Lensrental’s Roger Cicala compared two 24-105mm lenses for full-frame DSLRs, the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS (price & specs) and the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 OS (price & specs).

It’s a pretty technical article, yet it is understandable also for people not into engineering. In the conclusion Mr. Cicala writes:

Sigma has made a very nice zoom here at a very good price. It’s obviously not going to create the stir that occurred with their 35mm f/1.4 or 18-35 f/1.8 lenses, but it’s a nice addition to their lineup.

Canon shooters who have a 24-105 f/4 IS have no reason to change based on optics as long as the promotional pricing remains in effect. The Sigma and Canon 24-105s are nearly identical. Similarly the Nikon 24-120 has been available on discount lately, so I don’t see a big motivation for Nikon shooters to change, either.

Of course, if the pricing changes I wouldn’t hesitate to buy the Sigma instead of the name brands. If nothing else, I think the presence of the Sigma will keep Canon and Nikon prices reasonable.

[via LR]

After having posted a set of 40 sample pics, Photography Blog published also the review of the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DI VC USD lens (and more sample pics). The Tamron 150-600mm offers a lot of bang for the money and can be preordered for $1069 at Adorama or B&H Photo.

Some excerpts:

• Build quality is very good, despite Tamron traditionally offering lenses at the cheaper end of the market. The Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD feels solid in your hand […]
• The zoom ring is generously wide and has a ridged, rubberised grip band
• The Tamron […]  benefits from a moisture-resistant construction
• The Tamron […]  features a USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) that allows near-silent auto-focusing. Importantly, this solution allows instant manual override
• Chromatic aberrations […] are impressively well controlled with this lens
• [bokeh:] an iris diaphragm with 9 rounded blades for a pleasing rendering of the out-of-focus highlights

From the conclusion:

The Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD is an excellent ultra-telephoto zoom lens, offering good image quality with smooth bokeh and sharpness, an effective built-in image stabilisation system which makes it possible to hand-hold and still get sharp results, and a price that certainly won’t break the bank. The auto-focus system is reliably fast, mostly accurate and very quiet too, and Tamron’s optic is smaller and lighter than the Canon and Nikon equivalents despite offering a bigger focal range.

[via PB]

Product description and specs after the break.

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Photography Bay reviewed the awesome Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM lens for APS-C DSLRs, one of Sigma’s recent gems. This lens gets one positive review after the other, and that’s not surprising: Sigma made an outstanding lens, and it has a constant f/1.8 over the zoom range. Considering the price of the Sigma ($799) this is for sure one of the most interesting lenses you can get for your Canon APS-C DSLR.

Sample pics and more after the break.