Which kit lens to use?

[Pink Dragonfly]

When I bought the a700 I didn't have a choice at the time, I couldn't get just the body or with CZ 16-18mm. So now I have the Sony 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens as well as my old Minolta kit lens 24-85mm f3.5-4.5. Which one is the better of the two? They cover nearly the same range but the old Minolta would appear to be faster at longer range with a max aperture of f4.5. But presumably the Sony has been adjusted to a DSLR?

So, any ideas to which is the better of the two that should be on my camera for allround shooting?

Mette

[Canuck935]

I guess that would depend on if you shoot mostly on the long end or the wide end. I'm a wide angle person myself, so personally I'd choose the wider 18-70. The Minolta is a bit faster and longer, but I would say the difference between the 18mm and 24mm wide ends outweighs the difference between 70mm and 85mm on the long end. I suspect the 24-85 might suffer from more CA as well, which seems to be the case on the older pre-digital era lenses.

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks, Canuck How come you are not moderator in this forum??? As far as I know, we don't have any, and you seem to have the answer for everything! What is CA, by the way?

I have the Sigma 17-35mm from my old Minolta, which I tend to use if I'm specifically going for wide angle shooting. Of course, I'd love to have the CZ lens eventually...

Mette

[Anbesol]

CA is chromatic abberation, its blurring on bright high contrast edges, to put it simply. CA is the most obnoxious lens problem, much worse than the likes of flare or the sorts. More narrow apertures generally eliminate most CA, at least thats been my experience.

I dont have any experience with the 24-85 my self, I would take pictures of some text and some square boxes with both lens and see which one has the best distortion and the least CA... Dyxum.com has the 24-85 rated better than the sony.

[Canuck935]

CA is chromatic abberation, its blurring on bright high contrast edges, to put it simply. CA is the most obnoxious lens problem, much worse than the likes of flare or the sorts. More narrow apertures generally eliminate most CA, at least thats been my experience.

I dont have any experience with the 24-85 my self, I would take pictures of some text and some square boxes with both lens and see which one has the best distortion and the least CA... Dyxum.com has the 24-85 rated better than the sony.

To add to that, it often leads to a color fringe on those high contrast edges. Here is an example. This is a 100% crop from an image taken with the beercan. As great as that lens is, CA is definitely its biggest weakness. Here you see it as "purple fringing" on the outline of the bottom of the fuselage, and blue fringe on the leading edge of the wing.

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks for illuminating me, Canuck and Anbesol

Mette

[NoKnees]

And just to follow up with everyone else, yah, I'd probably lean with the 18-70mm Sony myself as well. I played with one briefly on my a100 before selling it, and moving up to the a700. Looking at some of the old shots with it, I'm still really impressed.

On either of the two lenses you mention you would need to stop down a little to get the sharpest shots. This helps with the CA issue on the Minolta lenses, but doesn't completely get rid of it... One more reason I liked the Sony kit...

Lastly, like others, I found I really missed the 18mm wide end when I didn't have it... 28mm+ was a fine wide end for FF, but not for our smaller crop sensors.. Sure, the 17-35 fills the bill, but I found myself switching lenses more than I wanted to...

Anyway, stick with the Sony until you can find a way to get the CZ lens... ;)

For me, I went with a Tamron 18-250mm for the times where I could only take one lens with me. That or the Sony version actually do a pretty good job for big zooms...

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks, guys!

Mette