Hi

I want to get a zoom lens for my Sony A200 and have been looking on ebay for a second hand one (tight budget). There are a lot of the old minolta ones out there but I’m not really an expert.

Can anyone recommed me a desent zoom lens (around 300mm) for sensible money new or second hand.

Thanks

Any of the minolta 75 or 100 – 300mm will do. Have a look at Dyxum for specific reviews.

Or… Bristol Cameras have Tamron 50-200s for £59 (new) online. Same as the Sony 50-200 except the badge. Gets surprisingly good reviews.

Yeah the Tamron will be a good bet.

I bought the Sigma version which had a slightly better review for having a metal mount, and the pictures were sharper.

Bought mine off Ebay for £45 all in.

The 300mm zooms will obviously be better for long distances, but they are much bulkier than these little 55-200mm, which is pretty much the same size as the 18-70mm kit lens.

Do you research if you’re buying used sigma lenses they have some absolute crap stuff in their range (along with lots of good stuff) and some of the older stuff won’t work with the a200.

Along with the stuff already mentioned try to get one with image stabilisation (or does the Sony have a built in stabiliser? – in which case ignore).

Unless you are in good light, shooting with an unstabilised long lens (or stabilised body) tends to result in a lot of camera shake.

Sony has IS in the body.

As I was typing my post, I had a thought that it might – similar to my KonicaMonolta Dimage Z3 then, I imagine?
Seems to be the sensible way to do it, really rather than in the lens.

It’s good enough to let you use a 500mm lens free-hand, which is pretty mind-boggling (especially as the view-finder isn’t stabilised so it looks like you’re all over the place).

The Sigma 70-300 APO is worth a look at around 160 quid new. Being from the budget end of the Sigma range, it tends not to suffer from the poor quality control of their more expensive offerings 😯 (don’t get me started on the 10-20mm). Image quality at the 300mm end is reputedly soft but can’t say as I’ve noticed to be honest.

MRanger156,

Don’t mean to hijack your thread but I was interested in buying an A200.

How are you getting on with it? Anything you’d have got differently?
I’m really torn between the Nikon d60 and this a200.

Any advise?

I like my A200 and at the time (not sure about now) it seemed the best option for the money I had. I thought about getting the A300 with the liveview but I dont miss not having it at all. Faster burst shots would be nice but I think the stated 3 per second is pretty accurate.

I’m a novice but the photos it produces seem very good and the only times is produces bad shots are when I try and fiddle with the settings!

If they are the same price I would prob get the Nikon though but would highly recommend the A200 for a budget SLR.

I have a few Minolta lenses, so buying a Sony was a no-brainer. Not too fussed about liveview – I prefer just looking through a viewfinder 🙂

No regrets from me either. The 300/350 don’t seem to offer anything other than liveview which I’d prefer not to have anyway (one more thing to break). The a900 is a good upgrade path in a couple of years, which is a bonus.

I can’t say the live view is a major seller point for me either.

There’s about £50 difference between the nikon d60 and the sony a200.

Not much but £50 could pay for a bag and perhaps a memory card.

Think I better sleep on it!

Don’t know if it matters to you but have a look at the sony camera version of this place. Not sure if there’s a Nikon equivalent.