Upgrade lens for Sony alpha

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Rich79

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Hi all,

I'm looking for an upgrade to the 18-70 kit lens on my Sony A300, and wondered if anyone could recommend one?

I'd like a usable walkabout range, 18 minimum at the short end, and mainly a significant improvement on the image quality and sharpness. Consider up to £500 if it's worth it.

Cheers!
 
what's an usable walkabout range to you?
is the 80mm of the 16-80mm ZA enough? The 16-105mm imo is worth the £250 or so that it normally adds to a kit but I doubt that I would pay the ~£400 it usually lists at on it's own.
after that you are probably looking at the 18-250mm Tamron/Sony or 18-250mm Sigma OS HSM (David Kilpatrick has just done a review at photoclubalpha).
 
Thanks for the info. For a walkabout range, 80 max would be fine at the top end.
 
bump. any ideas on an upgrade lens for the sony alpha series would be appreciated. Is the carl zeiss 16-80 the best option in this focal length range?

I would be happy to go shorter or longer range with the new lens if the quality is improved.

thanks.
 
The CZ 16-80 is a very nice lens, but there have been some QC problems with it in the past, so if you get one check it has been put together properly (IE nothing overly wobbly or lose).

Is it worth the price?

Well, I decided for me it was (on sale at just over £400), but that was just after getting a nice Christmas bonus so feeling cash rich at the time:)

A good alternative is something like the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 - not quite as wide, not quite as ling, but f2.8. Similar price to the CZ (maybe a bit cheeper). Tamron do a 28-75 f2.8 that is also well reviewed and is cheeper still.
 
Faldrax - did you have the 18-70 kit lens? Just wondering how big an improvement the CZ 16-80 would be over my kit lens?

stan the man - thanks for the offer. I'll read about that lens and think abou it, cheers!

Thanks for the replies
 
Rich79 said:
Faldrax - did you have the 18-70 kit lens? Just wondering how big an improvement the CZ 16-80 would be over my kit lens?

stan the man - thanks for the offer. I'll read about that lens and think abou it, cheers!

Thanks for the replies
Click to expand...

Yes, I still have it for that matter:)

The kit lens is a bit variable in quality, so in part the improvement will depend on how good a copy you had.

I find the Zeiss to be noticably sharper and with better contrast - the images have a bit more 'pop' to them. It also goes a bit wider (16 rather than 18) and a bit longer (80 rather than 70) and is f4.5 at the long end rather than f5.6.

I think the Zeiss also handles more difficult conditions better than the kit lens, but this may be in part that I am more expeienced and confident in taking the shots now I have the better lens.

I kept my kit lens so I had something for places I didn't want to take the Zeiss (such as the beech) - the resale on it would be about the same as a decent filter for the Zeiss, so it made sense to keep as a backup.
 
I was using the Sony A200 up till 2 days ago when I purchased the A700. And onto the A700 went my walkabout kit lens replacement.....a Sigma 17-70 f2.8

Added also the Tamron 70-300 and got the 2 lenses for under £400 which pretty well covered the basis.

When I got the A700 I also purchased my most expensive lens to date....Sigma 10-20 and boy what a difference that lens makes.

In answer to the OP question.....I went for the Sigma 17-70 f2.8 as a replacement and think I made the right move.

icemanonline
 
Ive also heard that the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 would be a good alternative. Some reviews claim it rivals the cz 16-80 for sharpness. Anyone used this, or have any thoughts?

With so many choices I'm now also considering the 50mm 1.4 prime, and just say goodbye to zooms full stop!
 
Rich79 said:
update: bought the 50mm 1.4
Click to expand...

The first lens I bought to add to my A200 + 18-70 kit was the Minolta 50 f1.7, which is very similar to the Sony 50 f1.4, just a tad slower.

You will find it it great for indoor shots without needing flash, and also for wonderful shallow DOF effects.
 
Faldrax said:
The first lens I bought to add to my A200 + 18-70 kit was the Minolta 50 f1.7, which is very similar to the Sony 50 f1.4, just a tad slower.

You will find it it great for indoor shots without needing flash, and also for wonderful shallow DOF effects.
Click to expand...

have you tried both the minolta and sony? i'm again considering a 50mm for baby/ family portraits on a low budget.
so either a used minolta or the new sony 50mm @ £140 (i think from jessops)
 
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