I'm new to photography but i want to get a good clear sharp lens thats good at sports, street, action, portrait photography just a lens thats good in general thats good in light and dark and that isnt super expensive.
What camera wil you put it on?
John
First of all: what John said. You'll never get a decent advice if we don't know what system you intend to put it on. What brand? And what kind of sensor?
Second, you might want to mention your budget. Define "super expensive". For some, super expensive is anything above $500, for others it's anything above $3,000.
Third, there's no such thing as a perfect do-it-all, certainly not in the cheaper range. If anything, you say that you're searching for a lens that performs well in light and dark conditions, and then you'll be looking at what is called a "fast lens", which means that it has a minimum aperture of at least f/2.8. That alone drives the price of a lens up.
The only lens I can think of that actually comes anywhere near all the specs you mention is the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD, which comes in Sony E and Nikon Z mount, but you'll be looking to set your wallet back at least $1,500 for a decent used copy.
The Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 is a very capable lens. It's sharp, it's fast and it has a decent autofocus (AF). That said, the Tamron 35-150 doesn't have the fastest AF. It's decent enough for moving targets in, for instance, events and the likes, but perhaps it wouldn't be the best choice for really fast sports.
Furthermore, it's pretty large, and pretty heavy as well. Although optically perfectly capable for it, its dimensions might be somewhat of a hindrance in street photography. It certainly isn't the most unobtrusive lens, and most street photographers like to be unobtrusive.
All things considered, the Tamron 35-150mm is a brilliant lens, and my main choice for more than 80% of my shoots. But it sure was costly.
In general you can say that a do-it-all either is expensive, or in reality cannot do it all. And even with the expensive do-it-all lenses like the Tamron 35-50mm, you're always looking at a compromise. In case of the Tamron, the biggest compromise is losing some reach at the wide end (mainly the range between 24 and 35mm). I can live with that.
