Sony A390 DSLR lens and SD card

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RaiderHammer

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Hi Just looking for some advice. I have just bought a Sony A390 and would like to get a 75 mm 300 mm lens for it.

Am I best to stay with a Sony lens or would a Sigma or something else work OK with the autofocus on this camera?

Also need a new SD card, any recommendations.

I am only a starter at DSLR.

Thank you.
 
RaiderHammer said:
So this is not a good buy then?

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/35807/show.html

Would a Minolta lens still work on the A390 and auto focus?
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Any Minolta AF lens will work on your Sony. Older MF Minoltas won't work without an adapter.

The Sony 75-300 is based on a Tamron design. It's okay, but there's a reason why it's so cheap. Most 75-300 designs are nowhere near as good as the (more expensive) 70-300 lenses.

As mentioned above, the Sony 70-300G is much much better, but priced accordingly. There's a new Tamron 70-300, though, that's cheaper and has had good reviews.

I'd avoid the sigma 70-300 Lots of history of them stripping gears on Sony cams.
 
another vote here for the 70-210mm f4 beercan, i had one paired with the a390 and it was a great lens. don't let the fact that it's older put you off, it is a great telephoto for the money.

i bought mine from ffordes and would highly recommend them, here's a link to one they have at the minute.

http://www.ffordes.com/product/11081018181281
 
If you're wanting new, and budget, and Jessops your best option is the Tamron

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/74938/show.html

It's better than the Sony 75-300 (which is actually a slight rework of the older Minolta 75-300), and nearly as good as the Sigma 70-300 APO, but without the concerns over possible failure of the AF Gears.
 
I've got that 55-200mm Sony lens myself and it's not bad at all. Very handy to have if you want to travel light and pair it up with the 18-55mm kit lens.

But like the others here I'd still prefer a beercan. For the price they're a bargain with very nice colours and bokeh, and closed down a stop they're pretty sharp too. Unless you really know what you're doing though it's worth getting one from a reputable s/h dealer such as Ffordes or LCE as some examples on e-bay can have fungus or sticking/oily diaphragm.
 
LCE have a couple of beercans in stock currently, Leamington at £120 with hood (hoods often get lost), and Guildford at £89 without hood. If you call to order by phone you can usually get them to throw in postage.
 
RaiderHammer said:
Would a 55 mm to 200 mm lenes be a better option than the 300 mm if I wanted to go for a new Sony lens?

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/70068/show.html
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I've owned both the Sony 55-200 and a minolta 75-300 (pretty much the same as the Sony equivalent). Of the two, I'd say the 55-200 was the better lens, although we are talking about the 2 cheapest zooms in the Sony range (so there's not much in it).
 
The Sony 75-300 is quite poor. The 55-200 is a lightweight gem, cheap and quite sharp for its price. Beercan is highly regarded but getting a good copy isn't so easy. As for SD cards, any reputable brand class 6 or 10 will do. Don't bother with expensive very fast rated cards as your camera is not capable of UDMA transfer (PIO only).
 
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