Hi Aroy,
I know that you really like the 18-55mm kit lens, so I was wandering how you feel this lens stacks up against it? You've touched on this already but any more thoughts on the matter would be interesting to hear.
Down the line I'm looking to get a walk around lens, mostly for taking on holiday. Ideally I'd want something a little longer like the 18-140 but if I know I'll mostly be shooting wildlife I'd probably use my 70-300 anyway.
If I were to get 16-85 it would most likely replace my 18-55 as it's the non VR version and would be more than covered by this lens. However I'd only do this if the image quality stands up to that of my kit lens?
Thanks.
I have experienced that zooms in general and long zooms in particular have pretty bad IQ. The 16-85 was bought by my son, primarily for the 16mm end. It is just passable at 16mm but much inferior to the latest 18-55 at the long end.
My son had also bought the 70-300, but it is horrible at the 300mm end.
My opinion; not shared by many; is that apart from the professional zooms (which cost an arm and a leg), it is better to have primes. My range would be
. Zoom 18-55 VR-II
. 35mm F1.8
. 135mm F2
. 300mm F4
With a sharp zoom and a 24MP sensor you get better image quality after cropping than with an inexpensive zoom. Thus with 300mm in the 70-300 has less resolution than my 50mm prime. So does the 85mm of 16-85. In some of my posts I did post a comparison.
One thing to consider, is that with primes you have to move about a lot, and at times you may not fill the frame entirely. But photographers have been using primes for the last hundred years with no problems. A prime is the best value for money and at the same time the lightest option. Modern high MP sensors give you enough real estate to crop with impunity. Unless you are in business of selling fine prints of A0 (3' x 4') a 4 to 5 MP image is all that you can display on the screen (and on net it is even smaller). When you consider that a 24MP image can print a A2 size comfortably, cropping half of it out, will still give you a detailed A4 print.