Bryan Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 There is now a confusing range of zoom lenses available for the Sony CSCs. It would be useful to see an objective review comparing the options. DT 16–50mm F2.8 SSM 16-70 f4 18-105 f4 18-135 F3.5-5.6 I have just picked up on the Meike 28mm f/2.8 - which is incredibly cheap (less than £80) and appears to be have sharp optics - if you can live with manual focus. I really don't know if lens technology has now advanced to the point where 3x and more zoom glass can give excellent results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 On 01/03/2018 at 10:25, Allan Bell said: That makes the lens £495 in good old British pounds. An aside: Strange that when we entered the European market we did not go with the Euro and kept the £1 coin. They must have known that the British people were going to vote to leave at some point in the future. Allan Separate issue. There are other EU members outside the eurozone and not committed to join it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnie5 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 This Kid does a pretty good job comparing lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 1 hour ago, Bryan said: There is now a confusing range of zoom lenses available for the Sony CSCs. It would be useful to see an objective review comparing the options. DT 16–50mm F2.8 SSM 16-70 f4 18-105 f4 18-135 F3.5-5.6 I have just picked up on the Meike 28mm f/2.8 - which is incredibly cheap (less than £80) and appears to be have sharp optics - if you can live with manual focus. I really don't know if lens technology has now advanced to the point where 3x and more zoom glass can give excellent results. I had thought about getting the Meike 28mm. I believe it goes by other brand names as well. Reviews say that it's sharp in the centre but fuzzy around the edges. No? Sony is really good at confusing its customers, which is one of the reasons (other than financial ones) that I stuck with the original Sony E 18-55. It's still doing the job for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Thanks for that Johnnie, a useful comparison. I wasn't aware that the DT 16–50mm F2.8 SSM requires an intelligent adaptor - not an attractive proposition re price or weight! The tests are slightly inconclusive, the three E fit zooms have strengths and weaknesses. The Zeiss appears pricey for what it delivers. I also watched his recommendation on which lenses to buy and agree that the Rokinon 12mm f2 is a good choice, it's not perfect, but, for the money it's sharp and contrasty. The 18-105 is possibly his pick, but some pros and cons. I had hoped for a magic bullet, an all rounder that would ease the weight in the camera bag, but may well be sticking with my collection of heritage primes. I like lenses that are sharp from corner to corner, which some of mine are. Just read your post John, a used 18-55 may be worth a look! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 3 minutes ago, Bryan said: Just read your post John, a used 18-55 may be worth a look! They are a real bargain now. It's fine, I find, on the 16MP NEX-6 as a general walk-around lens. 18mm is not great but acceptable. Not sure how it would perform with a 24MP sensor, though. My 18-55 says "Made in Thailand" on it. Some were apparently made in Japan (or perhaps even China). David K. recommended the Thai version if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 17 hours ago, Bryan said: Thanks for that Johnnie, a useful comparison. I wasn't aware that the DT 16–50mm F2.8 SSM requires an intelligent adaptor - not an attractive proposition re price or weight! The tests are slightly inconclusive, the three E fit zooms have strengths and weaknesses. The Zeiss appears pricey for what it delivers. I also watched his recommendation on which lenses to buy and agree that the Rokinon 12mm f2 is a good choice, it's not perfect, but, for the money it's sharp and contrasty. The 18-105 is possibly his pick, but some pros and cons. I had hoped for a magic bullet, an all rounder that would ease the weight in the camera bag, but may well be sticking with my collection of heritage primes. I like lenses that are sharp from corner to corner, which some of mine are. Just read your post John, a used 18-55 may be worth a look! Not sure what happened but I posted a comment on here which seems to have disappeared. I will try again but if you come across the original would you tell me where it is please. Bryan I am using the 16 - 70mm Zeiss lens which I bought in a "black Friday" deal from WEX. At f8 it is sharp from corner to corner, at f5.6 very nearly sharp c to c at all focal lengths. May be that I received the best one to drop off the end of the production line. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 I had a look at the E 18-135 lens "in the flesh" today. Very nice indeed. Looks to be well made (in China, of course) and it's surprisingly light and compact. The manual zooming is very smooth as well. Can't afford one right now, but it's definitely on my wish list, which unfortunately is now substantially bigger than my bank account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnie5 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 I have the Sigma 17-50 2.8 EX DC OS which I originally bought for my Canon 7D. Its a great lens for my Sony A6000 but the auto focus doesn't work with the sigma adapter so I have been using it manual focus only. I would at some point like to get a lens just for the Sony. I think it would be down to the 18-105 or 18 135 for me. Just need a whole lot more sales on Alamy. Here is an interesting development. https://petapixel.com/2018/02/27/sigma-unveils-first-9-art-lenses-sony-e-mount/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 6 hours ago, Johnnie5 said: I have the Sigma 17-50 2.8 EX DC OS which I originally bought for my Canon 7D. Its a great lens for my Sony A6000 but the auto focus doesn't work with the sigma adapter so I have been using it manual focus only. I would at some point like to get a lens just for the Sony. I think it would be down to the 18-105 or 18 135 for me. Just need a whole lot more sales on Alamy. Here is an interesting development. https://petapixel.com/2018/02/27/sigma-unveils-first-9-art-lenses-sony-e-mount/ Interesting. I wonder if Sigma has any new E lenses for Sony APS-C cameras in the works. BTW I took a few pictures in the camera store with the new Sony E 18-135, and frankly they don't look any sharper to me than what I'm getting with my much cheaper Sony E 18-55, especially at 18mm. The 18-135 is still a very nice and potentially very useful lens, though. It will be interesting to see additional reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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