Nikon Users - Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM Lens

Anyone use one of these as their main lens?

I'm currently using a D3100 with the standard 18-55mm lens and 55-200mm zoom lens, but find myself constantly switching between the two, I'd also like a bit more length as well (on the zoom ;)) So I've been looking at the various offerings from Nikon and the Sigma ones that are compatible. At £369, this seems an absolute steal compared with the £849 price tag for Nikon's own brand. So the obvious question here for anyone who has used either or both of them, what is the compromise from buying the Sigma as opposed to spending nearly 500 quid more on the Nikon?

I mostly use it for day to day stuff when out with the family, sporting events as well, but also some night photography.

Any advice oh wise SMB?
 


Anyone use one of these as their main lens?

I'm currently using a D3100 with the standard 18-55mm lens and 55-200mm zoom lens, but find myself constantly switching between the two, I'd also like a bit more length as well (on the zoom ;)) So I've been looking at the various offerings from Nikon and the Sigma ones that are compatible. At £369, this seems an absolute steal compared with the £849 price tag for Nikon's own brand. So the obvious question here for anyone who has used either or both of them, what is the compromise from buying the Sigma as opposed to spending nearly 500 quid more on the Nikon?

I mostly use it for day to day stuff when out with the family, sporting events as well, but also some night photography.

Any advice oh wise SMB?
Personally I would buy a cheap Nikon body and have the 18-55 on one and the 55-200 on the other, but as you want a bit more length, go for it. People slag them off but for screen viewing and small prints they are decent enough.
 
Anyone use one of these as their main lens?

I'm currently using a D3100 with the standard 18-55mm lens and 55-200mm zoom lens, but find myself constantly switching between the two, I'd also like a bit more length as well (on the zoom ;)) So I've been looking at the various offerings from Nikon and the Sigma ones that are compatible. At £369, this seems an absolute steal compared with the £849 price tag for Nikon's own brand. So the obvious question here for anyone who has used either or both of them, what is the compromise from buying the Sigma as opposed to spending nearly 500 quid more on the Nikon?

I mostly use it for day to day stuff when out with the family, sporting events as well, but also some night photography.

Any advice oh wise SMB?


As an alternative consider buying a Nikon from a 'grey market' supplier like HDEW - they sell it at £455, they are decent people to deal with and are reliable. Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm f 3.5-6.3G ED VR
 
Thanks for the info, that's a site well worth knowing about. In the end I've gone for the Sigma from Jessops as they've offered me a better trade in price for my old lenses than I was able to get on ebay.

How's the lens been?

I've had a Sigma 18-300mm on my D5100 for the past year and it was ideal for my needs on the coast of Spain. Most of the time I was out with a daypack, and it was great to have such versatility in one easy-to-carry lens.

That said, I'm heading to the African wilds for an extended trip and when pushed for a second lens I've decided to take my Nikkor 55-200mm with a set of filters to give me extra capability. In particular, the 18-300mm doesn't compress the field of view in the way the other lens does. For wildlife photography, that compression often makes the photo.
 
How's the lens been?

I've had a Sigma 18-300mm on my D5100 for the past year and it was ideal for my needs on the coast of Spain. Most of the time I was out with a daypack, and it was great to have such versatility in one easy-to-carry lens.

That said, I'm heading to the African wilds for an extended trip and when pushed for a second lens I've decided to take my Nikkor 55-200mm with a set of filters to give me extra capability. In particular, the 18-300mm doesn't compress the field of view in the way the other lens does. For wildlife photography, that compression often makes the photo.
It's been really good, very versatile and helped me produce some really good quality shots. Having it on holiday certainly made life easier as carrying 2 lenses around was a right pain.

The only thing I don't like is that the lens rotates the opposite way to Nikon's own ones when adjusting the focal length, and no matter how often I use it, I still get it wrong. But otherwise, I can't praise it highly enough.
 
Anyone use one of these as their main lens?

I'm currently using a D3100 with the standard 18-55mm lens and 55-200mm zoom lens, but find myself constantly switching between the two, I'd also like a bit more length as well (on the zoom ;)) So I've been looking at the various offerings from Nikon and the Sigma ones that are compatible. At £369, this seems an absolute steal compared with the £849 price tag for Nikon's own brand. So the obvious question here for anyone who has used either or both of them, what is the compromise from buying the Sigma as opposed to spending nearly 500 quid more on the Nikon?

I mostly use it for day to day stuff when out with the family, sporting events as well, but also some night photography.

Any advice oh wise SMB?

I got the tamron one and think it's much better than the sigma.
 
I have a Sigma 10-20mm on my D80 for wide end that does good image quality, but I plumped for the Nikon VR ED IF 70n-300 over other marques at the telephoto end based on what people in camera dealers and online suggested at the time. No problems with the Sigma though
 
I have roughly the same lens for my sony a58 as its so versatile...its ideal for a days walking where bag space is limited

I plumped for the sigma over the tamron for purely cosmetic reasons...didnt like the gold band on the tamron, the sigma lens looked just more workmanlike
 

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