D300S and 3rd Party Lenses

I am going to be getting a D300S in a few months and have been considering lenses. I pro friend of mine whom has a D300 recommended a few Sigma and Tamron lenses to me since the cost of the Nikon ones I have been looking at are just as much as the camera. I am interested in knowing if the autofocusing system will still function the same with 3rd party lenses as it would with Nikon ones? Will I still be able to take advantage of the 51-point and color tracking autofocusing? Thanks.

Yes, any relatively recent 3rd party lens will permit you to use all 51 points and all focus modes. I have a couple 3rd party lenses and my Sigma 70-200 2.8 is one of my favorites.

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Everything I write is a personal opinion. Even when I quote facts, they are the facts I personally choose to accept.
http://www.pbase.com/mariog

Thank you so much for the answer actually that Sigma is one of the 2 I am looking at getting.

Carl, the question is are you willing to pay twice the price for 10 or 20 % better autofocus speed and tracking ability ?

For most non-pros the answer is save your money. Sigma lenses are pretty good for the price.

But, are you willing to spend a lot of money to get every last bit of performance out of your camera ? In that case, buy Nikon.

I started out with the Sigma 24-70 2.8 and Sigma 70-200 2.8 after using my Nikon 24-120 for 6 months. They were OK, but when I could afford the Nikon 70-200 VR I didn't look back.

(I DID like the smaller size of the Sigma 70-200, and it's zoom ring was so easy to turn that I could zoom by just balancing the lens on my fingertip, but I don't think that lens was equal to the Nikon wide open - I could be wrong.)

I bought the Bigma (Sigma 50-500) TWICE and returned it both times because the focus speed and ability to track focus was just NOT up the the standard of the 70-200 with 1.7 x teleconverter attached. I wanted more zoom but the Bigma could just not keep up with my fast little dogs. I thought my first unhappiness with focus speed was because of my D70, but when I tried the lens again with my D2X I was just as unhappy with it.

I looked at the Sigma 120-300 for a while, but I'm pretty sure the zoom ring on that lens spins in the OPPOSITE direction compared to all Nikon lenses - and there is no way I could get accustomed to using that instictively when sometimes using the Nikon 70-200.

I could finally afford the $8,000 Nikon 200-400 f4 lens and I don't even touch my Nikon 70-200 any more. I love the 7 pound monster.

I don't think I will ever buy a non-Nikon lens again, but then again, I am willing to spend several thousand dollars more for just a small improvement in performance.

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Bill,

http://www.pbase.com/billmcintyre

I guess since this will be my first pro setup I can work with the Sigma lenses while I am still learning and until I get a FX sensor cam where I could really have the best of a full system. Unfortunately no one in my area carries Sigma so I can't test them and all the posts on going thru a number of lenses to find one that works correctly scares me. Thank you for all your help. I appreciate the education. Lenses are where I am most uneducated.

I bought my first two Sigma lenses on eBay and Sigma Canada was good about "rechipping" them to work with "newer" cameras.

Even if you think you've ended up with a "bad" copy of the lens you can probably resell it for close to what you paid.

Or, if you buy from an online seller with a good return policy you can send the lens back if you don't like it.

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Bill,

http://www.pbase.com/billmcintyre

Since you've got a few months, do your homework on lenses, don't just read these forums but read review sites professional and consumer. I tend to be a Nikon loyalist, but I don't have unlimited funds (quite the contrary) and the reality is there are some real gems among third party manufacturers. The Tokina 12-24mm is well regarded, you can't go wrong with most any macro lens (though I do have preferences). I have an absolutely stellar copy of the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 worth much more than what I paid for it. Yes it did take two tries, but the second copy is sharp wide open with creamy bokeh like a pro lens for a little over $400 (price has gone up since last year). Educate yourself, know what you're buying and keep your eye out for some good deals.
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Lora

I've been on Dpreview since June 2006. Unfortunately, some posting history has been lost along the way...

I use a lot the Sigma 17-70 on my D300 (and have used several times 10-20), and everything works OK, including focus calibration, CAs correction, and good exposure using flash (17-70 it's a D lens, so it reports focus distance to the camera).

Don't know if you're interested in these lens, but that's my experience.

Saludos!

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Please, excuse my poor english...

It works great with my two Tokina's. Even if you go screw-driven its got enough torque to be plenty quick enough, at least with the shorter FLs (I have AFS lenses for the telezooms).

Im also looking forward to the micro focus adjustment. The 16-50 was slightly backfocusing and my 50/1.4AFD would slightly front focus.