tcole1983 said:
I was looking at the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM, but for every good comment about Sigma I hear a bad one. Or my other thoughts were one of the Nikon Macro lenses and doubling as some use for portraits. Any thoughts on the Tokina AT-X 165 PRO DX? Will it autofocus on the D5000?

Most of the prime macro lenses make good portrait lenses, and as someone on the forum mentioned, there aren't any bad prime macro lenses. My thought to 3rd party lenses is it's a game of tradeoffs. I bought a Sigma 150 macro over the Nikon 105, price was part of it, but in this case the Sigma had better tradeoffs. The 150 is a bit better medium telephoto, gets me back a ways from my macro subjects and has a very nice tripod collar. On the down side the focussing is backwards and while the build quality is good, I think the Nikon build quality is better. Same goes for any lens you look at, its all about the tradeoffs. I still haven't bought a 300+ yet because I don't like the tradeoff mix on any of the lenses.

I was looking at the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM, but for every good comment about Sigma I hear a bad one. Or my other thoughts were one of the Nikon Macro lenses and doubling as some use for portraits. Any thoughts on the Tokina AT-X 165 PRO DX? Will it autofocus on the D5000?

For starters I shoot with all 2.8 or better glass and do not shoot the real consumer lenses at all.

My preferences on 3rd party is just Tokina - all are sharp, built like tanks and 1/3 the price. Even 10yr old used ones are better than most other 3rd party lenses.
Sigma is so hit and miss on whether you will get a good copy that I will never buy one again. That said they have many unique lenses that are tempting.
Tamron macros are unbelievable. I don't know much about the rest of their line up. I have some friends who do really enjoy these over Sigma.

I have spoke to many who love Zeiss lenses but they have better eyesight than me and I rely on AF allot.

It's pretty much just Tamron and Sigma. Unless of course you count Zeiss and a couple other companies a third party lens too.

there are a lot a variables, but one thing that is generally true is that 3rd parties have lower quality control.

Which means that lower quality lenses make it out of their factories more. In my opinion, 3rd party lenses are fine, as long as you are able to test them, either at the store or online from a place with a good return policy.

But then again i bought a sigma 17-70 from b&h even though i'm in Canada, negating any possibility of returns(lucky for me the lens is wonderful)

I think it depends on the lens. Some third party lenses are good and some only so-so. I think with Nikon and probably the other first party lens guys, it's the same way too, but they have more good and less so-so choices. And not all 3rd pary lenses are cheaper, the Sigma 50mm 1.4 is more expensive than the Nikon AF-S 50mm 1.4 G. And is Zeiss considered 3rd pary?

I own the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and Tamron 90mm f/2.8 and have had nothing but stellar results.

I've played with the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and it was pretty good, not as sharp as I had expected.

Sigma always seems to have lots of people talking about their lenses, in that range the Tamron 17-50 2.8 lens gets lots of good reviews. It covers the same range and gives you the all time low fstop. A lot of people say its pretty close to Nikons 17-55mm 2.8 pro dx lens.

I did a search and looked back 5 pages or so and didn't see a thread on this.

I am looking for opinions on third party lenses. Any preferences of companies? It seems some people swear by Tamron, Sigma, or Others, but there has to be something about the quality compared to the Nikkor lenses as I don't think the Nikon would charge so much for the lenses if they could be made half as cheap. Are there any other thoughts on resale value or durability that keep you away from any 3rd party companies?

I don't have any 3rd party lenses, but I just sold my 18-55 kit lens and am looking toward a faster lens for that similar range. I have been thinking about a Sigma lens...possibly the 17-70, but really anything in that range I am considering.