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I was thinkin on the same lines. Nearly finalizes the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 OS. To my luck had a trip to singapore and got luck to try many samples of the same there but did not liked any of them....Finally got the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VRII here with international warranty which is applicable in India (confirmed with Nikon Gurgaon). Quality of Nikon this 70-200 is no match for sigma and tamron...


Taken with a 18-200 Nikon ( Very nice lense)


Same thing taken with a Nikon 70-200


A telephoto taken at a distance of nearly 120 ft away...

I understand but would love to add Tamron experience has nothing to do with Sigma :) I myself had Tamron 90mm and disposed it off for various reasons. It could never perform other than in manual focus mode. Also have tried few other Tamrons from friends, most of them had focus hunting issues !

Our HW (Veeresh) had Sigma 105 macro lens and I have seen a huge collection of beautiful macros. I had Sigma 18-50 2.8 earlier, it was tack sharp and quick. Now 70-200 (non-OS version) is serving me well, never had an issue. Initially I had Nikon 70-200 in mind (with ready fund) but tried Sigma on request and never regret that decision. I have plenty of images if anyone wants to check.

Dont make the mistake of discussing such things with them, mental peace will go for a toss :D!

Add cost of an open top 4X4 like Mahindra Thar or old MM540 to mount this at back and carry around like Army MMG for bird photography as well.
You can save on cost of TC there is a 2X built in TC in this :D

No buddy, GD saab is healthier than Juza ! Only precaution is, he should be very careful when walking around Delhi region ! Some might think its a new special task force with muscle and machine :D

Ha ha Shaju this pic is funny. Great excercise for his arm, but he wouldn't be doing any good for his back:)

It's all about being satisfied with what you have and that is the most important factor. That said, I am 100% sure that you'd have been satisfied with the Nikon 70-200 too!

Oh goodie! So that makes you the 2nd person I know on TBHP with the 70-200 VR-II. I think reviews on this glass say it all. The Tamron and Sigmas are no match indeed. Incidentally the 18-200 would be soft zoomed in and it is not a fair comparison. :D

Given the way things are nowadays, if you took this combination near a Defence or any sensitive Govt establishment you'd get shot dead because it looks terribly similar to a RPG launcher. :uncontrol

Yes I would have been the happiest person with a 70-200 Nikon, but for double the cost, that makes the difference :)

R2D2, that 200-500 is meant for wildlife, noway it can be a city lens unless you put your own life at high risk of getting shot at sight :D

Anyway I will show a sample image from the Sigma 70-200 with the Sigma 2X Teleconverter on it. So exif is 400mm at f/5.6, hand held. My neighbor at airshow.


Here is a 100% crop

Thats a neat photo and that too with a 2x teleconverter.

Shaju bro I am not even alluding that the Siggy is bad, it is very good & serious value for money. I am neither that competent in photography nor so rich to buy and review mid or high end photographic lenses on a trial and error basis. I had read reviews of the Sigma 70-200 F2.8 lens and the Nikon counterparts on DPreview and other sites before deciding I'd go in solely for Nikon glass once and for all. A decision I believe I wont regret.

As I said before it is about being satisfied with what you have.

Cheers!

PS - This is the review I had read http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/..._c16/page6.asp

Oh no I did not mean anything like you are degrading siggy by any chance :D I still look at Nikon 70-200 owners as rich guys with plenty of potential to buy higher primes (not applicable to professionals who make money out of this) ! I know couple of guys (not team-bhpians) who own Nikon's 14-24, 24-70 and 70-200 but their images are pure crap !!

As a newbie in the DSLR line, I used to get stunned by certain images and ask first "Oh which lens is this?" ! But those days are gone, its no more lens that counts but the eye behind it and the way an image is framed. Thats the toughest lesson to learn and it will take sometime. A cheaper Nikon 55-200 can beat the 70-200 to death given to proper hands :)

Obviously your friends have the equipment but not the skill. It's like giving one of us ordinary folks Schumi's Ferrari F1 car and asking us to win the F1 race. We wont be able to last a couple of laps with a machine that can even kill if you don't have the skill to drive and handle it.

I recall one of Navin's messages quoting his experience seeing Rudra's magic with an "ordinary" camera and lens. I think that is precisely what anybody in this line needs to know - its not the camera but the man or woman behind it who is the artist that makes the image. Cameras and lenses are only tools. I've seen some extraordinary images taken by BHPians. I don't think I'll ever reach the level of skill that any pro like Rudra has. But I am willing to try hard to be an artist, not a gear head. Photography is a hobby that always gives me peace of mind, albeit at the cost of a dent in my wallet. lol:

Regards,

PS - Your comment on 70-200 owners having the potential to buy expensive prime..well, it had me in splits.

Na bhai, not so rich. Just trying my hand on photography. Not much of a artist but trying my level best to achive some thing. By the way Shaju love your pics very nicely done BRO !!! My main aim for getting the Nikon glass is that I have not invested in something optically perfect. Which shopping in Singapore I found few sigma quite accurate and some very bad.

Few of my pics not so good but a small try !!!

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The above pics are taken from Nikon 18-200, Nikon 35mm 1.8, Nikon 70-200 2.8

Very nice article about something discusses above...

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/not-...our-camera.htm

Guys i join the DSLR world, it took me a while to make up my mind infact quiet a lot of time:)
Big Thank you to the members of TBHP for the support and guidance, esp SHaju ,AmitK & RobiMahanta..

I picked up D90 with 18-105lens, also 50mm 1.8...

That was some awesome stuff. :)
I have been a victim of exactly the same thing, the only difference being that the photographer in my case showed up with a 7 megapixel Sony Cybershot (and that was as recently as in November 2010). :Frustrati

I got a chance to try ISO-6400 few days back. I would love to see similar ISO shots from other DSLRs to have an idea on how different this actually is (ignore all the reviews and paid opinions by 100s of 'so-called experts'). Here the ambient lighting is very very low, I could get only 1/30 sec at f/4 (therefore the eyes are not tack sharp). It would have been better at f/1.4 but would blur the background completely. No corrections other than re-sizing !

Thanks to my in-house model :)

Not able to use all those cheap & lovely pre-AI, AI and AIs lenses floating on ebay with my D40 coz it doesn't meter with those lenses leaves me chaffed.

The very same lenses when coupled to a Pentax/Canon body via adapter provides stop-down metering.

Pisses me off a great deal to realise Nikon decided not to support stop-down metering on its entry level cams (D90 and below). Nikon has screwed "poorer" customers :(

One more thing to consider for those entering Nikon system.