrast, color accuracy, ect.

[mijbril]

Buze will come by shortly & give his vote for the Sigma (his is on a 350D I think) & when he does, that will be the last straw in convincing me to get one as well. So if we both get the Sigma, we can be either happy & both give all credit to Buze, or if we both don't like it, we know who to blame, hehehe.

Actually it seems to be a pretty decent sort of travel lens. If you're going out for the day to have some fun with your camera & can take only one lens, it might well be that one. (well, that's why I am looking at the Sigma at any rate)

[Hellashot]

It might be that there are more issues with Sigma because they are a far more popular and more productive manufacturer than Tamron.

[wintoid]

Amateur Photographer did a head-to-head on these 2 lenses. As I recall they reckoned the Sigma had better build and the Tamron had better optics, but it was a *very* close run, and the suggestion was that either was a good choice.

[Headcase650]

This months Popular Photography had a write up on the tamron and sigma digital superzooms, I think the sigma had the slight edge. Overall they were both praised at being much better than the previous lot of 28-300 and 28-200 superzooms. If you would like to trade some reach for image quality consider the sigma 18-125 DC.

[roadrider]

I hv the Tamron 18-200 and very happy with it. Some of the sample can be viewed here : http://www.pbase.com/tsbok/bagan_lalang. Hope this helps. :)

[Saudidave]

I had my local camera store do some shots with a Tamron 18-200 and a Canon 28-135 IS, with both lenses at 135mm, because with the Canon discount vouchers that came with my 350D, the 2 lenses finished up at the same price. I too thought I would trade a little quality for some reach. Printed at 10 x 8 the shots don't look too different although the Canon has better resolution and is definitely sharper.
A crop however, of a section of the 10 x 8 about 1" X 1", is totally different. The Canon shot is clear and sharp. The Tamron is blurred and has horrendous CA.

The decision was a no brainer. I bought the Canon on Friday!