Sony a390 prime lens

Richb1888 · Mar 29, 2012

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum so please accept apologies if I'm covering old ground here or if I've posted in the wrong place.

So, I'm looking at a new lens for my camera sony a390. I currently have a 18-70 and a 75 - 300 mm lenses. Both are great for different things obviously. I want to get a 'fast' lens as I'm struggling to get the bokeh effect with these lenses. So, do I go for a 35mm or a 50mm lens?

There are 2 similarly priced lenses (in the UK) I've been looking at....

SONY DT 35mm f/1.8 SAM or SONY 50mm f/1.8 DT

Just wondered if anyone could offer any pros/cons for which is better? Or if the only difference is the focal length in which case I guess it just depends what I'm shooting. Looking for something that will be quite versatile.

Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.

Rich

Mrgiggls · Mar 29, 2012

I know nothing about Sony gear...but typically the difference in optical performance between 2 lenses of similar design from the same manufacturer are virtually non-existent.
With a 1.5 crop of the cameras sensor the 35 will likely be more useful in most situations but a 50mm (75mm on a 1.5x crop) will be more suited to people/portraits.

Richb1888 · Mar 30, 2012

Thanks very much for your help

Cheers

gsgary · Mar 30, 2012

Carl Zeiss 85F1.4 is a great lens

kassad · Mar 31, 2012

Look for a used Minolta 50mm f1.7 excellent all metal lens. @$75 on eBay.

Kolia · Apr 5, 2012

Mrgiggls said:
I know nothing about Sony gear...but typically the difference in optical performance between 2 lenses of similar design from the same manufacturer are virtually non-existent.
With a 1.5 crop of the cameras sensor the 35 will likely be more useful in most situations but a 50mm (75mm on a 1.5x crop) will be more suited to people/portraits.

+1

35mm for all around shooting
50mm for portrait

I have both basic Sony lenses and i like them a lot. They feel a bit cheap being all plastic, but the image quality is pretty good.