Frustated with Nikon lens price? Sigma comes to the rescue

Because of the global financial crisis and strenghtening of Yen last year, many manufacturers increases their lens price. Nikon is one of them. Nikon high quality grade lenses are climbing steadily, and many of them are over $1750. But don’t worry so much, because there are cheaper alternative, which is Sigma lenses.

Sigma lenses are generally inferior to Nikon, but they provide very interesting value / performance. Sigma lens collection fills the gap nicely.

Here is consumer / low-grade lens comparison table:

BQ is built quality, IQ is lmage Quality, price can change without notice.

Sigma DC zoom lens	BQ	IQ	Price	Nikon DX zoom lens	BQ	IQ	Price
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 HSM	7	7	$480	Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5	7	8	$830
Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8-4 OS HSM	6	5	$300	Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR	5	5	kit
Sigma 18-125mm f/3.8-5.6 OS HSM	7	6	$330	Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR	6	7	$335
				Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 VR	7	8	$675
				Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 VR	7	4	$550
				Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8	9	8	$1300
Sigma 50-200mm f/4-5.6 OS HSM	6	-	$300	Nikon 50-200mm f/4-5.6 VR	6	7	$225
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS	6	-	$400	Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR	7	7	$500
Sigma 18-250mm OS HSM	7	6	$530	Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II	7	7	$850

In this category, Nikon generally have better lens collection. So if you’re looking for consumer grade lenses, I recommend you to get Nikon lenses if you have the budget.

If you are in tight budget Sigma could come to rescue. Some Nikon lenses are quite expensive such as the ultra wide angle 10-24mm, so if you are willing to compromise a bit on image quality, Sigma 10-20mm is a nice option. It is almost half price cheaper. For vacation lens like Nikon 18-200mm VR, Sigma 18-250mm OS has longer reach and $300 cheaper. It is a good alternative.

Next is the category of high quality zoom lenses.

Sigma EX, DG zoom lens	BQ	IQ	Price	Nikon FX zoom lens	BQ	IQ	Price
Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical HSM	7	7	$850	Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8	10	10	$1815
				Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8	9	9	$1750
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 HSM	9	8	$800	Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8	10	9	$1900
Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 II EX DC HSM	8	7	$750
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 HSM	8	8	$800	Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR	9	9	$2000
Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM APO	8	5	$1100	Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR	8	7	$1650
				Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II	9	10	$2300

High quality lenses above are optimized for full frame dSLR cameras (except Sigma 50-150mm), but it is also compatible with crop sensor DSLR camera. Nikon has best quality zoom lenses around, but The price might be a major turn off.

Fortunately, Sigma has plenty of great lenses which is significantly cheaper. Lenses like Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 HSM and 70-200mm f/2.8 HSM are a very nice alternative for people who is under budget but want to get professional quality images.

Also Read: Recommended lenses for Nikon FX DSLR cameras

Tagged as: nikon lens, sigma lens