Sony users

hunterman_78

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 19, 2015
Messages
100
Location
PAC NW
I’m wanting to upgrade my kit lens. I’m thinking the Sony 18-105? Would like to get a “all around” lens. How would this stack up? Also thinking of getting a 50mm f1.8 for some portraits around the house. Than possibly a 70-200 or 70-300 sometime down the road for taking to the mtns looking for some critter.
I’d also like to hear what you guys are running on your cameras. Whatcha guys got?
 

BAKPAKR

WKR
Joined
May 10, 2018
Messages
1,477
Location
Appalachia
I’m wanting to upgrade my kit lens. I’m thinking the Sony 18-105? Would like to get a “all around” lens. How would this stack up? Also thinking of getting a 50mm f1.8 for some portraits around the house. Than possibly a 70-200 or 70-300 sometime down the road for taking to the mtns looking for some critter.
I’d also like to hear what you guys are running on your cameras. Whatcha guys got?


Does your camera have a full frame or crop sensor? If cropped, your effective focal length with the 18-105 will be roughly 27-158 (1.5X).

I have an A6400, which is a crop sensor camera. When I got it, I was looking for an all around lens. I wound up with an 18-135 f3.5-5.6. I take mostly still photographs vs video. I have been very happy with the lens. I get a little more range with it than I would with the 18-105 f4. The downside is the variable aperture. I have been told that the fixed (for the bottom end) aperture lens is better for video.
 
OP
H

hunterman_78

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 19, 2015
Messages
100
Location
PAC NW
I’ve got the a6000, so a crop sensor. I was originally going to upgrade that to a a7iii but decided to get maybe the a6400 or 6600 since they don’t make the 6500 anymore.
I’m thinking I might go the 18-105 way since I do a little video stuff. Maybe 40% vid and 60% photos. I also really like that the 105 has the zoom all internal...
 
Joined
Jan 13, 2017
Messages
1,441
Only reason to get the 18-105 is if you do mostly video. The power zoom is great for that. If you have a full frame sensor then that lens is out.
If video is not important then go with the 18-135. It's a great lens, assuming u have a crop sensor. The 70-200 F4 is terrific as is the 50mm 1.8
 

Hunt the Top

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 15, 2019
Messages
169
Location
N ID
Ran the 18-105 all season long on an a6500 and it performed very well. Run and gun video for archery hunting, also takes great photos. Love the fixed aperture.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2013
Messages
641
Location
Arizona
Only reason to get the 18-105 is if you do mostly video. The power zoom is great for that. If you have a full frame sensor then that lens is out.
If video is not important then go with the 18-135.

Second this.

The 18-105 is a bit more stable for video and can deal with zoom crash techniques for video.

The 18-135 is noticeably more compact and every bit as sharp.

Not a great indoor lens, though. For that you’d better pony up for a 1.8 prime.
 

tdhanses

WKR
Joined
Sep 26, 2018
Messages
5,721
Personally I think one of the best lenses for the Sony is the samyang/rokonin 12mm f2. Yes it is a manual lens but man is it a great one to have especially for video.
 

section8mainiac

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
258
Location
WI
I have a Sony A6400 and Love my kit 18-135 lens. Next one will be a 1.8 prime when my piggy bank allows :)
 

smoothie25

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Messages
136
Location
Illinois
I have a Sony 16-70 f4 that I recently got and I love it for my A6000. It's a huge upgrade compared to the kit lens 18-55 I was using. It's great for travel while we're living in Europe and traveling. The 16-70 zoom covers alot of the shots I typically take when traveling. Worked well for a couple duck and pheasant hunts when I was home over the holidays too.

I also have a Rokinon 12mm f2 that is great for landscapes and night photos. My next purchase will be a new zoom lens.. the 55-210 kit lens I have does ok but I'd like some more zoom. Not to hijack the thread but would love to hear if anyone else has experience with crop lenses in the +300mm range.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KWNA1VS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 I know this one is real cheap but I bought it just to see if I wanted to spend the money on a good prime lens. It's actually kinda fun running around taking pics with this one. It has a manual aperture dial and it's taught me alot about aperture and getting good bokeh. It's tough to take pics of my dog b/c of the manual focus but the pics are pretty clear given the price.
 

idcuda

WKR
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
461
Location
SW ID
I know this one is real cheap...

That's crazy they make ANY lens that cheap. Good idea to get one as a test lens, though, since the primes take some getting used to. I have the 18-135 for my a6400 and I just picked up the Sigma 16 1.4 - both are great. I think the primes have their place, but I definitely prefer the zoom range on the 18-135. That thing will cover most of what I want to do.

I had a Nikon 55-300 for my D5200 (crop sensor). It was a lot of fun while out hunting - that long zoom was something similar to 9x binos, if I'm not mistaken. Animals were never very sharp at that zoom for me, since I was usually hand-shooting. If there was a ton of light, I could get good pics of animals a few hundred yards away.
 

THLR

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 6, 2020
Messages
257
I have a Sony 16-70 f4 that I recently got and I love it for my A6000.

I use the same 16-70mm for my Sony A7S and like it very much for filming.
I supplement with GoPro 7, but the I'm not too happy about image quality.
I also have a Canon Powershot for zoom, but would like to replace this with a another lens, not sure what to get yet.

The Sony batteries (NP-FW50) have proven very good in the cold, the Canon NB-10L I also use has a similar charge but capacity between the two is not comparable. I get about 8-12 minutes from the Canon but most of the day with the Sony despite similar mAh range.

This is mostly done with the 16-70mm

 

Jordan Budd

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
2,743
Location
NW Nebraska
I’m wanting to upgrade my kit lens. I’m thinking the Sony 18-105? Would like to get a “all around” lens. How would this stack up? Also thinking of getting a 50mm f1.8 for some portraits around the house. Than possibly a 70-200 or 70-300 sometime down the road for taking to the mtns looking for some critter.
I’d also like to hear what you guys are running on your cameras. Whatcha guys got?

I run an A73 and A7s2. The lens I use the most is a 24-70. My all time favorite lens was the 18-135 I had on my Canon. Also had a 24-105 that was good. My suggestion for a good all around lens has always been either the 18-135 or the 24-105.

I’d go the 70-300 route for animals. I have a 70-200 and I like it, but I wish I had more punch sometimes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

THLR

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 6, 2020
Messages
257
I’d go the 70-300 route for animals. I have a 70-200 and I like it, but I wish I had more punch sometimes.

Anyone using the 100-400 size?
With the 16-70mm, allthough lens quality is excellent, I am basically lacking muscle the moment I need to capture an animal (animal + panorama excepted). Same if true when I want to do closeups of camp routines, I am unable to fill the pictureframe with small details (for example, scope settings, how a lever works, closeup of animal etc)

Been looking at the 100-400 to solve one of these problems, but it is $$$$ and would be daft to spend that kind of money and still be left wanting.
 

Jordan Budd

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
2,743
Location
NW Nebraska
Anyone using the 100-400 size?
With the 16-70mm, allthough lens quality is excellent, I am basically lacking muscle the moment I need to capture an animal (animal + panorama excepted). Same if true when I want to do closeups of camp routines, I am unable to fill the pictureframe with small details (for example, scope settings, how a lever works, closeup of animal etc)

Been looking at the 100-400 to solve one of these problems, but it is $$$$ and would be daft to spend that kind of money and still be left wanting.

I’ve used the Canon 100-400 a bit. I liked that range okay, but one thing I didn’t like about it was the lens slid in and out to zoom in and out. Hard to do it smooth.

Something on your Sony, do you use the clear image zoom?? Within your camera. It works great and basically punches in 2x for video and doesn’t lose quality. Turns my 200 into a 400. Would be even cooler turning a 400 into an 800 but it’s a good way to get more length. Like on your 16-70, you could punch into 140mm.
 

THLR

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 6, 2020
Messages
257
Thanks, I had no idea. The Sony A7 is new to me and this is the first year I'm filming all manual.

Just reviewed all my film from a recent trip. Closeups of gear and animals is definitively where I have too little foto. Not enough "epic" landscapes either, but that's just me being lazy and not wanting to freeze.
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2020
Messages
15
Location
Wyoming
The best “all around lens” in my opinion is the 70-200mm

it’s great for portraits, can be decent for landscapes, 2.8 for good background blur and sharp AF thru all focal lengths.
Add a 1.4 or 2x doubler and you can reach out a bit further for wildlife.

I carry the 70-200, Ziess 50mm, 100-400, and 200-600 for my A7Riv

The 100-400 is a great lens!
 

THLR

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 6, 2020
Messages
257
A lot of this film is my sony A7S with the Sony f4 16-70mm lens, some GoPro and a Canon Powershot for zoom supplement.

Really pleased with how well this camera (batteries) handle cold weather and shifting light conditions. The lack of "epic" landscapes is mostly a result of me being lazy.

After some use I have noticed I'm wanting more at both ends of the lens, more wide angle at 16mm and a better closeup than the 70mm offers. If I bought again, I would have spent some more money and bought something like the Sony f4 24-105 instead and supplemented that with a landscape lens (if needed). I really don't like changing lenses in the field, kills my fingers and the camera is so easily polluted.

 
Top