Beercan or Tamron 70-300 ?

Lasagne

Lasagne

Suspended / Banned
Messages
956
Name
Andy
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi

I'm new to photography and have just bought the a200. I'd like to photograph wildlife, birds etc, and I'm torn between these 2 lenses. I read good things about the beercan, and I'm sure that it's a better quality lens, but I'm wondering if the extra focal distance of the Tamron might be better for this type of photography.

Anyone have any opinions ?

Cheers

Andy
 
Well i just got the Tamron from santa i like you new to the whole picture taking thing but i find the lens real good for the money.
 
The Tamron is a seriously good value lens. Yes, there are better, but you have to pay a LOT more to get a noticeable uplift in Image Quality.

I've only ever used it on Canon and Nikon mounts, but I can't imagine the feedback on it would be any different in Sony/KM fit.

Cheers
James
 
what are the estimate cost of the two?

which and what details, of beercan?
 
Watch e-bay with lenses i was talking to friend the other day and he said he was reading about people on it selling knock-off lenses with no serial numbers on them. Just a wee bit of advice as if you try to reg for warranty you will pay the price.
 
the beercan comes very highly rated,and definately the better of the two,but...if you need the reach for wildlife,you may find it lacking a little.i used to have the sony 75-300 for my wildlife/sports etc,then i got the 70-200 F/2.8 G SSM which i found was a little short on occasions,so i got myself a 1.4X converter,which took me back within 20mm of the 75-300,but at a constant F4.
 
I've not used the Tamron but I have had the Beercan and the Sigma 70-300 APO. The beercan was in a different level entirely, far superior.

It is a bit slow to focus at times but it is an exceptional bit of glass for the money. I now have the Sony 70-200 2.8 G and I miss the beercan for it's size and weight in comparison.
 
ShawWellPete said:
I've not used the Tamron but I have had the Beercan and the Sigma 70-300 APO. The beercan was in a different level entirely, far superior.

It is a bit slow to focus at times but it is an exceptional bit of glass for the money. I now have the Sony 70-200 2.8 G and I miss the beercan for it's size and weight in comparison.
Click to expand...

Do you think I'd need the extra focal length though ? Or is it likely that the Tamron would not be so good at the extra length anyway ?

I suppose because most bird photos would be cropped anyway, the beercan would be the better bet - in other words the better image from that lens would be more useful than the increased focal length, but with an inferior image.

If you see what I mean :shake:
 
Lasagne said:
Thanks Lawrie. But I bought a beercan on ebay about 30 minutes ago :)

I've got no excuses for crappy pictures now.
Click to expand...

Nice one! I think you'll be happy with it. As far as I'm concerned, there is no point having the extra reach if the images are soft so you have made the right choice. I was using the beercan on a 5 Mpixel Minolta 7D and was pleased with the results. So you should have some room to crop if you need to.

How much did you get it for? I am tempted to buy one back to have as a smaller alternative to the 2.8.
 
ShawWellPete said:
Nice one! I think you'll be happy with it. As far as I'm concerned, there is no point having the extra reach if the images are soft so you have made the right choice. I was using the beercan on a 5 Mpixel Minolta 7D and was pleased with the results. So you should have some room to crop if you need to.

How much did you get it for? I am tempted to buy one back to have as a smaller alternative to the 2.8.
Click to expand...


It went for £138 inc p+p.
 
The only thing I don't like about the Beercan is the weight/size of it. I personnaly prefer the Minolta 100-200. It is about half the weight, only 10mm shorter on the long end, constant f4.5, same build quality as the Beercan and can be picked up for a fraction of the price of a Beercan. Mine only cost me £22.50.
 
ShawWellPete said:
$200 last Christmas - £100
$200 now - £137

I guess there are a lot of things that are going to get more expensive...
Click to expand...

A fair point but I can't really see how it's relevant to a second hand lens thats been out of production for years and is already owned by someone in the UK?

Personally I think it's down to an increased demand for Sony compatible kit as they ramp up there DSLR offerings, what I don't understand is why they don't put a couple of old lenses like the beercan and the 50mm f1.7 back into production they do after all own te designs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top