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Canon vs Sigma vs Tamron | Which Brand has Better Camera Lenses?
So, I’m thinkin’ about grabbin’ a new lens for my Canon 800D. Did some online snoopin’ and found a few cheaper options from Tamron and Sigma that look pretty decent.
Key Takeaways
- Tamron’s got the best video image stabilization of the three brands, no doubt. It also gives you a great balance of image quality and saving some cash.
- Sigma and Tamron are like the cheaper options for lenses compared to Canon, but people think Canon’s got higher quality stuff.
- While Sigma’s prime and zoom lenses are a bit pricier than Tamron’s, their telephoto-macro lenses are actually cheaper.
- Canon lenses are super well-known for makin’ really crisp pics with awesome color and contrast, plus they’ve got some pretty amazing autofocus tech.
General Pricing
If you’re searching for the cheapest lenses, Sigma and Tamron is totally the way to go. But if you want somethin’ that’s really high quality, you might wanna check out Canon, even tho their lenses can cost like 50% more.
Now, Sigma’s prime and zoom lenses are a bit pricier than Tamron’s, but their telephoto-macro lenses is actually cheaper. Just keep in mind prices change sometimes, so this might not be true for every single product.
So, just use this info as a rough guide and do your own homework before ya buy. Canon is definitely the fancy choice of the three, no doubt about it.
Image Quality
Canon lenses are known for makin’ super sharp pics with great color and contrast. Plus, they’ve got awesome autofocus tech that helps ’em focus quickly and accurately in both bright and low light.
I don’t have any Sigma or Tamron lenses myself, so I had to dig up info online.
In image(1), except for the brightness, which is not equally set(so I can’t really compare it), the difference in quality is not as noticeable as one might anticipate based on the pricing.
However, if we take a deeper look at the zoomed image(2), you will immediately notice that the Canon is as always the sharpest.
Tamron experienced some focus issues which do not happen again in the other experiments so it could be a one-time error or just something related to their telephoto lenses. In terms of color balance, all three lenses look almost identical to me.
In image(3) we can see that the Sigma lens with a low aperture struggles a lot to retain focus on the edge of the frame.
This is not something that just happened in one photograph. You will see that trend happening again later in this article. I would say that Tamron did really well considering how much it costs.
Image(4) is probably the most impressive for me since that Tamron 24-70 G2 lens seems to be doing equally well if not better than the Canon one.
The Sigma lens again seems to have less detail and keep in mind that this is the center of the frame so it’s definitely questionable. The thing that I like the most about all 3 brands is that their lenses do not seem to add any extra colors to the picture.
I would hate to edit a video and try to match shots that are taken with different lenses.
In image(5), I bet you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the lenses. I certainly couldn’t at first since they look like it’s the same picture.
However, if you look carefully, you can notice that the Sigma lens has more contrast while the Canon is a little bit sharper than the rest.
Finally, the last image(6), again, demonstrates what I mentioned earlier about the focusing issue of Sigma.
At a shallow depth of field, it seems to be able to focus very well and provide a sharp and crisp result in the center of the frame (Image(5)) while struggling to do the same the further away you go from the focus point.
So, like, in my opinion, Tamron has the best video image stabilization outta the three. If you’re into videography, you really should think about them as your first choice.
Technical Support
About technical support, Canon’s got some very qualified folks who can help you out with any issues you might have. Plus, if you’re a Canon CPS member, you get extra perks like repair discounts, free shipping, and a bunch of other stuff.
Tamron is pretty decent too when it comes to customer service. If you wanna reach the top level of their VIP program, which is kinda like Canon’s, you’ll get some awesome rewards.
Now, Sigma? Well, they don’t really have a pro membership option, and their support doesn’t seem as reliable, ya know? So, it’s hard to put them into comparison.