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I need lense purchase advice
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Hey guys so I’m looking to get a telephoto zoom for my sony dslr. At least a 24-200mm but 18-250mm would be preferable.Somewhere around f/3.5-6.3. Ive been looking at these :
Tamron 18-250mm f3.5-6.3
Tamron 18-200mm f3.5-6.3
Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3Does anyone know anything of these brands like which have better quality or know of any other lenses i should look into? Or even where I could get the best prices.
All advice is welcome and much needed thanks. :D
I use a Quantaray 18-200 which is made by Sigma and it is a great
lens, it is on the camera 80% of the time, use it for holidays etc.
I also use Sony and would recommend the Sigma, although I do
have Tamron lenses as well I have no experience of the ones you
mention.Try this thread, it’s compatible with Sony and a fine lens.
PM me if you’re interested.Pat
https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=13477
If you have to buy such lens try tamron 18-250 or 18-270. There is no better option for sony camera. Although I’d consider rather separate standard zoom and good tele zoom instead of all-in-one crap.
First of all, the quality at the long end is poor. Secondly, 250mm doesn’t look like 250mm when compared with real tele lens. It gives smaller magnification than tele lens. Closer the object is more visible is the difference.
I bought sigma 18-200 two years ago. This was my first lense and the worst buy ever.Piotr M wrote:
If you have to buy such lens try tamron 18-250 or 18-270. There is no better option for sony camera. Although I’d consider rather separate standard zoom and good tele zoom instead of all-in-one crap.
First of all, the quality at the long end is poor. Secondly, 250mm doesn’t look like 250mm when compared with real tele lens. It gives smaller magnification than tele lens. Closer the object is more visible is the difference.
I bought sigma 18-200 two years ago. This was my first lense and the worst buy ever.I wouldn’t want to compromise quality for convenience for sure. Are there any good tele zooms you could recommend? I will have a look at Tamrons range.
Hi rhyn,
No experience with Sony systems but I’ve used Tamron on my old Canon 400d. In my opinion – perfect lens and good value for money – great results all round plus very sharp lens.
I’m shooting Nikon now and I’ve got a Tamron 28-75 lens in my bag that I couldn’t fault – super results every time and low cost compared to some of the big brand names.
Tamron (so far) has impressed me no end…
I have purchased most of my gear from kea-photo in Hong Kong when they ran their store on ebay. perfect retailers (99% rating)- they will pack your gear (very well) and send it as a “gift of no commercial value” – no worries. (In other words- No Import Tax)
Yet to be disappointed – maybe I’m just lucky :D
Lately they have moved away from ebay and opened their own store online. Wise choice IMO as ebay costs stack up if your shifting lots of gear in large volumes.
You can find their new online store at: http://www.keaphoto.com/
If you opt for this – best of luck – No guarantees – but personally it’s worked out very sweet on each transaction for me every time – keep an eye on exchange rates between GBP and Euro – Obviously there are great deals to be had when the Euro is strong.
Hope this helps,
Alternatively maybe you should take at look at:
http://www.warehouseexpress.com – very good record – just purchased an item – good service :D
After that maybe you could compare costs with pixmania.ie and komplett.ie (I have not purchased from either but good to compare costs taking exchange rates into account)
Whatever you decide – best of luck !!
If you go keaphoto – let me know how you get on !
daithi
thanks daithi I will definately check out keaphoto. Warehouse is actualy where I got my camera from and there is a sale on now too hmm
rhyn wrote:
Piotr M wrote:
If you have to buy such lens try tamron 18-250 or 18-270. There is no better option for sony camera. Although I’d consider rather separate standard zoom and good tele zoom instead of all-in-one crap.
First of all, the quality at the long end is poor. Secondly, 250mm doesn’t look like 250mm when compared with real tele lens. It gives smaller magnification than tele lens. Closer the object is more visible is the difference.
I bought sigma 18-200 two years ago. This was my first lense and the worst buy ever.I wouldn’t want to compromise quality for convenience for sure. Are there any good tele zooms you could recommend? I will have a look at Tamrons range.
That depends on (1) money you want/can spend and (2) what you are going to take a photograph of.
Give us some tips then we can suggest somethig.Piotr M wrote:
rhyn wrote:
Piotr M wrote:
If you have to buy such lens try tamron 18-250 or 18-270. There is no better option for sony camera. Although I’d consider rather separate standard zoom and good tele zoom instead of all-in-one crap.
First of all, the quality at the long end is poor. Secondly, 250mm doesn’t look like 250mm when compared with real tele lens. It gives smaller magnification than tele lens. Closer the object is more visible is the difference.
I bought sigma 18-200 two years ago. This was my first lense and the worst buy ever.I wouldn’t want to compromise quality for convenience for sure. Are there any good tele zooms you could recommend? I will have a look at Tamrons range.
That depends on (1) money you want/can spend and (2) what you are going to take a photograph of.
Give us some tips then we can suggest somethig.Well I’m willing to spend up to around the 600 mark. I don’t take photo’s of sporting events but pretty much everything else: landscape, portrait, architecture, cars, gigs etc..
600€ – lets see…
You can get nice tele lens http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=1027469 but if you need also a standard zoom for landscape, cars etc. it is not enough.
As a standard zoom I would consider tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 (Tamron 28-75/2.8 is nice but for full frame camera like A900, with a300 and similar you would miss wide angle). It is very good lens. Fast (big aperture) and razor sharp (much better than sony 18-70). Although it is too short for portraits. You need tele lens for those shots. It is a pity, because sony has quite a limited offer and very expensive if you need somethig better than lenses from dual kits, which are offered by sony on several promotions. Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 SSM G is just too expensive (more expensive than tamron 70-200/2.8 – sic!). I wish you had chosen nikon or canon. Making a choice would be easier.
It would be lovely to have those two tamrons, but the money is limited.
I would get tamron 17-50/2.8 and a cheap tele lens like sigma 70-300 apo macro instead. I used to have such sigma lens for nikon and I was satisfied with photos. This lens is reasonably sharp up to circa 220-240mm. At 300mm is not very sharp, but quality of several pieces of this lens varies and you may find a better one. You can get it very cheap second hand in mint condition.
My collegue has tamron 55-200 and he is pleased with it. It is cheaper than sigma, smaller and lighter too, but shorter.
All those cheap lenses are slow (small apertures) and their AF is slow too. But at the begining it may be OK for practicing. Once you get some experience you are going to know what you need.I hope it will help you.
Regards,
PiotrWow that tameron tele zoom from warehouse express is exactly what I’m looking for. The kit lense is doing me fine for now for landscapes etc.. So i think I might actually go for the Tamron tele. (havent fully decided yet though:wink:) I’m really glad I asked here, you were a huge help. Thanks!
I have the Sony 18-250mm, got in Oz last autumn when I was there on holidays. I’m using it on an old Minolta Dynax 5d. It is my sencond DSLR, so I got that lens simply for the range flexibility on it, and so far I’ve mostly used it at it’s widest angles rather than up at the higher zoom end.
It’s damn convienent for a 2nd camera and gives me a much wider zoom range when I’ve got a high-speed lens on my primary camera.
It all depends on your planned usage. Wahat I would say is the sony 18-250mm lens is very compact, compared to the 70-300mm standard kit lens types, it’s about the same size as the old 28-80mm lens I used to have. In that regard it is ideal for travelling light.Could you be convinced to buy the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM? It’s probably THE most credited zoom lens out there, tried and tested and highly recommended.
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