Which lenses would be most useful for a beginner set-up on Sony NEX-6

Iknownothing said:

Iknownothing wrote:

Hi there,

I'm a complete beginner with little to no knowledge of photography. After doing a great deal of research on the internet, I purchase -and just received- a Sony NEX-6. This camera came bundled with two Sony lenses: a 16-55mm and a 55-210mm.

I have so many questions to ask, but I'll start off with this. Are the two lenses I have going to give me the best results for my needs? I will be doing a lot of shots of animals and people both indoors and outside. These will take the form of portraits and landscapes, so I'm looking for a set of lenses that would be ideal for a someone starting off in photography.

I keep reading about how good the Sigma lenses are, particularly the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 and the 19mm f/2.8. Would these perform better than the two I have, or are there other lenses and other sizes I should be considering?

I would appreciate any help or suggestions you might have.

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You havent said what are your needs. So.. How can we tell.




As a beginner you probably don't know yet what your needs are. You may start photographing and like normal focal length rendition (how a normal focal length looks), or maybe you will like photographing people, or nature, or maybe landscapes. As a beginner you may have an idea, but ideas change a lot once you start using the camera and seeing results. For instance, when I started 2 years ago I had no idea, as you, and didn't care about flash (probably I was intimidated). Now I cant conceive not using flash, specially studio work. So my nex5 is not as useful as I wanted it to be. IT is a nice walkarround camera, but for studio I need to do hacks. I only do this as a hobby, with friends, so no big deal (now Im getting a 6!)




Second, zooms are generic tools. They will give you an OK to good result in a lot of situations. Primes give you from good to great in very specific situations. So for now, you should be good with those 2 lenses, but when you start using your camera, and understanding your needs, you will probably decide on one or 2 fast primes.

Hi,

sorry, my english its very bad. If you are starting with photography before buying more lens maybe you should learn a little more about that 2 lenses that you already have and your new camera. you have already 2 good lenses but you have to try both and found they limitations before look for a better lens.

Iknownothing said:

Iknownothing wrote:

Hi there,

I'm a complete beginner with little to no knowledge of photography. After doing a great deal of research on the internet, I purchase -and just received- a Sony NEX-6. This camera came bundled with two Sony lenses: a 16-55mm and a 55-210mm.

I have so many questions to ask, but I'll start off with this. Are the two lenses I have going to give me the best results for my needs? I will be doing a lot of shots of animals and people both indoors and outside. These will take the form of portraits and landscapes, so I'm looking for a set of lenses that would be ideal for a someone starting off in photography.

I keep reading about how good the Sigma lenses are, particularly the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 and the 19mm f/2.8. Would these perform better than the two I have, or are there other lenses and other sizes I should be considering?

I would appreciate any help or suggestions you might have.

Click to expand...

You are fine with both lenses, they are good general lenses.

What you could consider is a fast, wider aperture, lens.

Also, a wide angle lens would give you another experience, but the 16mm is already pretty wide for starters.

I would look into an f/1.8 lens, either legacy or one of the Sony ones.

Consider adding the 50mm/f1.8 Sony E lens. In price/performance, it is a rasonable trade-off, and it will let you work with a fast lens, narrow DOF, under low light conditions. This covers something that the kit lens really does not.


I would probably hold of on the Sigma lenses. They are impressive, for landscape shots, and very cheap ($100 each), but they don't really gain you much over the kit lens (because you loose OSS). Plus, the rumor is that they will be replaced soon by Sigma.

Iknownothing said:

Iknownothing wrote:

Hi there,

I'm a complete beginner ..., I purchase -and just received- a Sony NEX-6. This camera came bundled with two Sony lenses: a 16-55mm and a 55-210mm.

Are the two lenses I have going to give me the best results for my needs? ... so I'm looking for a set of lenses that would be ideal for a someone starting off in photography.

Click to expand...

Don't worry about other lenses just yet. The two lenses you have will do you just fine for quite some time to come.

In due time you can have lots of fun with (and spend lots of money on) prime lenses, long telephoto lenses, super wide angle lenses, lens babies, micro lenses, fast lenses, this lens, that lens, or some other lens, but you've got your primary bases covered for the immediate future.

Not as glamorous, but consider buying a sturdy tripod and ball head, a flash strobe, and a few photography books rather than new lenses.

Speaking of books: Pretty much anything by Scott Kelby or Brian Peterson would be a good start.

I would say that just for a beginner, go with the kit lenses that came with you camera. After you get used to handling the camera and have some experience, then start thinking about other lenses. Actually, what you have is probably all you will ever need, why spend money on something you will probably not use or need?

I'm a relative beginner myself having only gotten a 5R back in November.

That said, I feel compelled to say that apart from lenses, any beginner should consider getting some good software like Adobe Lightroom. I myself only just started using it but I've already been astounded by how much I've been able to save and enhance pictures from the RAW file. I kind of scoffed at the price at first but after having used it and considering how much more people are willing to shell out for a single lense, the cost seems insignificant considering what it can do for your pictures.

-Jon