Your dream Lens?

[alphaomega]

David Kilpatrick wrote (in response to my "dream lens"

So you would like the Tokina 16.5-135mm lens in Alpha mount then?

At first I thought this was a joke as I had seen no reference to such a lens but a quick search on the Internet threw up this reference: http://www.thkphoto.com/news/news-pr-atx16_5_135DX.html

Only problem - will only be avaliable for Canon and Nikon APS-C cameras. If optical performance is v. good and distortion low I would say this would be ideal for a Nikon shooter. With Canon 1.6 you lose at the wide end and for me 16 mm (24 equivalent) is a must on a standard lens, hence my "addiction" to the CZ 16-80. I am now beginning to think it would be a good idea if Tokina began to recognise the existence of Sony. Maybe if a decent A700 replacement came out and the Sony DSLR population increased Tokina would start to take notice again as they did when Minolta were a major SLR player.

[Greg Beetham]

It's probably a fairly safe bet that Tokina are watching and evaluating the population density of cameras that Sony produce that the target audience would likely buy an additional lens for their kit for. So far that's imho not large by Canikon standards, the cameras/owners that would fit that criteria would be the A900, A850, A700, A550, A350, A100. The rest of the models/owners Tokina would most likely see as amateur/novice users who would not likely buy an additional lens.
Greg

[David Kilpatrick]

Hoya (Tokina) owns Pentax and has effectively stopped the flow of Tokina lenses for Olympus and Sony. They dare not cut off Canon and Nikon - that would give them zero market share - but they ceased to make Minolta AF lenses when Pentax was acquired. Tokina also makes the entire range of Samsung 'Schneider' lenses, and many of the Pentax lenses which do not have Tokina branded equivalents. They make some kit lenses for other makers, and have in the past made several lenses for Minolta.

Tokina made the 100-400mm APO and probably made the 100-300mm APO series including the APO D. This lens ceased to be made after the Pentax takeover, and has not surfaced in any other brand (such as Pentax). The 100-400mm was a design they sold exclusively to Minolta, maybe the 100-300mm was similar. They made the 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. They also make the Tamron teleconverters (a strange situation).

Given the existing workload for Pentax and Samsung, and the continued ownership and support of Pentax, it's unlikely that Hoya will reintroduce Tokina lenses in Alpha mount.

David

[Greg Beetham]

Funny thing, when Malaysia was mentioned I remembered seeing that somewhere on one of my lenses, it was on the 100-300 APO, but on the lens hood only, the body has Japan written on it next to the serial no. on the base near the mount, also the box, the warranty statement, user guide, all have printed in Japan on them. It looks like the only thing that was made in Malaysia was the lenshood, on that lens at least.
Greg

[alphaomega]

On reflection I might be tempted say in 2011 to simply sell my current A350 and CZ 16-80 and instead purchase a Nikon DSLR fitted with this new Tokina 16.5-135 marvel if the IQ and distortion issues have been resolved in a satisfactory way. (Canon is no good to me because of the 1.6 crop factor). I could then just keep my A700 and use it with my Tamron 10-24 and 70-300 Zooms. Other people use two systems and the Tokina would greatly reduce the need to have a tele zoom covering effectively 25-200 mm in 35 mm equivalent.
I would not be the first old Minolta user to "migrate".

[David Kilpatrick]

No anti-shake, no SSS! Killer for me. I settled for the 18-105mm for my Nikon DSLR, it has VR, and I really do not want to go without a stabilised setup in future. EVER.

David

[stevecim]

I would like something like a G version of Sony 16-105, (constant F 2.8 or 3.5 + macro would be nice) since we are dreaming , I'll would want a second A550 body with a 70-400G please.

[KevinBarrett]

Am I the only one that would wish for a prime lens? I wonder how great an aperture you could actually get on a tilt-and-shift 24mm lens?

[alphaomega]

No anti-shake, no SSS! Killer for me. I settled for the 18-105mm for my Nikon DSLR, it has VR, and I really do not want to go without a stabilised setup in future. EVER.
David

Definitely an issue with the Tokina 16.5-135, but for my type of photography - mostly in sunny weather - I used Fujifilm Provia 100 handheld in my X700. Typically I now use ISO200 or above and for much of my picture taking there are moving objects in the image. It is a balance between competing factors and I think that a change to another brand in the future would be caused by Sony not providing something like a A700 replacement or a better specified upgrade to the A550. My "wavering" basically boils down to the fact that I have seen now Sony introducing no less than six new P&S replacement DSLRs in the space of months and no hint of a decently specified enthusiasts camera. I bought a new A700 a couple of months ago and it is amazing to read on blogs the number of photographers who have purchased A700s at discounted prices and found this camera absolutely wonderful. I can only concur with this sentiment. I don't understand why Sony did not reduce the number of low spec models and fielded at least an interim A700 upgrade along the lines of the Nikon D300s.

[Mr_Canuck]

I can tell you exactly what I would like to see - a 70-210mm f/4 SSM/SAM, a 24-120mm f/4, and a 12-24mm f/4.
David

It's exactly these lenses that almost made me get a Canon 5D MkII. (well, the 24-105 and 70-200 f4's)

I sold and then re-bought at 28-135 to fill the gap. Haven't given it a flare test yet.

[bfitzgerald]

Hmm 24-120mm f4.., I think Nikon have one, but it's not f4

I've used the 24-105mm f4 L on Canon, it's good..but it's got it's problems too. Heavy distortion esp at the 24mm end, strong fall off 24mm, stop it down helps here. Nice build and good AF etc, but honestly, it's not worth the price IMO, it's the better part of £1000 almost, though I know the prices have gone up hundreds in the last 18 months. I'd even say that 24-85mm I picked up give it a damn good run, and easily beats it distortion wise. For 1/10th of the price

If you go to 120mm, I'd expect distortion to be even more a problem.

A 70-210mm f4 would be nice, I'll pass on the SAM, SSM is the way to go. I'd expect a hefty price tag though, as this is Sony.
Agree on a 12-24mm UWA zoom.

I would like to see a 35mm f1.7 or f2 affordable FF prime, an 85mm f1.8 FF prime too.

[alphaPDX]

70-300 f/4, SSM, with helium-filled chambers to keep it below 450g. With all the patents flying, Sony could do this, right?
MAke it watertight too, so if I drop it in a lake it'll float!

[Wes Gibbon]

It's not a dream lens, but I would like a compact UWA DT prime lens, as I don't feel the need for a monster zoom at the wider-angle focal lengths (wider than 28mm). I used to have a tiny Vivitar 19mm with my manual focus outfit, and it wasn't great, but it was OK and it didn't take up a lot of room, didn't weigh a ton, and needed only a 62mm filter thread.

I think sometimes we are so accumstomed to zoom lenses that we don't question their necessity. Even when taking slides for projection, I usually found that a similar effect to zooming could be obtained by moving forewards or backwards with the camera. Admittedly it's not always possible, but surely with digital cameras you can crop the image down a bit provided that the lens is wide enough in the first place.

I realise that the demand for such a lens would be limited, so the cost might be just as high as the Zeiss 16-80, but at least it would (presumably) weigh a lot less and take up less room.

Dream on...

[lepidopteran]

I want a really top notch macro lens - with very fast, accurate, non-hunting, silent auto-focussing down to 1:1 scale. 95% of my photography is macro, so I could live with a 100mm F2.8 macro as my sole lens, and use a compact when I needed to shoot landscapes.

I see that the Sony 100mm macro has been discontinued, so maybe there is something in the pipeline that can approach the quality of the Canon IS USM 100mm.

I love my a700 ( apart from the notorious scroll-wheel problem, which although temporarily fixable with a squirt of contact cleaner is nevertheless a cause for concern ), but if Sony don't get their marketing strategy sorted out, and make available a set of lenses that compete with those from Nikon and Canon, I will defect ( and I think a hell of a lot of other Sony users are feeling the same way from what I read on various forums ).

[David Kilpatrick]

70-300 f/4, SSM, with helium-filled chambers to keep it below 450g. With all the patents flying, Sony could do this, right?
MAke it watertight too, so if I drop it in a lake it'll float!

Helium filled? Not necessary. A vacuum is lighter than helium, and unlike balloons, lens construction does not call for pressure to retain shape. A vacuum also has a different refractive index to air, and by definition could not admit sucky-sucky dust particles from zooming, or host any airborn particles, or admit any moisture, or allow fungus to develop.

The vacuum filled lens is the future!

David