Is this lens OK for a Sony 100 Alpha?

[britpol]

Hi, I will have a Sony Alpha 100 next week. I've been offered a Tamron AF aspherical LD 28-300 macro lens extremely cheaply. I want to take photo's of wild life but mainly birds. Would this lens be OK, and if so, how good? Living in Poland gives me the chance to see good species. Also, any comments on the Alpha would help as truly, I AM AN OLD BEGINNER. Thanks in advance.
Les (Britpol)

[pisco]

Hello and welcome,
The A100 is a great camera and all the Minolta AF (A-mount) or lens make for Minolta will work on this camera.
I have not heard about this particular lens, but it should be ok. A very popular and cheap lens is the Minolta 70-210 f/4 (beercan), you can get it for about $150 on ebay.
Another lens that has very good reviews is Tamron 18-250mm.
An for birds, you can get lot's of 3rd parties, 500mm (Sigma 50-500, 170-500, Tamron 200-500) and enjoy the body stabilization for all of them.

[britpol]

dear Pisco, thanks for the info and taking the time to answer my questions. So I'll get the camera and research the suggested lens. The trouble is, in Poland as well as being VERY expensive, they are also rather limited

[pisco]

I did a quick ebay search, and there's one in Poland, but it's not cheap (about US $390):
http://cgi.ebay.com/Minolta-lens-70-...QQcmdZViewItem
, but now there are 4 in the US and 1 in the UK that will ship worldwide.
I do understand that it's not easy, specially if you have to deal with customs. In your situation, I would buy the lens if it's cheap, you won't be dissapointed. I once paid $22 for a 75-200mm f/2.8-3.5 that had a small scratch in glass. I could never see where the scratch is in a picture, even if I see them 100% size, I still use the lens...

[britpol]

Hi Pisco, I thought I'd thanked you for the advice. So let me say it again 'thanks'.