Which brand dslr offers the most affordable lenses (used or new)

[DT4K]

I want to make the jump to dslr, and I'm looking to start with a body in the $600 or under range. I already have enough expensive hobbies, so I can't afford to be spending $1000 on every lens I decide I want.
So for that reason, in addition to the standard Canon and Nikon recommendations, I've been looking at Pentax and Sony. It seems that with both of them, it would be easier to get high quality lenses at a lower price.
Any thoughts?

My primary reason for wanting to go dslr is the horrible low-light performance of P&S cameras. I'm tired of indoor shots of my kids ending up blurry, underexposed, or washed out with flash. I used to have a Minolta film slr quite a few years ago, though I don't have any old lenses, so that's not a factor. Basically, I'm starting from scratch and I want to be able to build a nice system of decent lenses without taking a loan out on my home.

 

[corkyg]

I think you will find more 3rd party, affordable lenses for Canon and Nikon. I'm talking Tamrons, Sigmas, Tokinas, etc.

The absolute widest selection of lenses falls to Canon.

You don't need "L" series lenses for good pictures. One of the best little lenses is Canon's 50mm f/1.8. It can be had for a hundred or less.

The Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DI lens is excellent as a walking around lens. Less than $400.

Sigma makes a very good wide angle zoom. The 15-30mm is less than $450. I used one for over a year until I could "upgrade."

 

[kalster]

pentax k100d is a good start, the kit lens is pretty decent, for an amateur the pentax system is more than enough, also if you want to try with manual lenses (and pentax viewfinder is better than canon and nikon's entry level dslr's) for cheap , you have tons of m42 lens available for cheap (although m42 can be just as easily adapted to canon and nikon too i guess)

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: corkyg
I think you will find more 3rd party, affordable lenses for Canon and Nikon. I'm talking Tamrons, Sigmas, Tokinas, etc.

Many of which are also available in Minolta/Sony & Pentax mounts
Sony own a big chunk of Tamron & Tokina/Hoya/Kenko will shortly own Pentax.

Realistically there are enough available lenses for pretty much every system (4/3 may be an exception?) for your average customer.
Canon & Nikon have the biggest market shares so naturally there tends to be more lenses for them.

Imo the Sony A100 is better than the Pentax K100D but isn't as good as the K10D.

 

[ElFenix]

sony might offer the least expensive used lenses, if only for the reason that people may not have figured out that minolta a-mount lenses work. whereas everyone seems to know that pentax cameras work with the old k-mount and m42 lenses.

canon has the most affordable lenses, however.

and yes, 3rd party lenses do make their way to other mounts, but they will always be available in nikon and canon. heck, the tokina/pentax 50-135 f/2.8 is available for canikon but not pentax atm.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst

Originally posted by: corkyg
I think you will find more 3rd party, affordable lenses for Canon and Nikon. I'm talking Tamrons, Sigmas, Tokinas, etc.

Many of which are also available in Minolta/Sony & Pentax mounts
Sony own a big chunk of Tamron & Tokina/Hoya/Kenko will shortly own Pentax.

Realistically there are enough available lenses for pretty much every system (4/3 may be an exception?) for your average customer.
Canon & Nikon have the biggest market shares so naturally there tends to be more lenses for them.

Imo the Sony A100 is better than the Pentax K100D but isn't as good as the K10D.

It's different if you're talking used lenses.

The prices of brand new 3rd party lenses will not vary between camera mounts. The prices of used 1st and 3rd party lenses WILL due to market effects. There are just so many used Canon and Nikon lenses out there (Canon moreso) that the prices on these used lenses can be spectacular. Minolta, Pentax, etc. on the other hand don't have such a large used market, so sellers can charge more because there aren't many other people (if any) selling the same lens around that time.

I got my Sigma 100-300mm used for $550.
I got my Sigma 50-500mm (non-DG) used for $650.
Both in Canon mount. These are used prices that you will not find in less popular mounts like Pentax, Minolta, etc.

And yes, mounts like Pentax and Minolta have a lot of really really cheap used lenses, but keep in mind that these are almost all old manual focus lenses. Yes, they can be super super sharp, but they're still manual focus, which can be a real hassle depending on the type of photography that you do.

 

[DT4K]

Thanks.
I guess I should clarify that I meant (most affordable) lenses, not most (affordable lenses).
I'm not going to be going out and buying 10 different lenses.
At this point, I have no interest in taking pictures of flowers from 3 inches away. Maybe eventually I will, but not now. My primary uses are pretty simple.
I want to be able to take nice flash-free pictures of my kids and other people indoors, so it sounds like a fast prime lens would be best for that use.
And I want something to take a variety of vacation pictures. There are a couple of specific shots that left me disappointed with my P&S last year when we were at Disney World. Like taking a snapshot of my kids from a distance while they are on a roller coaster. Or taking pictures of animals while we are on the safari ride at animal kingdom. So I'll need a decent zoom lens.
Other than that, I don't know what I'll end up wanting.

I guess I had been thinking that going with something that has the IS in the the body would make it easier to buy good older lenses without spending too much. But I'm just taking guesses here. If I'm totally off base, let me know.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

again, nikon and canon.... biggest selection of absolutely everything you could possibly want for a DSLR, and givent their status in the market, it will continue to be like this for a long time.

i have absolutely zero trouble finiding anything i might want for my canon 400d. most of it can be had for a good price on ebay.

im toying with buying a Sigma 10-20mm, they are going for £250 ish on ebay, now at the moment i would say my finances would be stretched if i were to allow myself to buy one, but at the same time its pretty much guaranteed that i can sell it for around what i paid for it if i find i do need the money back.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
It's different if you're talking used lenses.

The prices of brand new 3rd party lenses will not vary between camera mounts.

that's not quite true, there is a $65 difference between canon and pentax bigma prices at sigma4less. and canon has an HSM motor.

I got my Sigma 100-300mm used for $550.
I got my Sigma 50-500mm (non-DG) used for $650.
Both in Canon mount. These are used prices that you will not find in less popular mounts like Pentax, Minolta, etc.

probably, but with lower supply and lower demand about all you can say for certain is that less lenses will change hands.

And yes, mounts like Pentax and Minolta have a lot of really really cheap used lenses, but keep in mind that these are almost all old manual focus lenses. Yes, they can be super super sharp, but they're still manual focus, which can be a real hassle depending on the type of photography that you do.

minolta a mount is all autofocus, and is older than EF. keh has 4 pages of AF primes and 7 pages of AF zooms, all first party, for minolta. pentax they don't have nearly the stock, but again i think that is due to pentax making it widely known that it's digital SLRs work with every pentax lens ever made. whereas the public at large may not know that sony uses the minolta mount (plus, i don't think sony is where minolta's marketshare used to be).

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
It's different if you're talking used lenses.

The prices of brand new 3rd party lenses will not vary between camera mounts.

that's not quite true, there is a $65 difference between canon and pentax bigma prices at sigma4less. and canon has an HSM motor.

Canon is USM Sigma is HSM.

But... sigma4less.. can you still claim warranty in the US for those lenses? As I understood it, they aren't an authorized reseller, and thus, gray market maybe? Will sigma USA even service a non-US version?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
It's different if you're talking used lenses.

The prices of brand new 3rd party lenses will not vary between camera mounts.

that's not quite true, there is a $65 difference between canon and pentax bigma prices at sigma4less. and canon has an HSM motor.

Canon is USM Sigma is HSM.

But... sigma4less.. can you still claim warranty in the US for those lenses? As I understood it, they aren't an authorized reseller, and thus, gray market maybe? Will sigma USA even service a non-US version?

i meant the canon version of the sigma 50-500, which gets an HSM motor, as opposed to the pentax, which doesn't.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
It's different if you're talking used lenses.

The prices of brand new 3rd party lenses will not vary between camera mounts.

that's not quite true, there is a $65 difference between canon and pentax bigma prices at sigma4less. and canon has an HSM motor.

For the most part they don't vary much. If anything, the prices for Canon mount will generally be a bit cheaper. You are correct in pointing out that the Pentax Bigma doesn't have HSM while the Canon Bigma does, which IMO is a huge loss for the Pentax Bigma.

For anyone who doesn't know, Bigma is the nickname for the Sigma 50-500mm.

I got my Sigma 100-300mm used for $550.
I got my Sigma 50-500mm (non-DG) used for $650.
Both in Canon mount. These are used prices that you will not find in less popular mounts like Pentax, Minolta, etc.

probably, but with lower supply and lower demand about all you can say for certain is that less lenses will change hands.

There was a time when I was actively curious about what it would cost me to switch to Pentax and still have the same lens lineup that I have with Canon. There just aren't used Pentax mount lenses for the price that I paid for my Canon mounts. Not even close. We're talking hundreds of dollars worth of price difference, not to mention Canon mounts are constantly being sold, so it's very easy to find the used lens you want for a good price. Lower supply changes a LOT of things.[/quote]

And yes, mounts like Pentax and Minolta have a lot of really really cheap used lenses, but keep in mind that these are almost all old manual focus lenses. Yes, they can be super super sharp, but they're still manual focus, which can be a real hassle depending on the type of photography that you do.

minolta a mount is all autofocus, and is older than EF. keh has 4 pages of AF primes and 7 pages of AF zooms, all first party, for minolta. pentax they don't have nearly the stock, but again i think that is due to pentax making it widely known that it's digital SLRs work with every pentax lens ever made. whereas the public at large may not know that sony uses the minolta mount (plus, i don't think sony is where minolta's marketshare used to be).

Thanks for correcting me on Minolta. I'm assuming though that Minolta doesn't have anything like USM, correct?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
It's different if you're talking used lenses.

The prices of brand new 3rd party lenses will not vary between camera mounts.

that's not quite true, there is a $65 difference between canon and pentax bigma prices at sigma4less. and canon has an HSM motor.

Canon is USM Sigma is HSM.

But... sigma4less.. can you still claim warranty in the US for those lenses? As I understood it, they aren't an authorized reseller, and thus, gray market maybe? Will sigma USA even service a non-US version?

Sigma4Less sells the US versions, and yes, Sigma will still service them even through they're not authorized resellers. They can't afford to alienate so many customers by NOT servicing them. As for the non-US version, they'll probably service it for a fee. Certainly not under any kind of warranty.

About a year ago I was seriously contemplating becoming a dealer of Tamron lenses. I got in touch with a Tamron representative that handled all Tamron dealers in my state, and besides learning that the capital needed to get competitive prices direct from Tamron was absolutely insane, I also learned that there were a number of well-known online places that were in fact not official Tamron dealers.

Tamron Rep: We have no idea where they are getting these Tamron lenses. Definitely not from us!
Me: Do you still have to repair them under warranty, even through they're not from authorized dealers?
Tamron Rep: Yes. We can't afford not to.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

For the most part they don't vary much. If anything, the prices for Canon mount will generally be a bit cheaper. You are correct in pointing out that the Pentax Bigma doesn't have HSM while the Canon Bigma does, which IMO is a huge loss for the Pentax Bigma.

For anyone who doesn't know, Bigma is the nickname for the Sigma 50-500mm.

pentax didn't support in-lens motors until the K10D and K100D Super afaik, so it's not surprising. i'm not sure if sigma's HSM allows for both screw drive and internal drive like pentax's new sonic motors do.

Thanks for correcting me on Minolta. I'm assuming though that Minolta doesn't have anything like USM, correct?

i don't think so. i think minolta was screw drive (which makes me wonder why they changed their mount). sony has SSM now, though.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: ElFenix(plus, i don't think sony is where minolta's marketshare used to be).

It's actually higher under Sony than KM.
There are over 20 million Minolta produced AF lenses that will work on the Minolta/Sony mount let alone all the 3rd party stuff produced over the years.

As for s/h prices there usually isn't that much difference between the same lens on different mounts because whilst there may be fewer available there are also fewer people looking (or vice versa).
e.g. $650 on a non-DG Bigma doesn't strike me as great when the new DG is $1000, I know from the Minolta forums that it's certainly possible to match that.

edit:

i think minolta was screw drive (which makes me wonder why they changed their mount). sony has SSM now, though.

Minolta did have some SSM lenses although we're expecting to see some more under Sony.
The only advantage to SSM/USM/HSM is it's quieter, screw drive can be just as fast or faster according to the motor fitted to the body.
Minolta changed it's mount so long ago (1985) that SSM/USM/HSM didn't exist.

 

[mage333]

Originally posted by: DT4K
Thanks.
I guess I should clarify that I meant (most affordable) lenses, not most (affordable lenses).
I'm not going to be going out and buying 10 different lenses.
At this point, I have no interest in taking pictures of flowers from 3 inches away. Maybe eventually I will, but not now. My primary uses are pretty simple.
I want to be able to take nice flash-free pictures of my kids and other people indoors, so it sounds like a fast prime lens would be best for that use.
And I want something to take a variety of vacation pictures. There are a couple of specific shots that left me disappointed with my P&S last year when we were at Disney World. Like taking a snapshot of my kids from a distance while they are on a roller coaster. Or taking pictures of animals while we are on the safari ride at animal kingdom. So I'll need a decent zoom lens.
Other than that, I don't know what I'll end up wanting.

I guess I had been thinking that going with something that has the IS in the the body would make it easier to buy good older lenses without spending too much. But I'm just taking guesses here. If I'm totally off base, let me know.

I don't think anyone here has answered DT4K's question. I'd also kinda like to hear what you guys think on this.

 

[virtuamike]

Probably Canon because they make so many (but that's looking at it strictly by price).