Third party Classics

[al1966]

Just out of interest what 3rd party lenses have you bought that have brought you much delight? for price and or quality?
I have a Tokina 25-50mm that cost me £5 inc postage and for its range its a bargain and the quality is ok
I also found the copy of Sigmas Superwide 24mm 2.8 af was better than the Nikon equivalent I had
Also though probably the worst of all the 90-105 ish macros the Cosina/Vivitar Af 90mm is no slouch.
Sigmas 50mm macro is quite superb too
If you want a low cost very wide for a film or same size digital the Sigma 15-30 I had was excellent, alas I just could not get on with EOS ergonomics.

 

[pvdhaar]

Bargain basement classics.. lenses that won't break the bank, but that give good images:

Panagor 135/2.8
Sigma 50/2.8 1:1 macro
Soligor 100/3.5 1:2 macro (optically , build quality isn't great though)

 

[nikon_sam]

Tamron 28-70mm CF Macro...This is a great lens, very sharp...It was given to me by a co-worker.
Used it on a Nikon FE and shot a ton of Velvia with it...

Vivitar Series 1

70-210mm Macro (Version 1, P/K Mount)
38-85mm (P/K Mount)
These two Pentax mount lenses I bought brand new when they first came out...I paid good money for them and they both delivered quality images...

135mm 2.3 (Nikon)
Great price on *bay...Nice lens but heavy...

28-90mm Macro(Nikon)
Garage sale find, Like New condition $20
Haven't really used it too much but I like what I've seen so far...If I find I don't use it more I might sell it...it needs to be used...

 

[ronnies]

Vivitar Close Focus MC 28mm f/2.8 made by Komine. I have one in OM mount.

Ronnie

 

[newspaperguy]

Vivitar Series 1 wide zoom... big, heavy, but delivers great results.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=175835&ppuser=20714

 

[Nikon Bob]

Kiron 24/2 is another sleeper. Thanks to a recommendation by Roger Hicks in one of his books I picked up one in F mount for cheap. It is sharp and punchy on film and works on digital with both FF and DX.

Bob

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

And I thought a few Ross Perot soundbites would be here 😉

 

[hans voralberg]

For the newer lens:

Tamron 12-24 f4, very good for the price, iirc one third of Nikon's equivalent

Tamron 90 f2.8 Macro

Sigma 50 f1.4

Sigma 30 f1.4 (APS-C)

 

[Spanik]

Meyer orestegor 135/2.8

 

[NickTrop]

Vivitar 19mm f3.8... cheap decent lens in the ultrawide range.
Sigma 24mm f2.8... another reasonable/reasonably fast wide.

 

[ruby.monkey]

I've enjoyed using a few Vivitar Series 1 lenses:

200mm f/3 - a heavy bugger but fast and beautiful, and focuses down to 1.2m.
70-210mm f/3.5 - also heavy; sharp and contrasty and with a useful close-focus setting.
35-85mm f/2.8 (I seem to have accumulated three of these in different mounts) - not the sharpest lens out there, but a useful zoom range and about as fast a zoom as you can get.
105mm f/2.5 Macro - as a macro lens it offers 1:1 magnification as standard; as a general purpose lens it just offers beautiful rendering.

 

[ruby.monkey]

... not forgetting the Tamron (*deep breath*) SP AF Aspherical Di LD (IF) 17-35mm f/2.8-4 (*gasp*) which, with just a touch of strategically-placed duck tape, offers a cheap-as-chips fast superwide for your 35mm camera that is actually rather good.

As long as you're immune to barrel distortion close up and wide open, that is.

 

[TXForester]

One I've had for 25 or so years. Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f3.5 in OM mount.

 

[dc5]

I love manual focus. When I'm out and about, my Pentax K10 has the Sigma 24 f2.8 or a Tokina pka 28 2.8, 49mm filter size. Just bought a Vivitar 35-70 2.8/3.8 for 99 cents + shp that beats my newer lenses at 5.6 & 8... haven't tried it in less light yet.

 

[fbf]

vivitar 28/1.9
vivitar 90/2.5 macro

 

[rbsinto]

Tamron 35~105 2.8 manual focus
Vivitar 19 3.8 manual focus
Vivitar/Samyang/Phoenix 17~28 f4.0-4.5 manual focus
Tokina ATX 80~200 2.8 manual focus

 

[ronnies]

Not sure if they count as 'third party' but I also like and use the M42 CZJ 35mm f/2.4 Flektogon and 135mm f/3.5 Sonnar.

Ronnie

 

[dtcls100]

Favorite 3rd party lenses:

Vivitar Series 1 90mm f2.5 (macro) -- incredibly sharp, beautiful bokeh, top notch build quality

Tamron SP 80-200 f2.8 -- fast and extremely easy to focus, extremely sharp, great color rendition, fabulous build quality, but quite heavy

Tamron SP 35-80 f2.8 -- sharp, compact, light, excellent color rendition.

Vivitar Series 1 28-90 f2.8 -- sharp, well built, useful range

 

[Armoured]

My favourite third-party cheapo is one I've had in several copies (one stolen, etc); all were excellent: the Tamron 80-210 f3.8-4. Excellent build quality, capable of very good sharpness, more than decent wide open, not so large as to get in the way but solid enough to balance well. I've never bothered with another manual focus telezoom, since I can also stick this on different bodies. Available quite cheap, perennially in bargain bins. I think KEH has them for ~$25.