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Looking for Lens recommendations for Sony E-Mount (lemmy.zip)
submitted 1 week ago by to c/photography@lemmy.world
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Hi Friends, super mega ultra beginner here, looking for recommendations :)

I’m piss poor but have gotten really into AMATEUR photography over the last year and a half with my tiny Nikon digicam and soooooo…

I semi recently got a used Sony a5000 mirrorless plus sigma 30mm f2.8 for my birthday with which I’m having a lot of fun with just trial and erroring my way through photography :) I had decided on the sigma 30mm as it came widely recommended (by the internet) and it seemed like a good middle ground for everyday things and just getting to know the camera.

However now Christmas is coming up and I’m looking to dip my toes into more specific focal lengths. 

So now I’m looking for recommendations on lenses. Specifically telephoto but maybe also an even wider one. 

I’m most interested yet equally uninformed about Telephoto. I’m interested in shooting portraits, my cat, close ups of makeup and still life and maybe a little mushroom or a bird here and there but wildlife shouldn’t be the focus here because I’m not that outdoorsy. With my limited info I thought an effective focal length of 85-135mm might be good  (or maybe a longer range 200-300 one plus a shorter range 60-85 one? Or a zoom lens?…See I know nothing). Also I’m not sure about aperture on telephoto so feel free to educate me but I figure 2.8 is always good. 

I was also thinking about getting an even wider angle for like cityscapes nature and maybe stars (I’m not looking to become an astrophotographer I just wanna be able to take a photo of the night sky that’s not a black square) but I’m not sure if I need it or how much of a difference it would make comparing to the sigma. 

Sidenote: I would prefer a prime lens as I wish to squeeze all I can out of my camera (unless u can convince me otherwise)

And I would maybe prefer a full frame lens in case I ever wanna buy a new camera in a few years so I can keep using the lenses :)

TLDR: please recommend telephoto and or wide angle or just your favorite lenses for Sony e-mount considering I have the budget of a homeless raccoon (obviously I’m ok with secondhand I’m not completely delusional) 

Also feel free to tell me all kinds of stuff about stuff I’m ready to be educated.

Thank you <3

EDIT: since a lot of people have pointed it out, I am aware of the crop factor when putting a full frame lens on a APS-C sensor, that’s why I stated the effective focal length I was looking for (which was meant to include the crop factor if applicable) 😅 sorry if that wasn’t clear and plus I still appreciate everyone bringing it up in context with specific lenses

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[–] 1 point 1 week ago* (1 child)

It's can be highly subjective as to what constitutes a good photograph, but here some I took with my Sony A7M3 with a Helios-44 attached that I enjoyed taking and looking at, if only for the memories they stir up. Vintage lenses can be VERY inexpensive...like $15 sometimes, and they can produce some wild artistic character that'd be very difficult to apply in post processing. You've got a good camera body; in my opinion digital photography reached a new milestone of quality when it crested the 16MP (Nikon D4 and Df) and 20MP (Canon 5D Mark II) mark. Your A5000 will treat you very well as long as your composition and exposure are well-controlled.

There's also an optical adapting device called a focal reducer (sometimes referred to as a 'speedbooster') that essentially allows a full frame SLR lens to retain its native focal length for an APS-C crop sensor while also making the maximum aperture brighter by one stop (it's kind of the the inverse of a telephoto converter). They can come in versions that will retain autofocus for a certain adapted mount (I would recommend getting one that electronically and physically adapts Canon EF DSLR lenses to Sony E mount so you can use any of the HUGE variety of Canon autofocus EF glass, as well as easily adapt other mounts like Nikon F, Minolta SR, Pentax K, M42, Exakta, and others, albeit strictly in manual focus mode), or get one without electronic contacts that just performs the optical compression for focal reduction (that's what I have for Konica AR and Canon FL/FD lenses).

The world of possibilities for mirrorless adaptation is enormous and fun, especially if you don't mind taking your time to get the shot.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 week ago

    Wow those pictures are so beautiful I almost feel the warmth looking at them ☀️

    I didn’t think vintage lenses could start that low that definetly motivates me to explore a little 😮

    I have never heard of a focal reducer but I’m curious to research it now

    Thanks for the advice 😊

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