Sony mirrorless and lenses: I am renting a Sony a7111 and a Sony 24-70 lens and a Sony FE 100-400 lens. I love the the camera and the long lens!!! I can actually carry the lens. I...

Raptor

I am renting a Sony a7111 and a Sony 24-70 lens and a Sony FE 100-400 lens. I love the the camera and the long lens!!! I can actually carry the lens. I briefly owned the Tampon 150-600 but could not handle it. Eventually I want to buy this camera and a telephoto lens, fast glass with a max range of 105mm. The Sony lenses are much too heavy. I have not done any research yet but can anyone recommend a walk around lens?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Wouldn't the 24-70 be your walkaround? Or, a 24-105 f/4?

Zaydewise Loc: Nashville TN

I use Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 as my walk around lens on my a7RIV. It is a great lens, half the weight and half the price of a similar Sony lens. I also have the 17-28mm f2.8, 70-180mm f2.8 and 70-300mm Tamron lenses. All have the same barrell size so my lens filters fit all my lenses.

Canisdirus

Hey, that 100-400mm is only around 3 lbs....not exactly heavy.
The Canon equivalent is 3.5 lbs.

I imagine Sigma and Tamron are lighter...but you get what you pay for.

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

If weight is your primary concern, then Tamron lenses are what you want. As Zaydewise said above, the several F2.8 Tamron lenses are all very light. Sigma has two lenses of the 24-70 variety, and one of them is as light as the Tamron series. I have the heavy 24-70 F2.8 Sigma, and it is really a fantastic lens. For 70-300, you should really get the Sony "G" lens, which tests out very well. But CHG Canon above brought up the best all purpose Sony lens, the 24-105 F4. So you have some decisions that only you can make. Starting with the A7 lll is the smartest one, you will love that camera!

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Raptor wrote:

I am renting a Sony a7111 and a Sony 24-70 lens and a Sony FE 100-400 lens. I love the the camera and the long lens!!! I can actually carry the lens. I briefly owned the Tampon 150-600 but could not handle it. Eventually I want to buy this camera and a telephoto lens, fast glass with a max range of 105mm. The Sony lenses are much too heavy. I have not done any research yet but can anyone recommend a walk around lens?

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, however, I'm always amazed by the equipment size/weight concerns.
Whenever I go on a long outing like a tour with my camera and any lens I always have it on an OP/Tech USA cross-body camera strap.
https://www.optechusa.com/
This places the weight across my body, keeps the camera ready to shoot, and secure. I can walk for hours with it on a tour.
I'm sure that others will tell you how great their straps are and I'm sure that they have reasons for their choices.
I like OP/Tech USA because they are well made, work well, and are reasonably priced.
Best wishes on your decision.
Smile,
JimmyT Sends

gwilliams6

Top two choices, Sony 24-105mm f4 G lens, with OSS; and Sigma Art 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN, both these lenses are sharper than the now five-year old Sony 24-70mm f2.8 GM lens, and also have faster focusing motors than this older GM lens which is in need of a refresh. .

I own both these lenses and they are my all-around lenses. When I don't need f2.8 aperture, the Sony 24-105mm f4 G is super. When I need more light gathering I use my Sigma Art 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN lens, both equally sharp and both very versatile.

Here is the SAB MTF-Sharpness tests results, check out where these lenses rate:

FYI, i have owned Sony A7RII, A7RIII, A7III, A9 and now own Sony A1, A7RIV, A7SIII and have 13 E-Mount lenses from 10mm to 600mm from Sony, Sigma and Tamron.

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gwilliams6

First a shot with the Sony 24-105mm f4 G lens:
This shot was chosen as a Worldwide Photo of the Week by Sony Alpha Photographers in 2020. Environmental Scientist Brooke H. in a slot canyon near Upper Antelope Canyon, Navajo lands, Page, Arizona, USA. Sony A9 camera, Sony 24-105mm f4 G lens, 24mm , ISO 400, f4, 1/30 sec. handheld, all natural ight.

Second, a shot with the Sigma Art 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN lens:
The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA. Sony A7RIV camera, Sigma Art 24-70mm f2.8 lens, 24mm, ISO 200, f8, 1/80 sec. handheld, all natural light

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Canisdirus

gwilliams6 wrote:

Top two choices, Sony 24-105mm f4 G lens, with OSS... (show quote)

I wish this were updated... I'm sure the new 50mm f/1.2 is in the top category...

gwilliams6

Canisdirus wrote:

I wish this were updated... I'm sure the new 50mm f/1.2 is in the top category...

No question the newest 50mm f1.2 GM , newest 35mm f1.4 GM and newest 14mm f1.8 GM rate as Outstanding. SAB has done new individual tests on the latest lenses. Here are the results in a new article for the A1. The 50mm f1.2 GM ,35mm f1.4 GM and 14mm f1.8 GM all rate as outstanding. Cheers

https://sonyalpha.blog/2021/05/03/which-are-the-best-lenses-for-the-sony-a1/

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MDI Mainer

Sigma 100-400 e-mount is 2.5 lbs. so about 1/2 pond lighter than the Sony. Sigma has received great reviews.

gwilliams6

MDI Mainer wrote:

Sigma 100-400 e-mount is 2.5 lbs. so about 1/2 pond lighter than the Sony. Sigma has received great reviews.

Yes the Sigma is excellent. But at the moment the Sony 100-400mm GM is the only one of the two that can take teleconverters. I know a pro friend that tried the Sigma and liked it, but chose the Sony and with a Sony 2X teleconverter can have a 200-800mm lens which he loves for Bird and wildlife photography. Lets hope Sigma comes out with some teleconverters for that fine lens, As of now, Sigma says none available .

FYI, I have owned a few Sigma lenses and they are excellent, and I currently have three, Sigma Art 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN, Sigma Art 70mm f2.8 Macro DG DN, and Sigma Art 85mm f1.4 DG DN lenses, along with Sony and Tamron lenses for my Sony A1, A7RIV and A7SIII.

I did own the Sigma Contemporary 150-600mm lens in EF mount, which I used with the MC-11 adapter on my Sony cameras. It worked pretty well, but I eventually sold it when the Sony 200-600mm came out and the Sony is superior in many ways.

Cheers

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billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Raptor wrote:

I am renting a Sony a7111 and a Sony 24-70 lens and a Sony FE 100-400 lens. I love the the camera and long lens!!! I can actually carry the lens. I briefly owned the Tampon 150-600 but could not handle it. Eventually I want to buy this camera and a telephoto lens, fast glass with a max range of 105mm. The Sony lenses are much too heavy. I have not done any research yet but can anyone recommend a walk around lens?

First of all, there is no such thing as a "walk around lens" because a "walk around lens" to 10 different folks will result in 10 different lens choices.
If there was a walk around lens it would be like a 24-750 mm and would be lighter than a 50 mm 1.8 lens.
By the way, this walk around lens already exists, but no quite in the format you are looking for.
The Sony HX99 has a Zeiss 24-750 mm lens that produces outstanding results and costs a lot less than any "walk around lens" for your current Sony.

ggenova64

Tamron Sony E-mount 70-180mm.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I owned a a6000 for a couple years and bought a G series 24-105, f4 that became my workhorse. When I sold the camera and lenses, it was the hardest to give up. Really liked that lens. Not too heavy, well balanced, and every thing I asked.