Need Lens Advise

[harleymhs]

I am picking up a NEW Sony A77 DSLR.. They offer a kit which includes a 18-135 lens for a great price! I am also thinking about just getting the A77 body and the 18-250 lens.. There is about a 350$ difference between the 2 .. My question is :

Is there a BIG difference from 18-135 - 18-250

Thanks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 

[needfx]

I am picking up a NEW Sony A77 DSLR.. They offer a kit which includes a 18-135 lens for a great price! I am also thinking about just getting the A77 body and the 18-250 lens.. There is about a 350$ difference between the 2 .. My question is :

Is there a BIG difference from 18-135 - 18-250

Thanks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I don't have any experience with sony cams/lenses but the difference in reach (135mm vs 250mm) is almost double. Max aperture on both is similar since it varies depending on the zoom amount (F/3.5-5.6 vs F/3.5-6.3). So it's not like you're getting a top notch lens anyway.

So it all comes down on much you want to spend and how much you will need the extra zoom.


you should also read on dpreview about these lenses before deciding
check the reviewers opinion, there is a also a tab for amazon reviews.

18-135
18-250

all sony lenses

you should also compare with other makes and models before deciding on snapsort.com.

eg

sony slt-a77 vs canon 7d

 

[harleymhs]

I don't have any experience with sony cams/lenses but the difference in reach (135mm vs 250mm) is almost double. Max aperture on both is similar since it varies depending on the zoom amount (F/3.5-5.6 vs F/3.5-6.3). So it's not like you're getting a top notch lens anyway.

So it all comes down on much you want to spend and how much you will need the extra zoom.


you should also read on dpreview about these lenses before deciding
check the reviewers opinion, there is a also a tab for amazon reviews.

18-135
18-250

all sony lenses

you should also compare with other makes and models before deciding on snapsort.com.

eg

sony slt-a77 vs canon 7d

Thank You very helpful! I tried Canon and Nikon nad I experienced alot of DIRT and DUST on the prizm when looking into the viewfinder! ( not by changing lens but from the factory) That annoyed me like crazy! I even took a NEW camera to NIKON here in NY so they could clean and replace the prizm and it was WORSE when I got it back from them! LOL so the A77 will not have that it uses an OLED for the viewfinder! Problem solved with the dirt! LOL

 

[needfx]

Thank You very helpful! I tried Canon and Nikon nad I experienced alot of DIRT and DUST on the prizm when looking into the viewfinder! ( not by changing lens but from the factory) That annoyed me like crazy! I even took a NEW camera to NIKON here in NY so they could clean and replace the prizm and it was WORSE when I got it back from them! LOL so the A77 will not have that it uses an OLED for the viewfinder! Problem solved with the dirt! LOL

nikon d600 was the culprit of dusty & oily sensors and they replaced it with the d610

can you please share with which models you experienced these?

oled viewfinder is not really advisable

 

[harleymhs]

nikon d600 was the culprit of dusty & oily sensors and they replaced it with the d610

can you please share with which models you experienced these?

oled viewfinder is not really advisable

I tried the NIKON D7000 BAD with dust, and D5200 was even worse! bought and returned 5 of them ! Right out of the box put the lens on and looked into the sky and DUST and dirt ... I can understand after a couple of years swapping lens on and offf etc etc but right out of the box? Blowing them off with a blower didnt do anything ! it seemed that the dust was UNDER the prism! This dist was not on the sensor! So I have to stay away from optical viewfinder and go with the OLED which seemed very bright and clear and NO DUST OR DIRT! LOL .. That bother the crap out of me! LOL .. I was going to try the NEW D5300 but my wife said didnt we have enoiugh dirt in the past! Plus Nikon doesnt have a 18-250 they have an 18-200 and its 850.00!!

 

[VI™]

I tried the NIKON D7000 BAD with dust, and D5200 was even worse! bought and returned 5 of them ! Right out of the box put the lens on and looked into the sky and DUST and dirt ... I can understand after a couple of years swapping lens on and offf etc etc but right out of the box? Blowing them off with a blower didnt do anything ! it seemed that the dust was UNDER the prism! This dist was not on the sensor! So I have to stay away from optical viewfinder and go with the OLED which seemed very bright and clear and NO DUST OR DIRT! LOL .. That bother the crap out of me! LOL .. I was going to try the NEW D5300 but my wife said didnt we have enoiugh dirt in the past! Plus Nikon doesnt have a 18-250 they have an 18-200 and its 850.00!!

You usually Get what you pay for with lenses. The Nikon 18-200 has image stabilization built in, which really bumps up the price.

Usually super zooms with variable aperture are of so so quality. I have a 70-200 f/2.8L IS that cost me about $1,600 I’d take that over any of the lenses you listed so far. The more a lens has to zoom, usually the more glass that’s in the lens and the more glass that’s in the lens the more chance for distortion, aberration, and reduced image quality. That’s why prime lenses are generally sharper than zooms. The other thing is the aperture. Variable aperture lenses are usually cheaper lenses compared to a fixed wide aperture.

Super zooms are OK everyday lenses, but if you’re looking for top notch image quality, you’ll eventually start eyeing those lenses that costs $1,000+

 

[snerkler]

I have the Sony A77, and neither the 18-135 or 18-250 are particularly sparkling lenses tbh.

When I was looking I was adament that I wanted an all in one lens and was advised by everyone to get at least 2 lenses, short zoom and telephoto. I almost ignored them as I didn't want the inconvenience of swapping lenses, extra bulk etc etc. But I'm glad I took their advice in the end.

I got the 16-50mm SSM lens (good quality lens, much better than the 'normal' kit lenses), and 55-300mm SAM lens (budget lens with surprisingly good IQ). Having used the 16-50mm f2.8 it really opened my eyes as to how much difference a lens makes, and no all in one could ever match it.

Eventually I hope to get the 70-300G to replace the 55-300mm, but for now the 55-300mm is doing a fine job. The IQ is actually really good, and better than the price would suggest. Where it lets itself down is low light (hunts quite a bit), and the AF as it's SAM rather than SSM which means it's slower, noisier and doesn't have the DMF function. But as I say, it's far better than the price would suggest imo

 

[harleymhs]

UPDATE: I was in our local Costco today and they had a BUNDLE for the Nikin D7100 which included the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VRII Lens! So I grabbed it! Got it home and the 1st thing I looked at is the viewfinder with no lens on and at the sky! NO DIRT OR DUST under the prism! Popped the lens on and it feels GREAT! I have the Sony here as well and the Nikon seems to be the winner so far! Big differnece from my D7000 ! They kept the dual SD card slots which is nice!

The sony lens is 18-250 f3.5-6.3 They seem close is there a difference in the aperature I know the Nikon has the VR ! Thank you for ALL your replies!

----------

nikon d600 was the culprit of dusty & oily sensors and they replaced it with the d610

can you please share with which models you experienced these?

oled viewfinder is not really advisable

Why is the oled viewfinder not advisable? Thanks!

 

[needfx]

UPDATE: I was in our local Costco today and they had a BUNDLE for the Nikin D7100 which included the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VRII Lens! So I grabbed it! Got it home and the 1st thing I looked at is the viewfinder with no lens on and at the sky! NO DIRT OR DUST under the prism! Popped the lens on and it feels GREAT! I have the Sony here as well and the Nikon seems to be the winner so far! Big differnece from my D7000 ! They kept the dual SD card slots which is nice!

The sony lens is 18-250 f3.5-6.3 They seem close is there a difference in the aperature I know the Nikon has the VR ! Thank you for ALL your replies!

----------



Why is the oled viewfinder not advisable? Thanks!

EVF Advantages
The advantage of electronic viewfinders is you get to see exactly what the camera's sensor sees and your view of a scene is never obstructed when taking a photo (your view is momentarily blocked when taking photos on DSLR cameras). Some cameras also augment the EVF display in various ways, such as by highlighting areas in focus ('peaking' autofocus), simulating the motion blur you'll see if you take a photo and automatically boosting brightness when shooting very dark scenes.

OVF Advantages
Since the image in an optical viewfinder relies on the actual light passing through a camera rather than a digital representation, they offer a few unique benefits. Optical viewfinders provide much better clarity, better dynamic range (roughly, ability to resolve scenes with extreme differences in brightness) and an instantanteous view of the action lacking the delay found in some EVF systems.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/glossary/optical-vs-electronic-viewfinders

 

[snerkler]

UPDATE: I was in our local Costco today and they had a BUNDLE for the Nikin D7100 which included the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VRII Lens! So I grabbed it! Got it home and the 1st thing I looked at is the viewfinder with no lens on and at the sky! NO DIRT OR DUST under the prism! Popped the lens on and it feels GREAT! I have the Sony here as well and the Nikon seems to be the winner so far! Big differnece from my D7000 ! They kept the dual SD card slots which is nice!

The sony lens is 18-250 f3.5-6.3 They seem close is there a difference in the aperature I know the Nikon has the VR ! Thank you for ALL your replies!

----------



Why is the oled viewfinder not advisable? Thanks!

Strangely I had my heart set on the D7100 before I bought the A77, but after trying out the D7100 in store it wasn't for me due to the slow AF in live view, and lack of AF in video as well as not being able to use the viewfinder in video. But the biggest thing was the ergonomics, the Sony wins hands down IMO. These things aren't light and so ergonomics are important. According to reviews the Nikon is supposed to have arguably better IQ, and less noise. Plus Nikon supposedly do the best glass, although the Carl Zeiss and sony G range are far from shabby.

As for the electronic viewfinder, it's a revelation in the A77 and A99, they've really nailed it. Some say it's not as good for fast panning but I've had no issues. The only thing is there's a slight 'break' in continuous shooting ie the screen goes blank for a split second while capturing the shot, so if you're panning you might lose the subject. Again I don't find that an issue, but it's certainly a disadvantage over the traditional viewfinder.

The advantages of the EVF are the ability to see through it at low light, but the main one for me is seeing setting changes in the viewfinder. For example, if you change white balance, exposure etc you see what these changes look like before you take the shot. Also you can choose to have the histogram and other nice features in the viewfinder too.

Peaking is a nice feature of the A77 (not sure if the nikon has it?), and the adjustable screen is great, especially when using a tripod.

Both cameras are superb though and Im sure you'll be happy with whichever you choose.

 

[harleymhs]

Strangely I had my heart set on the D7100 before I bought the A77, but after trying out the D7100 in store it wasn't for me due to the slow AF in live view, and lack of AF in video as well as not being able to use the viewfinder in video. But the biggest thing was the ergonomics, the Sony wins hands down IMO. These things aren't light and so ergonomics are important. According to reviews the Nikon is supposed to have arguably better IQ, and less noise. Plus Nikon supposedly do the best glass, although the Carl Zeiss and sony G range are far from shabby.

As for the electronic viewfinder, it's a revelation in the A77 and A99, they've really nailed it. Some say it's not as good for fast panning but I've had no issues. The only thing is there's a slight 'break' in continuous shooting ie the screen goes blank for a split second while capturing the shot, so if you're panning you might lose the subject. Again I don't find that an issue, but it's certainly a disadvantage over the traditional viewfinder.

The advantages of the EVF are the ability to see through it at low light, but the main one for me is seeing setting changes in the viewfinder. For example, if you change white balance, exposure etc you see what these changes look like before you take the shot. Also you can choose to have the histogram and other nice features in the viewfinder too.

Peaking is a nice feature of the A77 (not sure if the nikon has it?), and the adjustable screen is great, especially when using a tripod.

Both cameras are superb though and Im sure you'll be happy with whichever you choose.

Great, Now I have BOTH here and You guys really confused the heck out me!
LOL

 

[snerkler]

Great, Now I have BOTH here and You guys really confused the heck out me!
LOL

Image

Lol. Try them out and go with what you feel most comfortable with. Forget comparing IQ between them, too many variables, most notably the lens which you can swap anyway.

Get a feel for which you prefer using, which you prefer the layout of and which feels most comfortable. Enjoying using the camera is probably the most important thing. If you enjoy it you'll use it a lot. If you don't you'll soon find it'll become an expensive dust collector/ornament.

 

[needfx]

looks wise between the two, the sony wins. nikons always looked horrible to me

also you should take note of this snapsort comparison

 

[snerkler]

looks wise between the two, the sony wins. nikons always looked horrible to me

also you should take note of this snapsort comparison

Lol

P.S. I actually prefer the look of Nikons, I think they always look more professional somehow. The trouble is they feel like bricks, the curves of the sony do fit your hands better imo

P.P.S. Those kind of reviews are pointless imo, all it's doing is comparing spec and doesn't really give any indication of how the cameras perform per se, and what the usability is like.

 

[needfx]

P.P.S. Those kind of reviews are pointless imo, all it's doing is comparing spec and doesn't really give any indication of how the cameras perform per se, and what the usability is like.

true, but not entirely true

this particular website provides a pretty clear view of all the gimmicks, useless or not, and of course direct spec comparison otherwise hard to retrieve.

 

[snerkler]

Well it is good for direct spec comparison I guess. But the way that their system works some things they are say are a positive for one and so score it for this are subject to opinion, so the results can be very skewed.

 

[kallisti]

UPDATE: I was in our local Costco today and they had a BUNDLE for the Nikin D7100 which included the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VRII Lens! So I grabbed it! Got it home and the 1st thing I looked at is the viewfinder with no lens on and at the sky! NO DIRT OR DUST under the prism! Popped the lens on and it feels GREAT! I have the Sony here as well and the Nikon seems to be the winner so far! Big differnece from my D7000 ! They kept the dual SD card slots which is nice!

The sony lens is 18-250 f3.5-6.3 They seem close is there a difference in the aperature I know the Nikon has the VR ! Thank you for ALL your replies!

----------



Why is the oled viewfinder not advisable? Thanks!

*Never* let a camera body be without an attached lens if you can avoid it. *Never* take a camera body without an attached lens outside and point it at the sky looking for dust/dirt/grime/whatever on the viewfinder. Even if the shutter is closed, you are exposing the inner workings of the camera to the environment. Dust/particles will get onto the shutter and then possibly onto the sensor.

I'm not fully understanding your issue with the prism/viewfinder. But if you take a camera body without an attached lens outside and hold it up to look at the sky, you *will* end up with dust on your sensor and that *will* negatively impact the quality of the images you shoot with the camera.

 

[snerkler]

*Never* let a camera body be without an attached lens if you can avoid it. *Never* take a camera body without an attached lens outside and point it at the sky looking for dust/dirt/grime/whatever on the viewfinder. Even if the shutter is closed, you are exposing the inner workings of the camera to the environment. Dust/particles will get onto the shutter and then possibly onto the sensor.

I'm not fully understanding your issue with the prism/viewfinder. But if you take a camera body without an attached lens outside and hold it up to look at the sky, you *will* end up with dust on your sensor and that *will* negatively impact the quality of the images you shoot with the camera.

Agree with this re the dust on the sensor, recipe for disaster 'using' the camera without a lens or cover on.
This is another advantage of the sony, much less prone to dust on the sensor due to the fixed mirror.

 

[harleymhs]

*Never* let a camera body be without an attached lens if you can avoid it. *Never* take a camera body without an attached lens outside and point it at the sky looking for dust/dirt/grime/whatever on the viewfinder. Even if the shutter is closed, you are exposing the inner workings of the camera to the environment. Dust/particles will get onto the shutter and then possibly onto the sensor.

I'm not fully understanding your issue with the prism/viewfinder. But if you take a camera body without an attached lens outside and hold it up to look at the sky, you *will* end up with dust on your sensor and that *will* negatively impact the quality of the images you shoot with the camera.

Not talking about swapping lens , I had ISSUES with Nikons with DIRT under the prisms and when you looked in the VF you saw dirt and dust that could not be blown off because it was on the upper side of the prism!

 

[snerkler]

UPDATE: I was in our local Costco today and they had a BUNDLE for the Nikin D7100 which included the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VRII Lens!
The sony lens is 18-250 f3.5-6.3 They seem close is there a difference in the aperature I know the Nikon has the VR ! Thank you for ALL your replies!

The apertures at the short focal length are the same at 3.5. At the long end the sony is slightly smaller, probably due to the fact it's longer.

VR has nothing to do with aperture, it is Nikon's lens image stabilisation. Sony doesn't need lens stabilisation as it's in body.

 

[harleymhs]

The apertures at the short focal length are the same at 3.5. At the long end the sony is slightly smaller, probably due to the fact it's longer.

VR has nothing to do with aperture, it is Nikon's lens image stabilisation. Sony doesn't need lens stabilisation as it's in body.

I know that! Thanks!

 

[snerkler]

I know that! Thanks!

Ok, just you asked if there was a difference in the aperture and in the same sentence you said you know nikon has VR so you can see my confusion ;-)

 

[harleymhs]

Ok, just you asked if there was a difference in the aperture and in the same sentence you said you know nikon has VR so you can see my confusion ;-)

yes, thank you for your reply!!! Happy Holidays!!

 

[guzhogi]

One web site you may want to check out for Sony A & E-mount lenses is http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/results.asp

It has reviews, and you can filter for specific things like manufacturer, Prime/Macro/Zoom, aperture, etc. It doesn't let you buy the lenses, but it's a good resource.

I have a Sony A65 & 99. Really good cameras; very underrated IMO. Many 3rd party lens manufacturers make compatible lenses. Plus, for outdoor work, many Sony cameras have built-in GPS, which I like. I haven't seen that many Nikons nor Canons with that.