lens advice

hayleyfraser24 · Sep 9, 2011

Hey everyone, so ive got a sony a290 dslr with just the standard lens that came with it. Im still only a newbie really and am enjoying all different types of photography. It is only a hobby for now but im looking to upgrade. I know that there is not a lens that suits all types of photography but idealy im looking for something along those lines! As im not a proffesional photographer but would like to invest a bit more money into my hobbie what would you recommend? My brother said I should forget a new lens and get a nikon d700 but thats about 1000 bucks. My budget is more like 500. Im mainly into fine art photography, landscapes and still life but I also like taking photos of people, candid and portrait? I know thats quite a wide range but im just trying out lots of things for now. Should I be investing in a zoom lens? When looking online im only getting more confused. Thanks for any advice in advance!

tirediron · Sep 9, 2011

My advice is don't buy anything just yet. Work with the gear you've got and learn more about photography in general, and find out what it is that you can't do with your current gear that you want to do. Then, once you've sorted that out, spend some money. Wayyy too many people can tell you stories of "I wish I'd waited 'til I knew more about ... before I bought...".

The_Traveler · Sep 9, 2011

tirediron said:
My advice is don't buy anything just yet. Work with the gear you've got and learn more about photography in general, and find out what it is that you can't do with your current gear that you want to do. Then, once you've sorted that out, spend some money. Wayyy too many people can tell you stories of "I wish I'd waited 'til I knew more about ... before I bought...".

wise words.
don't get caught up in the 'more gear is the answer'
take pictures and figure it out.
learn the sweet spot on the lens you have - and then when you find what you need, buy the best quality lens that suits your needs and your plans.

Dao · Sep 9, 2011

If you do not know what lens to get or upgrade to, chances are you do not need one yet. Lens are the tool that helps you to achieve certain results.

I suggest you may need to learn a little more about photography as well as camera gears. Once you know the limitation of your current setup, you should know what to get next.

For example, you go to the local zoo and take pictures. You find that all the animals in the photo you took were too small. Then you realize that you need a lens that has a longer focal length. So you now know one of the limitation. And you starts look for lenses that has longer focal length. (Zoom or Prime)

Or you seen a lot of portrait type photos out there you really like and especially you like how the background is blurred out while the subject is sharp. And then you find that your current setup either doesn't able to create this type of photo or you just do not know how. After you did a lot of trials and reading/asking, you find that your camera lens is the limitation. So you will then start looking for lenses that help you to achieve that.

Otherwise, the kit lenses that usually ship with the camera are capable of take photos of fine art, landscape, still life as well as portraits, they usually have limitations.
Don't forget that sometimes, other camera gears may also needed such as flashes.