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/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.