Telephoto for Sony?

J13ERO

J13ERO

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James
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Hi guys I'm new to the forum and this is my first post so be nice :D

I have a sony a65 and I am looking to get a telephoto zoom but I don't want to spend the earth! I would like something that would work on full frame as well as my current crop sensor (I don't mind if it's new or second hand either) any suggestions would be really appreciated, I have been looking at the Tamron 70-300 DI VC USD but it didn't get amazing reviews with regards to image quality?

Any help will be greatly appreciated...

Thanks, James
 
The Minolta AF 70-210mm F4 (beercan) is well regarded in the Sony community, will work on both crop and full frame.
 
Just listed some Sony A lenses in the for sale forum, including a 70-210 F4 beercan.
Dave
 
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:agree: I thought the Tamron 70-300VC to be a great lens on my D7000, I prefered it to the Nikon 70-300vr. Think it's good value at around the £290 mark for new.
 
The tamron 28-300 is another possibility. Built like a tank. Reasonably priced second hand. They're a bit soft at either end but the versatility is very useful. Works on FF and crop. Sigma did a 28-300 as well which had slightly better autofocus and was slightly less mushy but they're a minefield with the SLT. I have one but I wouldn't like to say it would definitely work even though so far (touch wood) it has been fine with an A77ii.
 
Thanks for the replies guys :) does anyone know what a full frame 70-200 would equate to in a crop sensor??
 
Also thanks Derek for the link on Flickr I have joined the group, some very nice examples of images!
 
Crop factor on A65 is 1.5x so a 70-210 would be 105-315
Dave
 
dalex said:
Crop factor on A65 is 1.5x so a 70-210 would be 105-315
Dave
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Thanks for that Dave I may well have a look into the 70-200 range of lenses then too! Anything particularly good that I might be worth looking at?
 
The Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 USD and 70-300 USD both rate quite highly as far as value for money on the Sony models - remember they do not have the VC in the Sony version (as Tamron remove / disable it).

As with any lens decision for a Sony, it's worth having a look at http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/index.asp for a range of views for actual users, there are also sample images people have posted. It's a good way to get a range of views on the comparative merits of similar lenses.

Note that the 70-200 f/2.8 USD is significantly more expensive than the 70-300 - getting the constant f/2.8 is not cheap!
 
I have the 70300 tamron, 70200 beercan, I think if you want range then get the tamron, f4 makes the minolta lovely :), its screw drive so not so good at tracking
 
@Faldrax, thanks I will have a look at the 70-200 f2.8 but I think it will probably be out of my price range unless anyone is selling them second hand on eBay or something!
 
J13ERO said:
@Faldrax, thanks I will have a look at the 70-200 f2.8 but I think it will probably be out of my price range unless anyone is selling them second hand on eBay or something!
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I got my Sony 70-300G a long time before the Tamron (in fact, before the Tamron 70-300 USD was available), and have no regrets about buying it, and certainly do not intend selling it any-time soon.

The 70-300 range is very flexible, and my personal recommendation would be, in increasing cost
1) Tamron 70-300 USD s/h
2) Tamron 70-300 USD new OR Sony 70-300G s/h
3) Sony 70-300G New (Amazon price is one of the best, currently, £585 (£685 with £100 cahsback))
4) Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 S/h
 
J13ERO said:
Hi guys I'm new to the forum and this is my first post so be nice :D

I have a sony a65 and I am looking to get a telephoto zoom but I don't want to spend the earth! I would like something that would work on full frame as well as my current crop sensor (I don't mind if it's new or second hand either) any suggestions would be really appreciated, I have been looking at the Tamron 70-300 DI VC USD but it didn't get amazing reviews with regards to image quality?

Any help will be greatly appreciated...

Thanks, James
Click to expand...

Hi James

The 70-210 Minolta beercan is a cracker of a lens that can be got for not too much money. Father in law also uses the Minolta / Sony 70-300 lens and it's not a bad lens at all, certainly one to look at to get you going - I can find out the exact lens details if that would be of help.

I know he is looking to sell a few of his lenses, so when you are eligible for the classifieds - do let me know if you've not got sorted out and I can pop a sale up ...
 
andyred said:
Hi James

The 70-210 Minolta beercan is a cracker of a lens that can be got for not too much money. Father in law also uses the Minolta / Sony 70-300 lens and it's not a bad lens at all, certainly one to look at to get you going - I can find out the exact lens details if that would be of help.

I know he is looking to sell a few of his lenses, so when you are eligible for the classifieds - do let me know if you've not got sorted out and I can pop a sale up ...
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Hi andy, I've not looked into the minolta lenses particularly so I'll have a read up on them thank you :)

P.s how do I find out when i can look in the classifieds?
 
J13ERO said:
Hi andy, I've not looked into the minolta lenses particularly so I'll have a read up on them thank you :)

P.s how do I find out when i can look in the classifieds?
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I bought a beercan off someone here for just £65 at the beginning of this year, very pleased with it.

You need 25 posts to access classifieds btw. ;)
 
fabs said:
I bought a beercan off someone here for just £65 at the beginning of this year, very pleased with it.

You need 25 posts to access classifieds btw. ;)
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I can't seem to find anywhere that tells me how many posts I've made on the mobile app :(
 
Ahh thanks very much :)

I shall have a look at all the lenses suggested and see what size of a dint they'll make in my bank account!

Thanks for all your help everyone!
 
The Tamron 70-300 usd is actually a very good lens with accurate, fast quiet focusing.

Like its identical siblings* (sony 70-300G and Nikon 70-300vr) it's not best at 300 but optically it's pretty good.

I swapped mine for a Tamron 70-200 (non usd) and whilst it's better optically and much brighter it's not as good to focus and not as accurate.

I may well upgrade to the Usd version for the better focusing.

The beer can is a good cheap starter telephoto and for the prices paid you won't go far wrong.

I also have the Minolta 200 2.8 high speed prime and despite being nearly 30 years old there's still nothing out there that betters it optically.

* having used all 3 I wouldn't be surprised if it's a Audi/VW/skoda thing.
 
J13ERO said:
Hi andy, I've not looked into the minolta lenses particularly so I'll have a read up on them thank you :)

P.s how do I find out when i can look in the classifieds?
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Hi James

It's a number of posts and period of time as a member...

Yes the Sony / Minolta lenses are certainly worth a look at as another lower priced option.

The Sony 70-300 G lens is a belter, but does carry a nice price tag :)
 
andyred said:
Hi James

It's a number of posts and period of time as a member...

Yes the Sony / Minolta lenses are certainly worth a look at as another lower priced option.

The Sony 70-300 G lens is a belter, but does carry a nice price tag :)
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Thanks Andy :)

Do you or anyone else know if the Sony 70300 G is better than the Tamron 70300 VC Di USD? Obviously there is a sizeable price difference but didn't know if there would be much image quality difference
 
andyred said:
It's a number of posts and period of time as a member..
Click to expand...

Established Member
This shows that you've settled in properly as a member on Talk Photography. You will be awarded this when you make just 25 posts and have been a member for 60 days. Once you reach this level you can access all our restricted forums (Classifieds etc).
 
To the Op, what's the goal of getting a telephoto lens? This will sort of determine what lens you should be aiming for. Full frame compatible lenses limits you to some degree, and you'll need to align 'good image quality' against your budget. Choices are

All in one super-zooms , Tamron/Sigma 28-300. Pro: versatility / Cons: image quality compromised
Dedicated general purpose tele with multi application not requiring fast focus tracking: Minotolta 70-210 / Tamron 70-200 2.8 Pro: Image quality/ Cons- weight/cost
Above with fast focus tracking Sony/Tamron/Sigma 70-2.8
As above but more reach required -Tarmon/sony 70-300 or sony 80-400.
 
J13ERO said:
Thanks Andy :)

Do you or anyone else know if the Sony 70300 G is better than the Tamron 70300 VC Di USD? Obviously there is a sizeable price difference but didn't know if there would be much image quality difference
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He's not used the Tamron, but yes I would say there's a difference between the lenses - and as you say sizeable price difference.

I'd decide on your budget and go from there - you can always upgrade in the future ...
 
Lots of good advice here - with all things related to Sony/Minolta, Dyxum.com is the first port of call, and the guys there are very helpful & friendly too. Kurt Munger (links from some of the Dyxum lens data sets) has lots of useful reviews, including some myth-busting that's quite useful.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Lots of good advice here - with all things related to Sony/Minolta, Dyxum.com is the first port of call, and the guys there are very helpful & friendly too. Kurt Munger (links from some of the Dyxum lens data sets) has lots of useful reviews, including some myth-busting that's quite useful.
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Thanks! I will head over to the Dyxum site and see what I can find!
 
Soooo after taking on board everyone's advice I went to Nottingham today with the mindset of a new lens and somehow came away with a new camera instead... I've gone from my sony a65 to a Nikon D800 (second hand) safe to say my bank account is now pooing it's self!
 
Out of interest, what made you change? Did you especially want full frame from a different maker?
 
I was looking at upgrading to a full frame at some point in the not to distant future and the reason I changed was simply because of the availability and sheer amount of lenses but like I say I didn't actually set out to get a new one! I was looking to get a few new lenses for my sony but was struggling to get hold of them easily without getting them from hong kong and my camera isn't really worth that much so figured I might as well upgrade and start properly now I've learnt more stuff with my basic one if that makes sense and doesn't sound too stupid! (Still got huuuuuge amounts to learn though like but I like a challenge)
 
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