Lilies

[Kazza]

I love lilies, taken at Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, very pleased with the bokeh in this one.

Sony A6500, E55-210 lens, 1/640 sec at f/5.6

 

[Tim Mayo]

Really nice shot! The 55-210 has definitely delivered here in your hands! It is a nice light weight carry everywhere type of lens, although I'm guilty of not using mine for a while now. The E 18-135 could also be an option for you to consider, it has a 0.45m minimum focus distance and is pretty sharp so it's great for close-up shots. I have a gallery of images from this lens here. https://www.alphashooters.com/lenses/sel18135/samples/

 

[Kazza]

Thanks for the recommendation Timothy, I took a look at your gallery and you are right, this lens has a great range. Your close-ups are remarkably sharp and are probably as close as I am likely to shoot too so I am thinking this may well be an option for me. I currently have the Sony Zeiss 16-70mm f/4 lens as my every day lens. Are you familiar with this lens and how would you compare it with the 18-135? Picking your brains even further, if I did go for the 18-135, which telephoto zoom would you recommend for the days when I need a longer reach?

 

[Mike Renny]

That's a really lovely photo! Nice composition and light and nicely exposed too. I had the 16-70 Zeiss lens as my walkabout lens when I owned the a6400. It's s got the same 24-105 focal range in 35mm terms as the most popular full frame Sony lens and as an every day walkabout lens on a crop body camera is hard to beat. I've also heard good things about the 18-135. It's reportedly a very good lens. The only slight limiting factor would be that at 27mm it's slightly narrower at the wide end but then makes up for this at the longer end giving you 202.5mm (in 35mm terms).

If I had a crop body and money was no object (I know that it rarely is!) then the two lenses that would be at the top of my shopping list would be the Sony E 16-55 f2.8G and the Sony E 70-350 G lens that are just about the best two E zoom lenses that Sony make.

 

[Kazza]

Thanks Mike. I’ve ordered a used 18-135 from MPB so will spend some time trying that out But I won’t rush to sell the 16-70 Zeiss just yet. If the new lens meets my needs then I will sell my macro and the 55-210 and use the money to buy the 70-350G. I think that should be sufficient and then I just need to get out there and shoot!

 

[Tim Mayo]

Thanks for the recommendation Timothy, I took a look at your gallery and you are right, this lens has a great range. Your close-ups are remarkably sharp and are probably as close as I am likely to shoot too so I am thinking this may well be an option for me. I currently have the Sony Zeiss 16-70mm f/4 lens as my every day lens. Are you familiar with this lens and how would you compare it with the 18-135? Picking your brains even further, if I did go for the 18-135, which telephoto zoom would you recommend for the days when I need a longer reach?

Sorry Kazza, looks like you have already ordered the 18-135! Sharpness wise it's very similar to the 16-70 but the 18-135 will bring you closer to your subjects as it has a magnification ratio of 0.29x vs 0.23x for the Zeiss. The E 70-350 would probably be the best choice right now if you need more reach and don't want to spend big money for the FE 100-400 or 200-600. You could go with the FE 70-300 if you think you might move over to full frame at some point, but the 70-350 is much lighter and pairs better in my opinion to the a6500. I am working on a comparison between the two lenses but have been so busy lately I haven't had chance to finish it off, but you can see what I have so far here along with some sample images: https://www.alphashooters.com/compare/sony-e-70-350mm-g-vs-fe-70-300-g/

There's also the new Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS which is a full-frame lens but will work fine on the a6500. I hope to get a review done of this lens over the next few weeks, but so far the auto focus performance doesn't appear to be on par with the Sony lenses.

 

[Kazza]

Thanks Tim, read your comparison and agree the 70-350 would be more suitable for me, especially if the 18-135 covers the close-up requirement. Really do appreciate the time you have taken to advise me. BTW, I noticed a mistake in your review when you talk about the focus limiter button, you sat the 70-350 doesn’t have it, then go onto say the 70-350 does, of course you meant the 70-300. Will check out the Sigma you mentioned also. Am in no hurry to get the bigger zoom just yet and when I’m ready to sell my macro, I will try the marketplace forum first.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Thanks for pointing out that mistake Kazza, I'm terrible at proof reading what I write! Yes take your time, I'm sure the 18-135 will keep you occupied for a while! If you do decide to sell your 90mm macro it will probably fetch a good price right now as it's sold out in many places. I think with the lockdown a lot more people have been spending time photographing the little world around us.