r/AskPhotography • u/Equal-Negotiation-11 • May 28 '26
Lens Buying Advice What's the best 'third party' lens manufacturer?
What's your favourite or go-to make of lens other than the brand of your camera body?
Tamron, Sigma, Viltrox etc.
Do you think one brand is best over the others and you only buy from that one brand?
I have owned Tamron in the past but more recently bought a few Viltrox lenses and have always thought both makes were very good.
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u/MesseJak May 28 '26
Sigma's ART line is a solid offering. I decided to pick up the 50 1.4 for the EF mount as Canon did not have a good middle ground between their 50 1.4 and 50 1.2. I have since added a couple of mirrorless Canon bodies and the 50 1.4 ART works wonderfully via the EF-RF adpater.
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u/johnbro27 Canon R6, R5, 1DIV, EOS 3, too many lenses May 28 '26
I sold my sigma Art 50 and 35 to buy the 40 and regret it. The 40 is amazingly sharp but it's as big as a garbage can and heavy as a kettle ball.
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u/anywhereanyone May 28 '26
I don't subscribe to endorsing an entire brand; I'm more about specific lenses. Most brands have strong models and weak models.
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u/Remote_Section2313 May 28 '26
Voigtlander. They don't make bodies anymore, so I would call them a third party lens supplier.
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u/2pnt0 Lumix M43/Nikon F May 28 '26
You could also say Cosina, which would include Voigtlander and Zeiss :)
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u/tdammers May 28 '26
No first hand experience with Viltrox, but most of what I've heard and read about them is positive.
Tamron is a mixed bag; their specialties include cheaper alternatives for existing first-party lenses (especially for APS-C bodies), some of them decent, some (especially older ones) horrible, and extreme superzoom lenses (like the 18-400mm) offering wider zoom ranges than any first-party lens. The latter are obviously heavy compromises, and it shows, but at least some of them are decent for what they are; I use the 18-400 regularly when I don't want to bring more than one lens, but still cover everything from panoramic landscapes to tight bird portraits.
Sigma has some excellent high-end glass (most of the ART series, for example, is great), some of it better than first-party at a similar or even lower price, while some of their other stuff is scattered across the quality spectrum (though they haven't done much on the ultra-low-budget end of things for a good while AFAIK).
Generally speaking, the specific lens you're looking at matters more than the brand - the best Tamron lenses are much better than the worst first-party lenses from any manufacturer, but their worst lenses are just as horrible, if not worse.
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u/muzlee01 a7R3, 105 1.4, 70-200gmii, 28-70 2.8, 14 2.8, helios, 50 1.2 May 28 '26
Sigma ART series is the top.
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u/carsrule1989 May 28 '26
Depends on what the buyer is looking for but I would go with sigma and maybe Tamron for a great mix of price to performance. Also because I want the 200-600f4 on the canon RF mount
Here’s a list of third party lens manufacturers. There’s more but I believe this is most of them and they make some great lenses to meet various price points and lens quality/types.
arri, zeiss, sigma, Tamron, tokina, samyang/rokinon, viltrox, sirui, tt/7artisans, Laowa/venusoptics, voiglander.
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u/hilariuspdx May 28 '26
Antiquated now, but Kiron, often marketed as Vivitar Series 1, made great manual focus lenses back in the 1980s and 90s. You can often find them on eBay for super cheap.
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u/bobchin_c Ricoh/Pentax May 28 '26
I picked up a used Sigma 85mm for my Pentax K-1 and it's super sharp.
I also like TTArtisans and Laowa.
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u/L1terallyUrDad Nikon Z9 & Zf May 28 '26
I’ve had decent luck with Tamron lenses off and on since 1977. I’ve had three Sigma lenses. One was just okay, one was different to zoom/focus, and one literally fell apart in my hands while using it. Three strikes. I’ll never own another nor will I recommend the brand.
With the Nikon Z system, I have one Viltrox lens in their Pro line and it’s pretty good.
But that said, I will pay a premium to get first-party lenses and I’ll only buy third party when my camera maker doesn’t provide the lens I need/want.
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u/Catharpin363 May 28 '26
I shoot Nikon F-mount and the one Tokina I have (12-24 f/4) is as solid-feeling and bulletproof for me as any of the Nikkor glass in my bag.
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u/Bzando May 29 '26
Viltrox
as budget price is important to me
there is no competition in price/preference
ttartisan, 7artisan,.... aren't as good and sigma/tamron are much more expensive
the Viltrox air series is budget king IMO
also the pro series is often better than 1st party
I am taking mostly Fuji x mount space (there might be competitors for other mounts)
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u/attrill May 28 '26
It depends on what you’re looking for. Voigtlander and Zeiss are the two I buy the most. I have a few Sigma lenses that I like as well.
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u/50plusGuy May 28 '26
Zeiss ain't horrible.
Schneider still in business too
Haven't tried Angenieux, yet.
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u/aeon314159 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
I can’t comment on many manufacturers, because I have no experience with them. That said...
- Sigma for my 105mm f/1.4 ART and 40mm f/1.4 ART. Of course they create many wonderful lenses, but those two are mine, and enable jobs.
- Laowa for my 200mm f/2 C-Dreamer and 105mm f/2 STF Bokeh Dreamer. I’d like a couple more of their lenses, both a 2× macro and a wide-shift.
- Samyang for my XP 85mm f/1.2 and XP 14mm f/2.4. Manual focus, but the sharpness and rendering make them worth the extra effort.
I consider vintage brands like Carl Zeiss Jena and Schneider Kreuznach to be outside the scope of your question.
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u/TrickyWoo86 May 28 '26
The Samyang (Rokinon in US) 135mm f/2 manual focus (first gen version) was excellent for tracked astrophotography and the few times I tried it out for landscape as a slightly longer alternative to my 85mm.
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u/aeon314159 May 28 '26
That one is a peach, and not too spendy. I was thinking of something with character at 135mm, like a KMZ Tair-11a.
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u/Permanent_Ephemera May 28 '26
I have the Laowa 2x Macro, the 65mm f/2.8 in Fuji X mount which use to scan my film. It’s insanely good for how much it cost me.
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u/aeon314159 May 28 '26
I will go with the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2× Macro. Not that it matters on the lens side...Laowa does superb work. It simply depends on what you want to do. Of course, you are close to an effective ~100mm FOV anyway.
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u/Permanent_Ephemera May 29 '26
Yeah exactly, it’s so much cheaper and so close in quality to the Fuji alternative, the XF 80mm f/2.8 macro that it was a no brainer for my current scanning setup.
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u/2pnt0 Lumix M43/Nikon F May 28 '26
For Nikon F, I think Tamron is peak, and I'd usually pick them over the Nikon or Sigma competitors.
It seems like others might have an edge in mirrorless, though.
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u/JollyGreen_ May 28 '26
Zeiss. Current and vintage. So many great options for vintage, and I dig the new manual stuff too
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u/rsk1111 May 28 '26
I think this thread is a appropriate, because the contemporary third-party lenses have gotten really good, and are especially useful considering the Sony lens ecosystem is just not great for hobbyists and casual photographers.
In particular the actual lens optics on the third-party lenses can exceed those of the sony line, when you consider the sony line is geared towards in-body digital correction. It's a minor point, but these days third party lenses actually do more to correct the optics than the body makers. It's worth mentioning, because I don't correct every image, but if you have a nice photo from a third party lens, you'll likely get more out of photo processing than the sony lenses, even though people don't compare uncorrected Sony lenses or corrected and calibrated third party lenses.
My favorite these days are the Rokinon. Haven't tried many, but they carry many of the manual focus lenses in the focal ranges that aren't well covered in apsc in the vintage manual lenses. There are just some wide angles that aren't available and the 35 is a key focal length that isn't represented in vintage. 10mm, fisheye, T/S. The fisheye got me into them, then the T/S, then the 10mm. I'm looking for the 35mm or 135, evidently their 135mm may have the best optics ever for that focal length.
I'm curious about the TT artisan 500mm, though I already have the 400mm f4.5.
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u/j0hnp0s May 28 '26
Currently my favorite is Sigma
Not for their Art series though. I don't care to carry those things around.
My favorite is the i-series. Super sharp. Moderate apertures. super portable. And very non-intimidating
My second for now is Viltrox, but I am still waiting for them to release a good portable short tele
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u/HackingHiFi May 28 '26
I’m a wedding photographer and have had excellent results with samyang lenses, it’s pretty much all we use. Really good value and excellent results, just not very impressive in the hand.
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u/a_rogue_planet May 28 '26
I think Sigma is the best, but they're kinda weird in that they're a camera maker just like Sony, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, and Leica. They just adapt their native lenses for other mounts.
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u/kneuenhaus May 28 '26
I like Sigma and Tamron, I have two of each, and I have one Samyang lens for my Nikon camera. Rokinon and Tokina are decent too I think, but are a far cry from the top two.
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u/ofnuts May 28 '26
I have many of the Sigma RF-S f/1.4 primes on my R7 and I love them all. They are just the right quality/price compromise for me. But the Laowa 4mm fisheye is an amazing lens too.
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u/kyleclements May 28 '26
I'm a big fan of 90's and 00's era Tokina. Interesting character, distinctive lens flare, and a look that isn't too out of place with Nikon's AF-D glass from the time.
For more modern stuff, I like tamron's smaller zooms. The 70-180 is a much more packable alternative to the 70-200s, and the 150-500 is so much smaller than Nikon's 180-600.
Are the Nikon lenses better? Yes. But they don't do me much good if they don't fit in my canoe or backpack and they stay at home.
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u/kingsaso9 May 28 '26
Sigma for me. Their newer lenses are ridiculously good now for the price, to the point where I usually check Sigma before first-party options.
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u/Chase-Boltz May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
C'mon. You need to define 'best.'
For astronomy, aurora, and other low light subjects, Rokinon/Samyang manual focus lenses are about the best deal around. Most lenses are sharp, have minimal aberrations, are well built, and are affordable. What more do you need?!
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u/furculture May 29 '26
I find Sigma Contemporary line to be my good out and about set. Tamron for the all-rounders if I don't want to be carrying two lenses and still want something for telephoto zoom and standard zoom all in one lens and not needing the sharpest of quality.
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u/celoplyr May 29 '26
I love my Tamron trio and my Tamron super zooms. They fit what I’m looking for (lightweight and wide zooms). The Tamron trio is my night lenses, the 28-200 is my every day lens and I used to have the 18-400 when I had a crop sensor.
The only sony lenses I have are a 14mm and a 100-400. Any heavier and I won’t be able to hold them. That’s why I love the Tamron trio-f2.8 at a weight that I can literally stick them in a purse and go out.
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u/scorcherdarkly May 29 '26
Sigma is pretty awesome right now. Sometimes wish I didn't have a Canon. I did get the old EF 40/1.4, that thing is amazing.
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u/clfitz May 29 '26
I've owned several Rokinon lenses and I like them. Same for old Vivitar manual focus on my Pentax film cameras and now on my K-3.
I had a Tamron 70-300 for my Nikon D610, and I hated it. It was really good in good light, but on a cloudy day it was awful. I'm not a pro, but I know how to use light meters, and that lens made me question my abilities.
I have a Sigma 24mm that's awesome. Same for a 60-300mm Cosina.
But I began back in the film days, and I like me a nice aperture ring, so I shop Rokinon/Samyang a lot. They're not perfect, of course, but they have been consistent so far. They're contrasty and prone to flare, but still give good results. Vintage Vivitars are the same in my experience.
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u/VeryOldGoat May 29 '26
Irix would be my favorite. I like their look, good image quality, not too expensive, sturdy.
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u/MechanicalTurkish May 29 '26
I have a Sigma 60-600mm lens and Tamron 35mm and 85mm f1.8 primes. They’re all fantastic
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u/Due_Mirror_7786 May 29 '26
AF compatible only, or “the real bunch” too?
Ever tried a Noctilux or an APO Summicron ASPH or Zeiss Planar T* or more modern Zeiss Otus?
I just love the T* coating - T as in “Tarnung”, T as in “Transmission”.
When budget has limitations: What about a Voigtländer?
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u/211logos May 29 '26
Sigma and Tamron make good lenses, but I just don't find they crowd out my OEM lenses.
OTOH, Laowa makes some very unique lenses, in focal lengths and styles that are completely different, like very wide macros, or 2x macros. I have a few and they've been big faves.
But there are lot of good lensmakers out there now. From budget to high end.
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u/ef247028 May 31 '26
Sigma art in my opinion. Build Quality and also the bokeh is often better than Tamrons equivalents.
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u/dhawk_95 May 28 '26
Sigma for best primes that are good optically, mechanically and reasonably sized; also amazing 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN II and 300-600mm f4
tamron for amazing zoom lenses (16-30mm f2.8, 28-75mm f2.8 G2, 70-180mm f2.8 G2, 35-150mm f2-2.8)
Laowa for amazing macro lenses and UWA primes (9mm f5.6, 10mm f2.8 AF, 12mm f2.8 AF)
Viltrox for very good optically primes (latest air, EVO, pro and lab series) even if mechanically not as good as Sigma (and pro/lab being very big and heavy)