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[roseway]

I've been tempted for a long time, but now I've more or less decided to go ahead and get one. Having read through previous discussions here and here, I'm leaning strongly towards getting much the same kit as Phil bought after those discussions. The A200 is now replaced by the A230, which is the same camera inside a restyled body. The cheapest current supplier (surprisingly) seems to be the Dixons group.

I'll need a reasonably long lens for it, as I hope to photograph birds. The budget isn't unlimited of course, and this has caught my eye. For a tripod, the same Hama Star 63 as Phil got still looks like a good buy, although it's gone up in price since then.

What do the experts think?

[tuftedduck]

Very nice camera.

The Tamron is a budget lens which can display a little vignetting and chromatic aberration at the long end........but these are well controlled and should not be apparent until and unless you crank the ISO rating up to it's max.
The lens gives good contrasty images........and is acceptably sharp as long as you don't use the min and max apertures ( stick between f5.6 and f16 and it is great, wider or narrower, it falls off a bit)

It is being  advertised for £123.50 at Amazon ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=Tamron+70-300mm+F4-5.6+Di+AF+Macro+1%3A2+Lens&x=18&y=16 )

The lens is quite compact, but at full zoom and in macro mode is surprisingly long and a little front heavy........that's controlled well on a tripod but may give shake problems when hand-held.......but then most lenses in this class will be the same.

[UncleUB]

Hi Eric  

I have been very pleased with my A200 .I got mine from Jacobs Cameras and it came with the 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 lens and also the 75-300 F4.5-5.6 lens.
The Hama Tripod is excellent for the money.I paid £8.97 + £5 del from Tesco.

And just looking at my camera invoice I paid £352 for the A200 twin lens kit.

I'm sure TD will add his expert comments   ( I see he already has)  

I'm only the apprentice.  

Edit,

This is the A 230  twin lens kit that Jacobs are selling for £399

http://www.jacobsdigital.co.uk/index.php?target=products&product_id=68743

The tripod is on sale at My Memory for £16.99 inc del which is only about £3 more than I paid inc del.

http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Tripods/Hama/Hama-Star-63-Tripod

I have used My Memory before and they are very good.

[UncleUB]

Here's a photo of the Hama tripod and the Camera has got the 70-300 lens on fully extended.

[roseway]

Thanks for those comments. I think I've settled on the A230. As to lenses, I do need a fairly long lens for the type of photography I want to do, and I think that 70-300 is what I want. What I'm pondering is whether I should push the boat out a bit further to get better quality, and there are two possibilities which don't break the bank: Sigma and Sony. The Sony one doesn't have a macro capability, but I'm not sure how important that is to me.

[UncleUB]

Hi Eric  

The Sony lens link you have posted is the same as mine.

As to the Macro facility,it is good to have if you intend to do very close up shots.Very good if you are posting merchandise photo's on say Ebay etc,but if like you say its mainly for bird/wildlife photography I would think it isn't a 'must have' requirement

[tuftedduck]

The Tamron, Sony and Sigma lenses are all in the same sort of category and will all offer similar results..........all perfectly good and very acceptable unless you push the lens to it's limits..........avoid the widest and narrowest apertures and you will be well pleased with any of them.....I have always had a soft spot for Sigmas, but for a different reason, being that the "throw" on a Sigma when twisting to zoom or manual focus goes in the same direction as my Pentax lenses whereas that on the Tamron goes the opposite way.........TD always likes to make things easier if he can and does not want to have to pause and think about which way to shift the barrel. 

As you can see from unkyUb's photo., these lenses do extent a fair bit when on max. zoom...............if you then set to the macro mode on them, they will come close to doubling that length and can be a bit of a handful.....tripod essential.
Macro mode is handy as unkyUb says............on these lenses you will get a ratio of 1:2.......half size objects.

[roseway]

Thanks again both of you. The macro capability could be handy, so I think I'm going to settle on the Sigma lens. Now all I need to do is shop around for the best deal.

[UncleUB]

Hi Eric,

you might also want to think about investing in a lens filter.They protect the lens and also depending on what type you get can enhance your photo

Have read here.

https://secure.parkcameras.com/article/54/BuyerGuides-Filters.html

I'm sure TD will expand on this. 

[roseway]

Thanks Phil. As it happens, if I get the 70-300 lens from Amazon I can get a UV filter thrown in for free.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-70-300mm-f4-5-6-Digital-Cameras/dp/B000B8T6DI/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277287626&sr=1-21

[UncleUB]

Thanks Phil. As it happens, if I get the 70-300 lens from Amazon I can get a UV filter thrown in for free.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-70-300mm-f4-5-6-Digital-Cameras/dp/B000B8T6DI/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277287626&sr=1-21

 

If you have a Nectar card don't forget to go to Amazon via the Nectar site 

[pintosal]

By the way, these Sonys will take Minolta Dynax lenses - fully auto focus etc.

While the Dynax lenses may be a bit heavier than current offerings, their build and image quality is superb. They can usually be found on e-bay at reasonable prices.

[pintosal]

Ooops I forgot to say ....

The lenses from a 35mm camera, such as the Dynax, will have approx twice the focal length on the Sony Alpha.

I use my old Minolta lenses on my Alpha, with excellent results.

[tuftedduck]

>>will have approx twice the focal length on the Sony Alpha.<<<

I would have thought not x2 but x1.5..........

[roseway]

Thanks for the suggestion. I might look at that option later on if I want any more lenses, but for the time being I'll be sticking with 'standard' items.