portrait lens for A500

[knipse]

Hi,

just wanted to ask if anyone could reccomend a Portrait lens for a Sony A500 that wouldn't break the bank, I have been told that I should aim for a f1,8 85 to 100mm lens, but the only one that I have found so far is from Sigma and costs at least 900 Euros. As that is more than I could/would spend on a lens, I thought I would simply ask here.

Regards
John

 

[cosmonaut]

Well there is the 70-210mm "beercan" that is an excellent portrait lens with nice bokeh. They can be picked up on ebay for less than $200.00 all day long. Just make sure it's the "beercan" version, 4.0. Also a 50mm 1.7. That would be 75mm on your a500

 

[unpopular]

The Minolta 50 1.7 can have some odd bokeh wide open. The 1.4 and Macro 2.8 are better options at 50mm length.

Neither minolta nor sony ever made an affordable 85, afaik, but if you can deal with MF/preset, there is always the Rokinon, and hasselblad 80's go cheap considering you're buying a medium format Zeiss lens, the adapter won't have a corrective lens. Such a setup, with t/s could cost you around $500-600, if you're adventurous, though this setup would make for a beautiful portrait kit.

 

[cosmonaut]

Well I am not sure what unpopular means by not affordable Sony does make an 85mm 2.8. At one point I owned one and even though it feels cheap and made of plastic overall it was good for portrait shooting. But I moved on and converted a Leica 90mm R lens to fit my Sony cameras. But here is a link to the 85mm.
If you could spare the extra cash and don't mind manual focus I would suggest the Leica 50mm or 90 mm R.
BeachCamera.com - Sony SAL85F28 - 85mm f/2.8 SAM Mid-range Telephoto Lens for Sony Alpha DSLR's

 

[unpopular]

I was unaware of the 85/2.8, I only knew of the 1.4 G

The 2.8 would be a good option on a more modest budget.

 

[DiskoJoe]

Yeah I have heard good things about it. You can also get a 70-200 f2.8. Works great for portraits.