I have an old Sony Alph A100 DSLR. For the longest time I was using the kit lens and my pics looked meh. I picked up a 50mm lens a few months ago and the clarity is amazing (compared to what it was). The problem is I either have to step way too far back to get the whole subject in the frame or just focus on picking up the details really close up. So Im in the hunt for a decent zoom lens. Im willing to spend up to $250, but I may be able to stretch that budget up to $350 or so. Any suggestions?

By no means am I a serious photographer. Most of my pictures are taken at car shows, if that matters.

 

IS300 has Sony, that's who you want to speak with.

 

Trust me.. it will take you a little while to get used to the 50mm.. but after a while, you'll dread taking it off. What's the aperature?

It seems like the alpha's have a wide range of lenses.. a 14mm f/2.8 to a 35mm f/1.8.

 

im guessing you're on a 1.5x crop. so that 50mm is more like a 75mm lens.

maybe try looking at a 35mm lens or maybe even a 24mm.

 

this 35mm is in your budget but with the crop sensor it should be about 52mm which could be too much. it might be best for you to go with the 18-55mm but then you won't get the sharpness or bokeh from that than a prime lens.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...f_1_8_SAM.html

 

This is the 50mm I currently have:

Sony SAL-50F18

Yea, its effectively 75mm.

Thanks, Ill add that one to the list. I saw a few of the 18-55 lenses but they were either too expensive for me or didn't seem much better then the kit lens I already have (which sucks).

Im currently thinking about these:

Sony SAL-28F28

Sigma 18-125 f3.8-5.6

Sigma 18-200 f3.5-6.3

This one is a bit too rich for my blood but it has gotten good reviews:

Sony 16-50 f2.8

What are your thoughts on Tamron and Sigma lenses? Any others I should consider?

 

Yea, IS300Eater would be the best person to talk to on his review on lenses. ill tell him to check out this thread.

 

Thanks, I didnt feel comfortable PM'ing him about it

 

Damn your avatar

 

 

Tamron and Sigma lenses aren't bad.. They have cheap ones, and they have higher quality ones. A lot of people complain about Sigma's quality control... but in terms of quality control, I haven't had any problems (I have 4 Sigmas). [BUT, my 5 months old 85mm f1.4 is having incompatible issues with my new body. They have offered a free update, but I heard you have to show proof of purchase and I don't know where it is, so it might be coming out of my pocket. Sigma has been having incompatible issues with Sony's new bodies] Sony partially owns Tamron, so maybe there's a reason why there's never been any issues between them two


anyway, sorry if I've missed it... but what is your budget? And what kind of photography do you think you'll be doing most?

 

yes, the new Sony (weather sealed) 16-50mm f2.8 has gotten a lot of great feedbacks (from built quality to image quality). Some say that it really should be sporting the Zeiss label. And I would be tempted but I won't buy any more none full frame lenses.

 

Im looking to spend ~$250 but Im willing to stretch the budget a bit. I can probably do $350-400 if the lens is really worth it.

I do a lot of outdoor shooting, mainly car shows and the occasional landscape shot. Im not great at photography nor am I trying to make a living off of it, so really high end stuff if overkill. That said - I don't want to buy junk either

 

My friend suggested this one:

http://www.adorama.com/TM1750MAX.html#rec

Its got good reviews. Its a bit more then what I wanted to spend but they do have a used version for $350.

 

that Tamron looks like an excellent lens for his needs.

 

Fixed

 

that's a very good lens, I would recommend it if you can swing it. And yes, keep an eye out for used ones. If I see one for sale @ Dxyum, I'll let you know. I would trust the guys there before eBay.

meanwhile, here's a review on it. This guy reviews only Sony/Minolta stuff

(just scroll down to the "conclusion" part if you want to skip all the testings)
http://kurtmunger.com/tamron_af_17_50mmid111.html

 

Thanks for the link! Just signed up for Dyxum.com too.

 

cool! I'm "trainerKEN" over there. And then there are a bunch of Flickr groups that have pretty good stuff to read too. Just a FYI

 

One more question, kind of off topic, but Ive been trying to find a battery grip for my camera. Do you know if the A200/300/350 grips will fit the A100?

 

it won't

 

Damn

All Ive found so far was a Jenis and an Opteka grip, neither of which really look like great quality in the pics that Ive seen. The Jenis does look like the better of the two however.

 

none of the aftermarket grips are built very good... but they are cheap and do the job

 

Sadly the two Ive seen for my camera are ~$100 (I know the Sony grip is at least twice that though). Ill probably just skip it for now.

 

Just an update, I picked up a used Tamron 17-50 lens. Got it today. I took a few pics but havent seen them on the computer yet. Cant wait to really put it to use. I paid $312 shipped for it.