Prime lens choice for Sony a200

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blueflower77

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I'm a very new photographer and still learning my way through how to use the sony a200. I'm taking a photography class and learning photoshop, too and my pictures just don't look like what I want them to look like.

I love taking pictures of people. I really like the big apperture and the blurred background it gives a portrait, and I am thinking about investing into a prime lens. I have been browsing around the internet and have found that Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7 would work for what I need, but then I found that Sony has a Sony AF 50 mm f/1.7 too but twice as expensive. Minolta also has a ton of manual focus lenses that are 50 mm with a large f stop and a wide f stop range and I'm not sure what to buy. I like the quality of pictures I've seen with almost all minolta lenses, but then I can't always find information on whether it would fit Sony a200 model. Plus, being a new generation, I'm not entirely sure how to use manual focus with those lenses, but I would be willing to learn, of course, if it is worth it. :)

So, I guess my question is, what lens should I buy for a good sharp focused portraits with large aperture? And how do I go about finding information on whether they would fit a200? (Also, price is kind of a factor - I don't want to spend too much money on this lens since this is just my hobby). Thanks!

Thanks very much! I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
 
blueflower77 said:
but then I found that Sony has a Sony AF 50 mm f/1.7 too but twice as expensive.
Click to expand...

The Sony 50mm is f1.4 and is a superb lens. Have not used the Minolta f1.7 so couldn't tell you how it compares but those who have it seem to love it. Any Minolta AF lens will fit your Sony.
 
The manual lenses from Minolta wont directly fit your alpha. I'm not sure if an adapter is available or what the results would be like. I use the minolta 50mm f1.7, which I bought off ebay, the prices differ considerably, its a case of biding your time. Its a great portrait lens as it gives the equivalent to a 75mm on the alpha and is a very sharp lens. 50mm f1.4 minolta are much rarer and go for high prices. Make sure any secondhand lenses you look at specify they are autofocus (AF)
 
:p Hi fellow photomaniac,
Well, i could tell you many things about the lenses, but all you need to know is that the MF lenses like MC and MD will not fit unless you have an adapter to manual focus lenses. I do not recommand that really, i have one, but hardly use it.
There are may filters that make the blurry effect to your portraitphoto's. No need for another lens for that. Most blurry effect will be created by your aperturesettings anyway.
Having a prime lens in your kit would help you in some nice ways for good portraiting, but then again, it's less versatile.

Have fun, and all you need is a lot of practice. Use some experimental settings on Manual and just shoot, change the settings, and shoot again. Plain and simple really, and you can discard them directly if you dont like them. I would recomment you to write the settings as you used them, to get the best pictures out, you need to keep a document on what settings you used.

Have fun.
Ewan.

blueflower77 said:
I'm a very new photographer and still learning my way through how to use the sony a200. I'm taking a photography class and learning photoshop, too and my pictures just don't look like what I want them to look like.

I love taking pictures of people. I really like the big apperture and the blurred background it gives a portrait, and I am thinking about investing into a prime lens. I have been browsing around the internet and have found that Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7 would work for what I need, but then I found that Sony has a Sony AF 50 mm f/1.7 too but twice as expensive. Minolta also has a ton of manual focus lenses that are 50 mm with a large f stop and a wide f stop range and I'm not sure what to buy. I like the quality of pictures I've seen with almost all minolta lenses, but then I can't always find information on whether it would fit Sony a200 model. Plus, being a new generation, I'm not entirely sure how to use manual focus with those lenses, but I would be willing to learn, of course, if it is worth it. :)

So, I guess my question is, what lens should I buy for a good sharp focused portraits with large aperture? And how do I go about finding information on whether they would fit a200? (Also, price is kind of a factor - I don't want to spend too much money on this lens since this is just my hobby). Thanks!

Thanks very much! I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Click to expand...
 
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