topic Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D? in EF & RF Lenses

Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

PhotoBug7 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 04:01:36 GMT

Hello Canon Community,

I am new to the forum and already had my question answered regarding Image Stabilization. So after getting some feedback on that here is my dillema. I am in need of a 70-200 2.8 lens with image stabilzation. As much as I'd love to buy the Canon IS II USM for $2000, I just cant spend that much right now. So, I am looking at reccomendations for these 2 other alternatives:

The Tamron 70-200 2.8 Di VC USD for $1,500 or

The Sigma APO 70-200 2.8 EX DG OS HSM for $1,150

Someone on the forum said that the Sigma was not weather sealed and vulnerable to dust and moisture. I dont know??? I'm usually very protective of my lenses. If its raining, I shut it down and cover my stuff up.

Is it worth it to spend $350 more for the Tamron. Or, is that weather seal a big deal, or was this just some person being picky or biased.

THANKS for the help!!

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

ScottyP — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 04:39:00 GMT

I would not make this decision based primarily on weather sealing, which is a very loose term in any event. Your camera is not one of the most heavily "weather sealed" so putting a weather sealed lens on it will not necessarily do a lot of good anyway.

I would base it on optical quality, as the price is only a few hundred dollars apart.

That said, using the highly useful side by side lens image quality comparison tool on The Digital Picture website, the Tamron seems to kick the Sigma's glass at both 70 and 200 millimeters, both in center and at the edges. The Sigma may do better with chromatic aberration in the corners on the long end but that is not a big thing, and it is easily fixable in Lightroom.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

PhotoBug7 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 04:41:03 GMT

Well there you go. Thanks. That makes sense. Didnt even think that the camera wouldnt be weather sealed. As far as optical quality, not sure if there is really going to be a huge difference in the Tamron and the Sigma. Maybe someone out there without a biased opinion knows. Love the "fer-tographer" comment. Ha ha ha ha! You are absolutely right!

THANKS!!

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

ScottyP — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 05:29:46 GMT

I've never owned a Tamron but their recent lenses have really gotten very good reviews. I love my Sigma 35mm Art lens, but the Sigma 70-200 has not yet gotten the Art (or Sport?) "Global Vision" redesign.

There won't be more than one or two, or probably none on the site who actually have both lenses. You might get some strong opinions from folks who have just one or the other but that is not really the way to get a confident handle on the answer. Even if you do get an anecdotal opinion from someone who has tried both, a verbal description of image quality is by definition somewhat less than conclusive when trying to make a purchase decision.

I'd advise you to personally try both and see what your own eyes tell you.

Maybe you have a good camera store near you where you can try them.

If not you could rent both from Lens Rentals or another outlet.

Failing that, the lens comparison tool on TDP I mentioned above really is very helpful, and in this case I was surprised to see the difference was quite pronounced and the Tamron looks clearly better.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 13:12:41 GMT

I have all three of the lenses you are interested in. Of course you already know the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens is not just the best of these, it is the best lens made. Probably why it cost two grand. Right?

With the Tamron you need to make sure you get this one, Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Zoom Lens for Canon. Tamron has made several versions of this lens. The one I listed is the best (A009). The naming is similar so make sure it has this exact naming. It is an outstanding lens.

The Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM for Canon is the one you want from Sigma. Now for the straight skinny on these. The Canon is tops we know that but I doubt you can tell the difference between the Siggy and Tamron. That is a 'your choice' situation'. Pick the one you like.

Personally I would go for the Tamron if given the choice but I could love, and do, either. There is no good reason not to save the money and go Sigma if you find it cheaper.

There used to be a third choice and if you can find one, it is the one I would prefer for a 70D. It is the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM APO. It just works great on a crop camera. It gives you the same AOV that FF owners enjoy with their 70-200's.

As a general rule, SIgma makes the best third party lenses. Tamron is second and Tokina is, well, be careful there. But even Tokina has a couple gems. The Tokina AT-X 16-28mm f/2.8 Pro FX Lens is one but that a different story.

The major drawbacks to owning the Sigam or Tamron is they are not built as well. Not weather sealed as well. They do not have Canon CS behind them. Sigma has gotten better. Tamron is trying. Tokina forget it.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 13:11:58 GMT

Oh, BTW, although you didn't ask, the choice of a 24-70 is less difficult. Hands down the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 DI VC USD Lens for Canon. If you can't handle the two grand for the real deal Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens. Which, IMHO, is the best lens made, period. If I could own only one lens, no more, the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens would be it.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

TTMartin — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 14:48:47 GMT

@PhotoBug7 wrote:
Hello Canon Community,

I am new to the forum and already had my question answered regarding Image Stabilization. So after getting some feedback on that here is my dillema. I am in need of a 70-200 2.8 lens with image stabilzation. As much as I'd love to buy the Canon IS II USM for $2000, I just cant spend that much right now. So, I am looking at reccomendations for these 2 other alternatives:

The Tamron 70-200 2.8 Di VC USD for $1,500 or

The Sigma APO 70-200 2.8 EX DG OS HSM for $1,150

Someone on the forum said that the Sigma was not weather sealed and vulnerable to dust and moisture. I dont know??? I'm usually very protective of my lenses. If its raining, I shut it down and cover my stuff up.

Is it worth it to spend $350 more for the Tamron. Or, is that weather seal a big deal, or was this just some person being picky or biased.

THANKS for the help!!

Don't rule out the Canon EF 70-200 f/4L IS from your choices. Modern dSLRs easily give you a full ISO stop better light performance than ones from 10 years ago. And even with the Tamron or Sigma stopped down to f/4, the Canon still has better image quality than either of them.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

Waddizzle — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 15:05:01 GMT

"Of course you already know the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens is not just the best of these, it is the best lens made."

" If you can't handle the two grand for the real deal Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens. Which, IMHO, is the best lens made, period."

--------------------------------------------------

I like reading his posts. Because both of those lenses are truly great. Just to clarify the apparent contradiction. The lenses are the best in their respective ranges.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

Waddizzle — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 15:20:20 GMT

"Someone on the forum said that the Sigma was not weather sealed and vulnerable to dust and moisture. I dont know??? I'm usually very protective of my lenses. If its raining, I shut it down and cover my stuff up."

I think I said it. If you seriously want to be a sports photographer, then you don't get to make the call regarding weather. Weather sealing does more than protect your gear when you're shooting. It adds a level of protection against mold and mildew over the lifetime of the lens, too.

I think the above suggestion for the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM is probably your best option in your apparent budget range.

Also, I would invest in Adobe Lightroom, which is like a souped up version of Canon's Digital Photo Professional. Whether you get the stand-alone version, or not, is up to you. I recommend the stand-alone version, which I suspect will not be available for very much longer. Adobe Photoshop is useful if you are creative enough to edit images, although artistic skill is not really required to use at least half the features.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

RobertTheFat — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 15:14:10 GMT

@Waddizzle wrote:
"Of course you already know the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens is not just the best of these, it is the best lens made."

" If you can't handle the two grand for the real deal Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens. Which, IMHO, is the best lens made, period."
--------------------------------------------------
I like reading his posts. Because both of those lenses are truly great. Just to clarify the apparent contradiction. The lenses are the best in their respective ranges.

<chuckle!> Yeah, I saw that contradiction too, but was too lazy to point it out.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 15:45:16 GMT

"Waddizzle wrote:

"Of course you already know the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens is not just the best of these, it is the best lens made."

" If you can't handle the two grand for the real deal Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens. Which, IMHO, is the best lens made, period."

--------------------------------------------------

I like reading his posts. Because both of those lenses are truly great. Just to clarify the apparent contradiction. The lenses are the best in their respective ranges.

Bob
Boston, Massachusetts USA

<chuckle!> Yeah, I saw that contradiction too, but was too lazy to point it out."

You guys are really too much. You must have not much to do except dissect my posts Believe me there is more to life than that. Ok for the ones of you that don't comprehend well, here it is. "the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens is not just the best of these, it is the best lens made." Indicates it is the best lens in the 70-200 class. "...the best of these,..." There happens to be several other lens in this category form other makers like Nikon and Sony, etc. OK, is that clear enough?Possibly your experience doesn't extend that far so I understand your confusion.

On the other hand the "Period" suggests the ef 24-70mm f2.8L II USM is the best lens on the market. Bar none. This considers the entire package and what it is capable of. Not just a single spec. OK?

Now go back wipe the sleep from your eyes and get another cup of coffee. I do hope the rest fo your day is not so confusing.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

PhotoBug7 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 16:07:24 GMT

To all who answered my question on which lens to buy for my Canon 70D the Tamron or the Sigma 70-200 2.8, thank you so much. Your answers really help. When I said I was being hired to shoot sports professionally, its not Iike I was hired by Sports Illustrated or ESPN Magazine. If I was at that level, no question I would have bought the $2,000 Canon lens.

To sum up all the answers I received:

Sounds like I wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway

As a general rule, Sigma makes the better of the two (Sigma vs Tamron)

But, the Tamron 70-200 2.8 Di VC USD is probably better than the Sigma version

Tamron looks better in the center & edges

By the way, there are 2 high end camera stores in St. Louis. One caters to the professional more than the other. One only carries Sigma, the other one carries Sigma and Tamron.

Bottom line is, my choice and I probably couldnt go wrong with either.

Again, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE ADVICE, it was very helpful.

Scott

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 16:10:09 GMT

"Bottom line is, my choice and I probably couldnt go wrong with either."

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

Waddizzle — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 17:38:46 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
@"Waddizzle wrote:
"Of course you already know the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens is not just the best of these, it is the best lens made."

" If you can't handle the two grand for the real deal Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens. Which, IMHO, is the best lens made, period."
--------------------------------------------------
I like reading his posts. Because both of those lenses are truly great. Just to clarify the apparent contradiction. The lenses are the best in their respective ranges.

Bob
Boston, Massachusetts USA
<chuckle!> Yeah, I saw that contradiction too, but was too lazy to point it out."

You guys are really too much. You must have not much to do except dissect my posts Believe me there is more to life than that. Ok for the ones of you that don't comprehend well, here it is. "the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens is not just the best of these, it is the best lens made." Indicates it is the best lens in the 70-200 class. "...the best of these,..." There happens to be several other lens in this category form other makers like Nikon and Sony, etc. OK, is that clear enough?Possibly your experience doesn't extend that far so I understand your confusion.

On the other hand the "Period" suggests the ef 24-70mm f2.8L II USM is the best lens on the market. Bar none. This considers the entire package and what it is capable of. Not just a single spec. OK?

Now go back wipe the sleep from your eyes and get another cup of coffee. I do hope the rest fo your day is not so confusing.

ICYMI "The lenses are the best in their respective ranges."

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

cicopo — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 20:44:08 GMT

There is another variable that hasn't been mentioned & that is just how will your images be used now & in the next year or 2 as you get up to speed in skill & equipment. Will they mainly be on line or printed on newsprint or will they be used for true photo quality prints, & if so just how big (average)? Will you have enough magnification to get the shot without cropping deeply? If you can fill the frame & they won't be made into really large prints any of these lenses will likely do the job now & down the road. How are your panning skills? That may also hurt IQ no matter what lens you use if it's not really good & the venue requires a low shutter speed like motor racing does. There is more to this than just having the best lens available.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

ebiggs1 — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 21:09:48 GMT

"ICYMI "The lenses are the best in their respective ranges.""

Whatever, that is not what I said or meant.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

ScottyP — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 00:44:51 GMT

@PhotoBug7 wrote:
To all who answered my question on which lens to buy for my Canon 70D the Tamron or the Sigma 70-200 2.8, thank you so much. Your answers really help. When I said I was being hired to shoot sports professionally, its not Iike I was hired by Sports Illustrated or ESPN Magazine. If I was at that level, no question I would have bought the $2,000 Canon lens.

To sum up all the answers I received:

Sounds like I wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway
As a general rule, Sigma makes the better of the two (Sigma vs Tamron)
But, the Tamron 70-200 2.8 Di VC USD is probably better than the Sigma version
Tamron looks better in the center & edges

By the way, there are 2 high end camera stores in St. Louis. One caters to the professional more than the other. One only carries Sigma, the other one carries Sigma and Tamron.

Bottom line is, my choice and I probably couldnt go wrong with either.

Again, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE ADVICE, it was very helpful.

Scott

If you have not just one but two camera stores in your town you are lucky. The Internet has killed all the camera stores in most towns and even most good-sized cities.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

PhotoBug7 — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 03:57:50 GMT

I want to thank everyone for answering my questions on what lens to buy. I know I probabably drove you guys crazy. I was asking which 70-200mm 2.8 lens to buy for sports photography and it was between the Tamron and Sigma. The Canon was very expensive. However, what an interesting turn of events! I just found a used Canon 70-200mm, 2.8 lens with the Image Stabilization!! The price isnt bad. Same as a new Tamron. But from what you all send, the Canon is bsolutely the best quality lens in many facets!!

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

PhotoBug7 — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 04:37:51 GMT

Yeah, in St. Louis there is a well repsected local chain that deals with pros and amateurs. However, there is a one location store that most pros go to that has been in business since the late 1800s.

Re: Which Lens To Buy for my Canon 70D?

Waddizzle — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 10:34:53 GMT

@PhotoBug7 wrote:
I want to thank everyone for answering my questions on what lens to buy. I know I probabably drove you guys crazy. I was asking which 70-200mm 2.8 lens to buy for sports photography and it was between the Tamron and Sigma. The Canon was very expensive. However, what an interesting turn of events! I just found a used Canon 70-200mm, 2.8 lens with the Image Stabilization!! The price isnt bad. Same as a new Tamron. But from what you all send, the Canon is bsolutely the best quality lens in many facets!!

It sounds like it may be the original version of the f/2.8 with Image Stabilization. Discussions have centered around the Mark 2 version of the lens. Hopefully, the lens is in good shape, has the tripod foot, and a fair asking price. Enjoy it.

A word of caution. The lens is quite heavy, and due its' high moment of inertia [center of gravity is far from the lens' mount] will produce a lot of torque on the camera's lens mount. Support the lens when it is mounted to the camera to reduce the stress on the camera body. Canon's professional camera bodies are much stronger [and reinforced, too] than Canon's ##D camera bodies..

The camera has a much lower moment of inertia [center of gravity of camera is much closer to lens mount than what the lens CoG is], so the stress on the mount is greatly reduced when you support the lens, and allow the weight of the camera to pull/drag on the mount.

I use the tripod foot on lenses that have them as a handle in the palm of my hand when going handheld.

[EDIT] Download the manual from the following link. Begin typing the model number, followed by a space, and a dropdown menu appears after a brief delay. Select your model number from the list.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/