Help for a newbie?

Golgarth

Golgarth

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Karl
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Hi all, I have been in love with photography for years, but never had the cash to splash as it were on anything "high end".
For the past two or three years I have been playing with a Fuji S7000, and recently found myself wanting more.

I have two kinds of photography I enjoy, night landscapes (beaches, docks, inner city etc) and wildlife. I understand the two require slightly different lenses (I would assume from what I have read slow lenses are ok for my landscape shots, where low f number high "zoom" lenses would be better for my wildlife)

I recently upgraded to a Sony A200 with the basic kit lens (and BOY is there a difference!) and love it. For the time being the kit lens will do me for night shooting, but I would love something to enable me to be able to get some bird shots that aren't exactly closeby ;)

Can people recommend something that would be worth buying, and preferably doesn't cost the earth? I have no problem with second hand if people can point me in the right direction (I understand minolta lenses fit?)

Cheers in advance
 
Can't help, sorry I'm a Canon man but I'm sure a nice Sony owner will be along at some point to help you!! :D Bumpity bump! :)
 
Again being a Canon users I can't help with any particular lens, but a budget would help anybody give you advise.

May be look at the sigma lenses at 300mm +
 
tbh cost is something that is always hard, I was thinking no more than £250-300. I can't afford one right now, but if I know what I am aiming for it helps when it comes to "finding" the money.
 
Golgarth said:
Hi all, I have been in love with photography for years, but never had the cash to splash as it were on anything "high end".
For the past two or three years I have been playing with a Fuji S7000, and recently found myself wanting more.

I have two kinds of photography I enjoy, night landscapes (beaches, docks, inner city etc) and wildlife. I understand the two require slightly different lenses (I would assume from what I have read slow lenses are ok for my landscape shots, where low f number high "zoom" lenses would be better for my wildlife)

I recently upgraded to a Sony A200 with the basic kit lens (and BOY is there a difference!) and love it. For the time being the kit lens will do me for night shooting, but I would love something to enable me to be able to get some bird shots that aren't exactly closeby ;)

Can people recommend something that would be worth buying, and preferably doesn't cost the earth? I have no problem with second hand if people can point me in the right direction (I understand minolta lenses fit?)

Cheers in advance
Click to expand...

Welcome to the site Golgarth.
You are right in your understanding that Minolta AF lenses will fit the Alpha range of cameras.
Many of these can be picked up off of ebay for not too much money, although prices for good ones are rising slightly as the Sony range of DSLR's become more popular.
Two of the most sought after are the 50mm f1.7 "prime" lens which is very good for portrait and low light work, and will give better results than your standard kit lens. Prices of these are around £50-£80.00 depending on condition. Most Sony users will consider this lens a "must have"....

The other lens that a lot of Alpha owners look for is the legendary 70-210mm f4 "Beercan"...and this could (could) suffice for your birding shots. A good one of these will give excellent results, very sharp and the beauty of this lens is that the f4 aperture is available at all focal lengths. You can pick these up from about £100.00 or so, but the best examples fetch between £150-£180.00 or thereabouts.

A good website for information on all Sony fit lenses is this one...
http://www.dyxum.com/index.asp
It's not the easiest site to navigate (little bit confusing in places) but if you take your time to explore you will find independent reviews on most (if not all) of the lenses that have ever been made that will fit the Sony range of cameras.
This will confirm what I am saying about the two lenses above, I think more has been written about these two than any of the others!!
Third party lenses (Tamron/Sigman/Tokina etc.) are covered in there too, so it will really open your eyes to what is available.
The best advice I can give you is take your time, don't rush into anything, and ask questions before you press the "buy now" button...;)

Again, welcome to the site, and take Markf's advice above. Clicking on the link he has provided will take you to the "Sony talk" section of the site where all your Alpha related questions will be answered by those in the know.
Rob
 
many thanks for the tips guys, time to do some more reading.....
 
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