Sony A300 is officially mine, what lenses should I get for it?

[steviem]

My Grandma bought a Sony A300 on an impulse sometime last year and after a couple of months had decided it was too complex and expensive to take out of the house with her (she felt that if someone saw her using it, they'd mug her for it.)

I ended up borrowing it in February and she was really impressed with the photos I took, and then on Father's Day she said that I can keep the camera. So that's pretty awesome!

I tend to take portraits, landscapes (nature and architectural) and friends' cars. I also carry it everywhere with me with the two lenses that it came with.

I really like the 70-200 Tamron, but the 18-70 Sony kit lens seems to be pretty slow, and harms my night time photos somewhat.

I know I really need a tripod for it, so I'll be getting that on pay day, but I would love to get something a little faster than the kit lens, that is maybe a little wider too.

What is out there below £200? I'd like a 50mm lens, but only because they seem to be popular with other DSLR users and that isn't really informed buying now, is it?

Any good lenses that I should go for?

 

[gkarris]

I *think* the Sony lenses were originally Konica-Minolta (not at all impressed...).

Any good lenses that I should go for?

Zeiss...

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...0151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644548355

Enough said...

 

[MichaelBarry]

check ebay for the Minolta AF 50mm f1.7

I brought one for about £100 and it is very sharp when stopped down to about f2.8 - not to say it isn't sharp at f1.7

there are loads of cheap minolta lenses which are high quality.

(make sure to look for the Minolta AF ranges which have autofocus. the other minolta lenses can only manual focus - but these are very very cheap and good quality too!)

 

[steviem]

Wow, there are some cheap, cheap 50s on eBay, so cheap that I may just bid on one to see how it feels. There's also a 28mm that I may go for aswell.

This can only turn out well...

 

[mattyb240]

Congrats on an ever increasing expensive hobby, I have just bought a 50mm 1.8 but that won't arrive until Wednesday can't wait to try my first prime!

 

[TheReef]

Save up and practise till you know what your really interested in.

The tripod will solve your nightime kit lens problems. No matter how fast the lens is you wouldn't use one at night without a tripod anyway.

That Sony kit lens looks to be at a very useful focal range for what you've described, the 50mm is a good one to get creative with DOF though.

 

[steviem]

Hmm,

Looking at it, this is what I got when resting the camera on a pallet and using a 2 second delay the other day with the kit lens @22mm:

Then one of the first shots I took with the camera in Hyde Park with the Tamron Lens with manual focus @200mm:

When I look at the low light photos it does look more like the problem is my hand shaking, so a definite buy will be a Tripod. The Tamron lens is good for DoF but when I take portraits with it, I can definitely see where I could do with a 50.

I'll hold off on a 28mm, try my night time city shots with a tripod and the 18-70, and maybe get a 50mm (or try and blag one as a birthday present in August.

 

[iBookG4user]

The Tamron 17-50mm is a highly regarded lens and will give you an aperture of ƒ/2.8

 

[mattyb240]

I love my Tamron! The difference in colour/contrast and sharpness compared with the kit lens is out of this world really opened my eyes. But the kit lens is a great place to learn!

 

[Abstract]

When I look at the low light photos it does look more like the problem is my hand shaking, so a definite buy will be a Tripod.

And you certainly can't fault a lens for that.


The lens has a very useful focal range. I say keep it, get a 50 mm lens if you want, but don't buy anything unless you're certain that you need it. I don't think you really know what you want to shoot yet.

 

[nomad01]

don't buy anything unless you're certain that you need it. I don't think you really know what you want to shoot yet.

I agree totally with this. I've just dipped a toe in the water of digital SLR and got the Sony kit lens so I bought a 70-200 zoom to compliment it.

On holiday in NY last week I got so sick of changing lenses I just bought a new 18-250 Sony lens. The price for this previously seemed stupid and unnecessary to me but I had no idea how much of a bind switching lenses would become on holiday.

Now I'm sure the Sony lens sucks in comparison to the other lenses out there but it was such a relief to have a lens that covered that whole range while on holiday so I'm glad I got it and the pics are okay to my eyes.

I'd definitely recommend just buying lenses as you feel the need for them though.