Sony Alpha Lenses

[sdgmusic]

I am pretty dumb yes.

I am looking at getting the Sony Alpha 100 however I have a question about the lens that it comes with. Normally most lenses have 2 rubber rings, one for zoom one for focus yes? well This only has one ring, I may not be seeing the other, but I am right in thinking that there is no manual focus ring?

Take a look:

Sony Alpha 18-70 (kit lens)
Sony Alpha 18-200

 

[Alex_B]

don't know that lens, but to me it seems there is a second (shorter) ring at the very front of it. Could that be manual focus?

 

[Zatodragon]

Yep, the very front of the lens where you mount your filters is the manual focus ring, just like the lens that came with the 5D and 7D.

The Alpha is a blast to use and performs very well! You won't be disappointed.

 

[shorty6049]

great camera! the front focus ring is plastic by the way, thats why you dont notice it... nice wide lens too

 

[sdgmusic]

OK thanks guys. to the ones who own this camera. have you used this 18-70 lens for portraits? is it good for that? they have a 50mm f1.4 and a 28mm f2.8. these are listed on sony's website as wide angle, but i know that wide angle is not such a great idea for portaits or headshots

 

[Big Mike]

Some lenses (thins one, and the Canon 18-55 kit lens, for example) are not designed with manual focusing in mind. The designers figure that the vast majority of people who use this lens will very rarely use manual focus, so they don't give it a nice wide ring to focus with.

Take a look at expensive 'pro level' lenses and you will see that most of them have nice wide focus rings because that is a feature that people who buy those lenses want.

Obviously it's a generalization and doesn't fit everyone.

 

[zioneffect564]

OK thanks guys. to the ones who own this camera. have you used this 18-70 lens for portraits? is it good for that? they have a 50mm f1.4 and a 28mm f2.8. these are listed on sony's website as wide angle, but i know that wide angle is not such a great idea for portaits or headshots

I've used it for a couple portraits..

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77854

but the 50mm is going to be great for portraits..the 28 you can to some but you'll get a lot better results from the 50

 

[Frequent Traveler]

Hey Sean -

The 50 F1.4 is rated very well - i have a 50 F1.7 (OS) and it is excellent bordering on superb. Also, it will be ~75mm on your Alpha. I can't add anything RE: the 28mm.

You will absolutely be overjoyed with the Sony Alpha. Remember Sony's dSLR division is deeply influenced by and employs former Minolta engineers.

As for Pro lenses (as Big Mike mentioned), "Sony" has only a few for now, BUT Minolta had quite a few and would be referenced as "G" lenses and can be found in many places. They will work perfectly on your Alpha.
Also, keep in mind that Sony has Zeiss lenses as well though for the moment they are spendy.

Enjoy the buzz!

frank

 

[sdgmusic]

Basically I am looking for an all purpose lens that can also do portraits and headshots. The kits available in my area for the Alpha are:
(Prices in CAN$)

$899 - Alpha w/ Sony 18-70
$1199 - Alpha w/ Sony 18-70 & 75-300
$1299 - Alpha w/ Sigma 17-70 (f2.8)
$1299 - Alpha w/ Sigma 18-200
$1349 - Alpha w/ Sony 18-200

 

[Zatodragon]

The kit with Sigma 17-70 would be my best guess for nice portraits and headshots. The f/2.8 will allow for that nice blurred background with focus on the subject. Plus i have 2 people i know with that lens that just rant and rave about it.

 

[Frequent Traveler]

Though it is on the more expensive side, i would likely go with the Sigma as well. From all accounts, given a good copy, it is a very good lens - sharp, beautiful colors and nice focal range. I would also start shopping the older Minolta AF lenses (50mm F1.7 for example) before the Sony machine comes online full-strength with their new cameras this Fall - while prices are going up now, i suspect they will skyrocket then for sure.

Enjoy the reality of in-body stabilization where EVERY lens becomes vibration resistant!

frank

 

[sdgmusic]

Well I picked up the 18-70 lens, and am soon aquiring a minolta maxxum 50mm f1.4, I think between the 2 I'll be set for a while, what do you think?

 

[Frequent Traveler]

If you're wanting only headshots, then arguably, you can do quite well. However, it must be said that some of the longer focal lenths eg., 85mm, 100mm are also excellent. This is strictly referring to focal length and aside from the 85&100mm's being superb lenses.

As an aside, the hugely popular Minolta 70-210mm F4 (constant, non-variable aperture). It is more commonly known as the "Beercan" due to it's physical size and heft and is also very good - especially considering that it is a zoom lens. It has excellent color and bokeh properties ans is a very sharp lens, but not quite in the same league as your 50mm F1.7 prime or the "G" series lenses.

Enjoy!

frank

 

[Mad_Gnome]

For headshots and the occasional portrait, you couldn't be happier with the 50mm f/1.4. It's tack sharp at f/2.0 and up, and more than acceptable at anything below that. Great bokeh, accurate color - basically, you couldn't ask for a better lens.