techsterman1955 wrote:
What all around lens would you recommend for family, nature and landscape photography for amateur photographers.
If you want to make an effort and become a better photographer by composing better and finding unexpected angles, I would recommend a 35mm prime lens. I subscribe to the view that learning one focal length at a time makes you a better photographer faster. The 35mm focal length is a safe bet because it sits in the middle, allowing you to explore later towards wider or narrower POVs based on your preferences.
If you want the most convenient way to generate great looking snapshots, then a 24-70mm or 24-105mm, or even a 24-120mm zoom would be my advice. There are several to choose from, each representing a trade-off between weight, speed, and cost. Slower zooms with f/4 aperture are lighter and cheaper, while f/2.8 zooms allow you to blur the background more, shoot with less light, but they cost more and are heavier.
My first choice is what I chose for myself, and that's the Sony 20-70/4 zoom. It's very, very good optically and not overly large or heavy, so it's easy to carry anywhere.
2nd choice would be the 24-105/4, though the 20-70 is a newer design and according to most reviews, the better lens optically; but the added range of the 24-105 gives a bit better framing on the portrait end at the sacrifice of some field of view at the wide end. This lens is a bit larger and heavier than the 20-70.
If weight and cost are not an issue, the Sony 24-70/2.8 GM ii is about as good as you can get in a 2.8 do-it-all zoom.
Other good alternatives are Tamron and Sigma. Both make some very good zooms covering useful general pupose ranges...
For indoor family and a general use lens the Tamron 28-75G2 is easy to recommend. It is f/2.8 over the range so it does better in somewhat low light. For a higher budget and incremental performance the Sony 24-70 GM ii.
For travel outdoors I like a larger zoom range: Sigma 20-200, Tamron 25-200, Tamron 28-200 are some of the most versatile. The wider focal range has a trade-off of less light collection, so not for indoor.
The Sony 24-105/4 strikes a balance between the speed of f/2.8 and the zoom range of the superzoom travel lenses. Kind of like a mini-van, does a lot of things, but none of them well.
