Camera Labs

After receiving a new Sony A100 I have been having a little look at glass available.

I have heard about this 18-250 lens that may be available soon and looking at the sony 18-200 lense. At the same time I have seen more specific length lens's such as the 70 - 300 and 11 - 18 lens.

What is the best to go for, a single lens with a nice range or multiple lens's which have a more specific range? Are there any pro's and cons between these two options? I like the idea of one lens that does everything but wondering what the cons are if any

Toby, there is one simple difference:
Lenses with shorter zoom-range can be better in the IQ-department.
This is not to say that they must be better, so watch out for actual lens-test before you decide, if you're interested in the highest IQ.
Otherwise there have been some quite good designs with 11x zooms, esp. the Nikkor VR 18-200

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I have read that the 18-250 is better than the Tamron equivalent which sounds very promising. But super zooms comes at a price, at tests they are soft at specific focal lengths, distorted and they are slow (small aperture) compared to more serious lenses. Those factors might not be an issue for you?

I would recommend multiple lenses and if you want to supplement you kit lens try a 50/1.7 and 70-210/4 (beercan) combination from Minolta (can be bought second hand). The latter should be better than the 70-300 from Sony.

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Minolta primes: 2.8/20 2.8/24 1.7/50 2.8/135
Minolta zooms: 28-135 35-70 70-210(beercan) kit
Minolta cameras: Dynax 5D 7000
M42: Pentax Asahi S-M-C Takumar 1.4/50 and 2.8/105 Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 2.4/35 Industar-61L/Z Kiron 2.8/105 Macro

70-300G SSM will be a good choice if you already have the A100 kit lens. But if you don't, get the 18-250. The focussing speed is very fast for a superzoom lens although the small aperture. If you have the money, get the CZ16-80 and 70-200G SSM f2.8 . It's the best combo

I bought the 18-250 in December and absolutely love it. The only time I've taken it off is for low light where I use my Sigma 24-60mm 2.8 or 50mm 1.7. It's an incredible lens especially for its price. Little CA compared to my 75-300 and a very solid design. For a walkaround lens it can't be beaten IMO. Focusing is also very very fast, much better than my 18-200 Sigma and my 75-300 Sony. I wish they'd do a review of it here soon as it is unmatched and gives Sony a huge advantage to its competition in that space.