Time for new lens!

[Bruno28]

I have a sony alpha 550 with the twin kit lens 18-55mm and 55-200mm.

Are they good enough or should I upgrade them to a better one??

I was thinking of a lens or lenses with 18mm to a max of 300mm That can be used from mostly taking pictures of landscape, birds and buildings/constructions.
I know there might not exist a lens with those requirements, but there can be two lenses if required.

The brands I've been looking at are zeiss, sigma and tamron. The problem with zeiss is that they are far too expensive. Tamron are more in my price range.
Is there the possibility of buying a second hand lens??
The price range I was thinking about is 500 usd.

Any recomendations??

Thanks in advance.

[TCav]

For architectural photography, you really need a wide angle lens without much rectilinear distortion. Sigma's 18-50/2.8 and Tamron's 17-50/2.8 are better than the kit 18-55 for that.

For birds, your 55-200 isn't very good unless you're talking about cardinals at the bird feeder outside your window. For large and medium size birds in the wild, a 300mm lens would do ok. Sony's 70-300 'G' is excellent but expensive. Tamron's 70-300 Di LD is the best insexpensive alternative. For small birds, you'll need something longer.

[Bruno28]

Thanks TCav!
I've seen your option and they are in my consideration.

I've found some other options that are inside my price range but i don't know if they are good enough quality wise.

1. AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/18250_diII.asp

2. AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro
http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/28300_di.asp

3. DT 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...233511#reviews

4. DT Carl Zeiss 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Zoom
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...39065#features

The first and third options are competitors since they are 18-250mm, they both replace the use of 2 separate lenses and have similar prices, so which one is better??

The forth option is another option for closer images, but is that lens any good?

[TCav]

Tamron makes the 18-250 for Sony. Sony's version costs more and has a shorter warranty, but it's autofocus gearing is faster than the one in the Tamron. For Birding, you may need the faster autofocus.

The Sony/Zeiss 16-80 is an excellent lens. It vignettes wide open, but it should do your architectural shooting very well.

[Wonger]

Theres a used zeiss currently on ebay..

[Bruno28]

Thanks TCav and Wonger

i found this lens on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....#ht_500wt_1182

its bidding now for 205 AUD. Which is a great price for me even thou it is used.
what do you think?? should i try and get it?

also if im want to sell the kit lenses so that it helps me pay for the one i'm about to buy, do you think it is possible to sell it??

[Bruno28]

I didn't get a chance to buy the ebay lens, the bid went over 600, so was not worth it.

Can anyone tell me how much better would a sony zeiss 16-80mm would be compared to the kit 18-55mm, besides the greater zoom??? Would it be noticeable sharpness or image quality??

[Wonger]

I just got the sigma 17-70 DC macro and i like it more than the kit lens.. its noticeably shaper and faster