Tamron 180mm or Sigma 150mm


kelstorm75

New Member
May 11, 2004
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Hi fellow Macro-ers

i'm new to macro and toying wif the idea of getting either Tamron 180mm or Sigma 150mm.

seems to be that there are different views supporting each lens.

Seems to me that Sigma focusing is slower when doing portraits compared to T180 and that the "paint" tends to peel off after some usage. That worries me. Both gives me the shooting distance for taking insects. I prefer S150 coz of the F-stop but the above mentioned, esp the peeling off part worries me most.

can someone share wif me what are the pros n cons between both lens? thanks in advance...
 

Hi fellow Macro-ers

i'm new to macro and toying wif the idea of getting either Tamron 180mm or Sigma 150mm.

seems to be that there are different views supporting each lens.

Seems to me that Sigma focusing is slower when doing portraits compared to T180 and that the "paint" tends to peel off after some usage. That worries me. Both gives me the shooting distance for taking insects. I prefer S150 coz of the F-stop but the above mentioned, esp the peeling off part worries me most.

can someone share wif me what are the pros n cons between both lens? thanks in advance...

Had used 100 and 150 macro lenses (not 180, yet), and would like to share my feel :

Focal length - depends on usage; longer reach won't frighten life subject that much, shorter reach needs shorter workspace.
Aperture - wider can shoot higher speed, lower ISO/ASA, shallower depth of field. Use with flash not an issue with either lens.
Focusing speed - used manual focusing most of the time to ensure sharpness at the preferred part of the subject.
Cosmetics - Sigma coats the lens with something that gives a powdery feel; yes, tends to peel, but not so bad to look like disease infected. Just like jeans, some like washed/tattered look, others don't.
 

What abt using the above mentioned lens for other purpose like portraits or telephoto? How do they compare?
 

You can search in DPReview for Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro and Tamron SP90 f/2.8 macro and see how they compare IQ and usability.
 

Hi Kelstorm,

I believe you're the same kelstorm I new from AQ. If that is true, I believe you'll prolly want to take butterflies. Suggest to go for the loger focal length. Definately a plus for butterflies.
 

Hi fellow Macro-ers

i'm new to macro and toying wif the idea of getting either Tamron 180mm or Sigma 150mm.

seems to be that there are different views supporting each lens.

Seems to me that Sigma focusing is slower when doing portraits compared to T180 and that the "paint" tends to peel off after some usage. That worries me. Both gives me the shooting distance for taking insects. I prefer S150 coz of the F-stop but the above mentioned, esp the peeling off part worries me most.

can someone share wif me what are the pros n cons between both lens? thanks in advance...

longer focal length gives more distance between u and the insect, and less chance of scaring it away.

When doing macro, u will use as small aperture as possible to maximise the depth of field. U wont wan a shallow DOF, u wan as much DOF as possible because its already sooooo small. Normally people will use f10 to even extreme fstops like f22 for macro shots. If u use f3.5 or something wide, u r not doing macroing.

focusing speed? U will be using manual mode...why care about focusing speed...

Assuming both lenses' IQ are similar, I will take the one which gives me more distance between the insect.

Fast aperture, fast focusing, all these doesnt help a bit when doing macro.

Distance to subject does help however.

Another advantage of having a longer distance is that it gives u more allowance to use macro extension tubes, which will give u a bigger magnification without losing IQ. So the more distance you have, the more extension tubes u can stack, and the bigger magnification u can get.

Disadvantages of having more distance however, is that u need a more powerful flash, or u will need to move ur flash nearer to the subject.
 

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Hi fellow Macro-ers

i'm new to macro and toying wif the idea of getting either Tamron 180mm or Sigma 150mm.

seems to be that there are different views supporting each lens.

Seems to me that Sigma focusing is slower when doing portraits compared to T180 and that the "paint" tends to peel off after some usage. That worries me. Both gives me the shooting distance for taking insects. I prefer S150 coz of the F-stop but the above mentioned, esp the peeling off part worries me most.

can someone share wif me what are the pros n cons between both lens? thanks in advance...

To each their own positives.. but i do have quite a couple of macro kakis who stood by their Tammy.. main reasons being : better IQ and longer focal distance, value for money. :)
 

To each their own positives.. but i do have quite a couple of macro kakis who stood by their Tammy.. main reasons being : better IQ and longer focal distance, value for money. :)
Second that!! Although the barrel feel plastically but I love the IQ of Tammy 180mm.
 

Yes Sherwin.. same chap here.. whahha... yup.. taking insects.. if possible, i wanna see the hairs on the feeblers..

sorry.. newbie here.. kekeke.. what do all of u meant by IQ? the Len's intelligence?
 

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longer focal length gives more distance between u and the insect, and less chance of scaring it away.

When doing macro, u will use as small aperture as possible to maximise the depth of field. U wont wan a shallow DOF, u wan as much DOF as possible because its already sooooo small. Normally people will use f10 to even extreme fstops like f22 for macro shots. If u use f3.5 or something wide, u r not doing macroing.

focusing speed? U will be using manual mode...why care about focusing speed...

Assuming both lenses' IQ are similar, I will take the one which gives me more distance between the insect.

Fast aperture, fast focusing, all these doesnt help a bit when doing macro.

Distance to subject does help however.

Another advantage of having a longer distance is that it gives u more allowance to use macro extension tubes, which will give u a bigger magnification without losing IQ. So the more distance you have, the more extension tubes u can stack, and the bigger magnification u can get.

Disadvantages of having more distance however, is that u need a more powerful flash, or u will need to move ur flash nearer to the subject.


Hi torak,

Thanks for ur explanation. The use of extension tubes, does it gives the macro lens 2x more magnification?
 

Hi torak,

Thanks for ur explanation. The use of extension tubes, does it gives the macro lens 2x more magnification?

For extension tube, with the lens u are buying u will not get 2x magnification.

if u get a 68mm extension tube u will get only aorund 1.58x.

For extension tube, the shorter ur macro lens the higher the magnification gets.
 

Agree with above comments that shooting distance outweighs the maximum f-stop for insect macro. Even with 180mm I find it tough to get near skittish butts and I recently added a Kenko 1.4x TC to give me 252mm focal length. Drop in IQ not apparent, at least to me.

This is a hand-held shot of a small butt about 2-3cm long, with T180+1.4TC. Shooting distance was about 80cm-1metre or so. PP - Level, Curve, Resize. No sharpening added.

4817906936_ca762924cb_b.jpg


Exif data:
Camera Canon EOS 550D
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 252 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash On, Fired
File Size 481 kB
File Type JPEG
MIME Type image/jpeg
Image Width 1024
Image Height 683

Here's a 100% crop.

4817906940_20096303c2_b.jpg


As you can see, even at f-stop 7, DOF is still so shallow I could barely get the feelers, wings, and eyes in focus on the same focus plane. So the maximum f-stop between S and T not so important.
 

For extension tube, with the lens u are buying u will not get 2x magnification.

if u get a 68mm extension tube u will get only aorund 1.58x.

For extension tube, the shorter ur macro lens the higher the magnification gets.

Do u meant that if i'm using T90 with extension tube, i get higher magnification?