Battle of Convenience – Sigma 18-300 vs Tamron 16-300 Review Should you choose the Sigma 18-300mm or the Tamron 16-300mm

In this video comparison, photographer Toby Gelston takes a look at two super zoom lenses – the new Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM | C and the little older Tamron 16-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD to see which one is better and why.

We have looked at the Tamron 16-300 in-depth earlier this year and with the introduction of the new Sigma (which joins two Nikon 18-300mm lenses with two different apertures), becomes the fourth zoom lens on the market with this sort of focal length.

The bottom line

If we are looking at the bottom line, Gelston actually prefers the Tamron over the Sigma despite the somewhat lower image quality. Why you ask well, here are his main reasons:

• Better AF.
• Wider focal length (16mm vs. 18mm).
• Better IS (pretty noticeable in the video).
• Less breathing (the actual focal length of the Tamron is closer to 300mm than the Sigma).
• Manual focus override (allowing you to change the focus using the focus ring without changing to MF mode).

On the other hand:

•  The Sigma is somewhat sharper.
• Has more comfortable bottoms.

So there you have it – two super zoom lenses that are pretty similar in general specs but with some real-world differences. We do want to mention – and here we completely agree with Gelston, that both lenses (and actually all superzooms) are a compromise of convenience – yes they have a great range of focal lengths (the Tamron in particular with its 16mm wide-angle) however both the image quality and the effective apertures are less than ideal (although to get anything significantly better you will need to pay a lot more, carry a lot more and/or lose a lot of flexibility in the focal range.

The Tamron 16-300mm lens – check out our full review here

by Iddo Genuth

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Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.

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