Advice on new lens

Stephen P

Got myself a Sony A65 recently, superb camera!
I got the kit lens with it and I also have a 75-300mm zoom lens. I'm interested in getting a lens that would combine the 2 lens. Sony have an 18-200mm and an 18-250mm lens. Would either of these lenses be good for multi-purpose shooting i.e. landscapes, portraits etc...?
Having the kit lens on a great camera is depressing but will have to do for the moment. I would appreciate any advice on the above lenses or alternatives if anyone has any experience. I also hope to get myself a 50mm lens soon.

GhostInTheRuins

It depends on why you want the 18-200mm.

The quality will be no better than your basic kit lens. It could even be slightly worse. I don't know the sony lenses but I assume it'll be no faster either, probably f3.5-f5.6?

It's main selling point is that it's a "jack of all trade" lens. No hassle of switching lenses when you want something longer or wider. Sounds like it's exactly what you're after really, you'll get your portraits and landscapes and everything in between.

It does it all, but doesn't do anything brilliantly.

Stephen P

Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking for better quality to take advantage of my new camera and its capabilites.
For landscapes and cityscapes, what kind of lens would you suggest for high quality? Would this be suitable?

GhostInTheRuins wrote: »

It depends on why you want the 18-200mm.

The quality will be no better than your basic kit lens. It could even be slightly worse. I don't know the sony lenses but I assume it'll be no faster either, probably f3.5-f5.6?

It's main selling point is that it's a "jack of all trade" lens. No hassle of switching lenses when you want something longer or wider. Sounds like it's exactly what you're after really, you'll get your portraits and landscapes and everything in between.

It does it all, but doesn't do anything brilliantly.

hbr

Stephen P wrote: »

Having the kit lens on a great camera is depressing but will have to do for the moment.

Which kit lens do you have? Recent Sony models come with the 18-55mm lens
which is quite good. The older 18-70mm was a bit of a dog, but kit lenses have
improved a lot since the bad old days.

As GhostInTheRuins has already mentioned, superzoom lenses are
no better than the kit lens in terms of image quality.

I also hope to get myself a 50mm lens soon.

A fast prime is usually a good investment. Take care with your choice of
focal length. 40-50mm is considered a 'normal' lens on a 35mm film camera
or a full-frame digital camera, but it can me a bit long on a crop sensor camera
like your Sony. Given the choice, I think I would prefer a 35mm prime.
Take a look through the photos you have taken with the kit lens to find
your most frequently used FL.

Stephen P

Thanks for the advice. The kit lens is a 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 SAM. It's not bad from what I've taken so far. Best thing to do is go into a camera shop and test out what they have.

I'll check out what you said about the 35mm lens, again I'll probably have to test them out in the shop first.

hbr wrote: »

Which kit lens do you have? Recent Sony models come with the 18-55mm lens
which is quite good. The older 18-70mm was a bit of a dog, but kit lenses have
improved a lot since the bad old days.

As GhostInTheRuins has already mentioned, superzoom lenses are
no better than the kit lens in terms of image quality.



A fast prime is usually a good investment. Take care with your choice of
focal length. 40-50mm is considered a 'normal' lens on a 35mm film camera
or a full-frame digital camera, but it can me a bit long on a crop sensor camera
like your Sony. Given the choice, I think I would prefer a 35mm prime.
Take a look through the photos you have taken with the kit lens to find
your most frequently used FL.

GhostInTheRuins

This Sigma is a really good replacement for your kit lens. Nice and fast at f2.8 all the way through, and miles sharper images.

I personally wouldn't go for a 35mm lens on a cropped body, it still wouldn't be wide enough for landscapes/cityscapes if that's what you want to do. I'd go for something wider like a 28mm or a 20mm. Depends on your point of view really!

Honestly though, if you're just starting out, there's nothing wrong with your kit lens. I'd say just use that until you get to the point where you realise that there're things you can't achieve with it, so that when you need to spend wads of cash on a lens at least you know it will be on something you need.

Other than that, the Sigma is a great replacement for your kit in terms of speed and quality.

Stephen P

Thanks again for your advice. I've upgraded from Sony A200 so want to try and improve my photos with better glass. I'm not technically new to photography but have a lot to learn (like which lens ). The kit lens is fine at the moment I suppose. I'll save up a bit of cash then decide on what to get. I don't do a lot of portrait so might be a waste on getting a 50mm or whatever fixed focal lens, the cash would be better spent on decent zoom like the Sigma.

GhostInTheRuins wrote: »

This Sigma is a really good replacement for your kit lens. Nice and fast at f2.8 all the way through, and miles sharper images.

I personally wouldn't go for a 35mm lens on a cropped body, it still wouldn't be wide enough for landscapes/cityscapes if that's what you want to do. I'd go for something wider like a 28mm or a 20mm. Depends on your point of view really!

Honestly though, if you're just starting out, there's nothing wrong with your kit lens. I'd say just use that until you get to the point where you realise that there're things you can't achieve with it, so that when you need to spend wads of cash on a lens at least you know it will be on something you need.

Other than that, the Sigma is a great replacement for your kit in terms of speed and quality.

Stephen P

Meant to ask, what lens/focal length is best of street photography. That's an area that I'm interested in

Bohrio

Stephen P wrote: »

Meant to ask, what lens/focal length is best of street photography. That's an area that I'm interested in

Normally low ap lens but they are a bit unpredictable, i mean the results can be unexpected, still, great for landscapes etc

I lens I reallt heard good things about is the tokina 11-16 f2.8. Reviews give it the highest scores.

I will be getting it as soon as i decide whether if to get a canon or a nikon, not sure about the camera (prob the nikon) but the lens, of that im sure...

Pictures sample

GhostInTheRuins

Bohrio wrote: »

I lens I reallt heard good things about is the tokina 11-16 f2.8. Reviews give it the highest scores.

I will be getting it as soon as i decide whether if to get a canon or a nikon, not sure about the camera (prob the nikon) but the lens, of that im sure...

Yeah that tokina is a brilliant lens, I used to have one until I replaced it with a Nikon 14-24 2.8 for film/ff stuff.

Meant to ask, what lens/focal length is best of street photography. That's an area that I'm interested in

Depending on what you mean by street photography. How long is a piece of string? For a cropped body, an 18-55 could be all you need. Some people like longer so that they don't have to get as close, in that case an 85mm or 105mm. There's no easy answer really.

Stephen P

Bohrio wrote: »

Normally low ap lens but they are a bit unpredictable, i mean the results can be unexpected, still, great for landscapes etc

I lens I reallt heard good things about is the tokina 11-16 f2.8. Reviews give it the highest scores.

I will be getting it as soon as i decide whether if to get a canon or a nikon, not sure about the camera (prob the nikon) but the lens, of that im sure...

Pictures sample

Some amazing photos in that link. Conns do that lens but don't seem to do it for the Sony A-mount.

GhostInTheRuins wrote: »

Yeah that tokina is a brilliant lens, I used to have one until I replaced it with a Nikon 14-24 2.8 for film/ff stuff.



Depending on what you mean by street photography. How long is a piece of string? For a cropped body, an 18-55 could be all you need. Some people like longer so that they don't have to get as close, in that case an 85mm or 105mm. There's no easy answer really.

Thanks, starting off I'm not going to be going close to people so maybe my 75-300mm will do me for street photography