My new camera

[planelove]

after much deliberation I picked up a sony alpha200 in target for 175 marked down from 500.

it comes with an 18-70 lens and I am thinking about getting this one too http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... slickdeals

I have alot to learn about it.

Does anyone here use one of these cameras and does anyone thing that the lens is wothwhile..

Thanks

[MarkLawrence]

Get in touch with Andy (kc2agq) - he has a Sony as well - he can probably help you the most.

[kc2aqg]

Hey Planelove-

Sounds like you got a great deal on the A200. I love that camera body, it's real easy to use and takes excellent pictures. You will soon find (most likely) that the 18-70 kit lens and the 75-300 kit lens, the one mine came with, are lacking in sharpness though.

I looked at the Tamron and Sigma 18-200 lenses. Personally, I decided on the Sigma because I felt both in person at B&H and felt that the Tamron was made more of plastic and a little less sturdy, and for a price difference of only about $30 at the time, I felt it was worth it. The Sigma 18-200 has been great to me, I've kept that lens on for most of my shooting while occasionally switching to the telephoto for planespotting. I am going to go for a 400 or 500 range lens eventually, but that's only when the money starts flowing in.

Feel free to PM me if you need any advice or would like to talk more about Sony stuff. I personally love the camera and have been very happy with it, just sometimes feel a bit limited by the lens selection as compared with Canon or Nikon. But you can't beat it for the price you paid, it will treat you well!

P.s. one word of advice - keep your sensor clean and I would invest in a rocket blower. The in-body sensor cleaning doesn't do much for stubborn pieces of dust, and I find myself using the rocketblower whenever I change lenses to prevent any sort of dust spot buildup on the sensor.

[planelove]

Thanks alot

I picked up a brand new Tamron 28-200 for $90 (god bless CL). I feel like Im am still lacking at the mounds. would a 2x lens like this http://bit.ly/u0yWq be the answer my problems.

Secondly where can I get more info on this rocket blower...are you referring to this http://bit.ly/10dJAI


Nathan

[kc2aqg]

Hi Nathan-

Yes, your link to the rocketblower is exactly what I am talking about. However, the lens you linked to is just a 2X lens, nothing more. What you are thinking of is a 2X teleconverter, which attaches to whatever other lens you have and doubles the range (not exactly double due to crop factor since the A200 has a crop sensor). However, I'm not an advocate of use of teleconverters on lenses that don't have really high quality to start with, since image quality will take a hit with the teleconverter. However, if you can find one cheap and want to experiment with it, go right ahead. I've never used a teleconverter on the Sony, so I can't speak at all to the results. 200mm may be on the edge of the lens's usable range for sharpness, but it should be enough for the big stuff at the mounds. I am usually at around 105mm for 744's, so anything from a 757 on up should be fine with that lens. A320 and smaller may be an issue. Hope this helped!

Andy

[PhilDernerJr]

I was going to reply, but Andy's advice was spot-on.