verdict

The Sony 75-300mm is a very useful addition to the standard DT 18-70mm kit lens, greatly extending the available range to include powerful telephoto facilities. This makes it ideal for portraits, sports and wildlife photography, or simply getting closer to any distant subjects.

In terms of build and optical quality, the 75-300mm is roughly equivalent to the DT 18-70mm kit lens, so while it will extend your focal range, it won’t be a step-up in terms of overall quality. The focusing is relatively slow and loud, and the front section also rotates which will annoy users of polarising filters.

It’s also interesting to note the A100’s built-in anti-shake also proved less effective in our tests at longer focal lengths than it did with the standard kit lens range – see Features. To be fair, this could have been the conditions of the day, but it’s important to note any wobbles are greatly magnified when this lens is zoomed-in and it can often be hard to compose as you don’t see the effect of the stabilisation through the A100’s viewfinder. That’s the big downside with in-camera stabilisation.

Ultimately the 75-300mm is a budget lens but performs well for the price. If you bought an A100 with a single lens, it’s well worth considering, although you should also check out the Sigma 18-200mm and Tamron 18-200mm alternatives, along with Sony’s own version. They may not zoom as close, but they do have the convenience of a single lens solution.

If you’ve decided the A100’s right for you but not bought it yet though, the twin lens kit sporting the DT 18-70mm and 75-300mm lenses is a great option. It’ll give you a highly flexible focal range at a low price that’ll suit many photographers for a long time.

NEW: For an overview of the headline features of this lens, check our Sony 75-300mm lens video tour.

Good points 4x telephoto zoom, complements kit lens. Budget price especially in twin lens kit. Anti-shake thanks to A100 body. Lens hood included. Bad points Soft in extreme corners when zoomed-out. Slow and noisy focusing. End section rotates while focusing. Anti-shake less effective at 300mm in our tests.		Scores (relative to other zooms)
		Build quality: Optical quality: Specification: Value: Overall:	17 / 25 18 / 25 15 / 25 20 / 25 70%