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Newbie here: Afforadble 50 F/1.8 for FF a7sII?

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guatitamasluz

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guatitamasluz said:
Hi everyone,

I got a A7sII on preorder and am re-activating my sony photography (compacts only before that). So I kind of have hard time purchasing lenses. Thank you for your recommendations.

Kind regards, Peter

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guatitamasluz/
http://peterhauri.wordpress.com/
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It would help if you provided a little more info what you're looking for, is manual focus only OK or do you require auto focus?

Also, what do you consider affordable?
 
guatitamasluz said:
I got a A7sII on preorder and am re-activating my sony photography (compacts only before that). So I kind of have hard time purchasing lenses. Thank you for your recommendations.
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At this stage of the Sony FE (full frame) lens lineup, this "Canon 6d defector" observes that there aren't a lot of reasonably priced options.

Canon (and probably Nikon) have a whole series of non-"L" prime lenses in the $300 to $500 range, and the budget STM lenses. Other than the Sony FE 28mm f2, those don't yet exist in the Sony system. Bummer.

The excellent Zony FE 55mm f1.8 is available for about $900 to $1000, and gray market for about $700. Ouch.

It is good to have at least one native Sony lens to have all the AF options available, like eye tracking (I'm assuming the a7Sii has that).

Do you have lenses from Canon or Nikon? It would help to expand your DPR profile with Gear-List.

You might consider the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM, with an adapter. The lens is VERY reasonably priced (~$125) to get started.

I'm hoping that Sony eventually expands their lens lineup with a whole series of fast prime lenses similar to the FE 28mm f2 in price and performance, with focal lengths of 20mm to 200mm.
 
If you are willing to use MF only, there are a lot of very good legacy 50mm lenses out there for very reasonable prices. If you want AF you are a bit more constrained. I use a Minolta AF 50mm f1.7 with the LA-EA4 adapter., and am happy with it. Might be worth some consideration.
-J
 
If you are going to buy a really expensive body why wouldn't you buy the Sony Zeiss 55mm?

The difference between this first rate lens and a cheap one is a small fraction of the body cost and you get all of the body features.

Andrew

--

Infinite are the arguments of mages. Truth is a jewel with many facets. Ursula K LeGuin
 
guatitamasluz said:
Hi everyone,

I got a A7sII on preorder and am re-activating my sony photography (compacts only before that). So I kind of have hard time purchasing lenses. Thank you for your recommendations.

Kind regards, Peter

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guatitamasluz/
http://peterhauri.wordpress.com/
Click to expand...
Need more information but here goes anyway.....

FF AF and no restrictions....

The Sony Zeiss 55 1.8 (seriously, get this).

FF fast AF but some restrictions (such as wasting the EV -4 AF and much smaller area of focus points).........

Any A mount 50 AF lens and LA-EA4.

FF slow AF but some restrictions......

Canon EF AF lenses with an EF to E smart type adapter (not all adapters will AF all lenses)...slow AF and AF-S only but covers a much greater area of focus points and will still AF in really low light.

50 1.8, 50 1.8ii, 50 1.8 STM, Chinese clones (cheaper), Sigma EF mount and the faster EF 50s.

Then there are the FF E mount manual focus 50s from Zeiss, Mitakon, SLR Magic ETC.

Then there are all the zillions of legacy 50s from most mounts and ranging from very cheap (maybe free if you look in a few relatives and friends closets) to expensive (some of the FD L lenses with aspherical elements are still very expensive).

From left field I would add the cheap little Sony APSC 50 1.8 OSS......you can use this in APSC mode for video and stills....especially video with an A7s/A7sii but also use it FF with AF extension tubes (16mm of extension seem to do it)....surprisingly good I think...

Jpeg and video users you can avoid vignetting with a bit of clearzoom (virtually lossless digital zoom) or with heavy vignetting FF normally.......using clearzoom, the stabilization will not work.

for cheap, just get the first 50 on Ebay that comes your way and then get a "dumb" adapter for $10 or so to match and use that while you save for the Sony Zeiss 55 1.8 (or get the little 50 1.8 OSS and use that alongside a legacy 50 if you want.

TL:DR

Get the Sony Zeiss 55 1.8 and while you save for that get the cheapest legacy 50 you can beg borrow or steal with matching cheap dumb adapter.
 
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Thank you everyone for your wise suggestions...! I am a Canon shooter. Had a 5Diii which got stolen during an assault this past summer along wiht a 16-35 F/2.8 USM II. Still having this fine cam and lens, I opted for an a7s and a Samyang 14 F/2.8. So I thought I'd make the move to Sony for my lowlight stuff as you can see in my flickr blog.

But after quite some research partly resulting in similar options as offered by your answers, I have to put off that purchase. I am inclined to go Sony again for the tremendous low light performance of the A7s and A7sII.

So I will stand by and see what happens concerning an affordable FE lens line up either provided by Sony itself or Sigma. There were some rumours about Sigma adding more e-mount lenses or even that Sony would come up with an extended E-Mount lens-line.

If there was a decently priced Sony 50 F1.8/1.4 within the oldish Canon 50 F/1.4 price range, I were purhcasing the Sony. Cancelled my pre-order tonight due to forementioned lens-line up constraints. So, time will tell, what I am going to do. Maybe anther 6-8 month could be worth the wait.

Don't have an awful lot of gear besides the stolen lens: Canon EF 28 F/2.8, Canon 50 F/1.4, Canon 85 F/1.8, Canon 70-200 F/2.8 USM, non IS. Well that's it, and I mostly did nightphotography and some available light using the 50 1.4

Thanks again, and hopefully we'll see some decent AF lenses being announced either by Sony or Sigma.

Kind regards, Peter
 
ahaslett said:
If you are going to buy a really expensive body why wouldn't you buy the Sony Zeiss 55mm?

The difference between this first rate lens and a cheap one is a small fraction of the body cost and you get all of the body features.

Andrew

--

Infinite are the arguments of mages. Truth is a jewel with many facets. Ursula K LeGuin
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Indeed. The Photography world is a lot like the high end audio one. You should put the biggest chunk of budget on your speakers not your amplifier/receiver because first of all...glass like speakers do not lose value as dramatically as the camera body/receivers do as technology improves plus having the best camera body to then put a so so glass in front of it is just handicapping it imo but to each its own.
 
guatitamasluz said:
Thank you everyone for your wise suggestions...! I am a Canon shooter. Had a 5Diii which got stolen during an assault this past summer along wiht a 16-35 F/2.8 USM II. Still having this fine cam and lens, I opted for an a7s and a Samyang 14 F/2.8. So I thought I'd make the move to Sony for my lowlight stuff as you can see in my flickr blog.

But after quite some research partly resulting in similar options as offered by your answers, I have to put off that purchase. I am inclined to go Sony again for the tremendous low light performance of the A7s and A7sII.

So I will stand by and see what happens concerning an affordable FE lens line up either provided by Sony itself or Sigma. There were some rumours about Sigma adding more e-mount lenses or even that Sony would come up with an extended E-Mount lens-line.

If there was a decently priced Sony 50 F1.8/1.4 within the oldish Canon 50 F/1.4 price range, I were purhcasing the Sony. Cancelled my pre-order tonight due to forementioned lens-line up constraints. So, time will tell, what I am going to do. Maybe anther 6-8 month could be worth the wait.
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As you point out, the Canon 50mm f1.4 is oldish and thus cheapish. There are no mirrorless native lenses that are oldish and few that are really value priced (like those brought over from film days).

The great thing about mirrorless is that with adapters, nearly every lens ever made fits and works. Some better than others.

I hope Sigma jumps on board also. More choices is a plus, but I wouldn't consider the current line up lacking considering the age of the system.
guatitamasluz said:
Don't have an awful lot of gear besides the stolen lens: Canon EF 28 F/2.8, Canon 50 F/1.4, Canon 85 F/1.8, Canon 70-200 F/2.8 USM, non IS. Well that's it, and I mostly did nightphotography and some available light using the 50 1.4

Thanks again, and hopefully we'll see some decent AF lenses being announced either by Sony or Sigma.

Kind regards, Peter
Click to expand...
 
My sharpest 50ishmm lens is a Sears 55mm F1.8 M42 lens believe it or not. Sharp corner to corner WO on an A7R.

Its sharper than the Contax CY 50mm F1.7 I just sold but the Contax has better color. That is also a good lens as is the Contax CY 50mm F1.4.
 
I have a Samyang 50 1.4 cine and it is great, sharp wide open and on the edges. I also recently picked up an old Canon FD 55mm 1.2 SSC which is excellent and it is better than my Nikon 50 1.2 ais.
 
neil holmes said:
From left field I would add the cheap little Sony APSC 50 1.8 OSS......you can use this in APSC mode for video and stills....especially video with an A7s/A7sii but also use it FF with AF extension tubes (16mm of extension seem to do it)....surprisingly good I think...
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Hello,

When you use the APS-C 50 OSS with 16mm extension tube with full frame, are you loosing the focus between a certain distance and infinity ? I think you loose also a little bit of light also ?

Is it useful for other usage than macro photography ?

tks,

Mike.
 
Since you're only using 12MP, there's no need for the sharpest of the sharp. So do not waste your money unless you plan on upgrading to ultra high MP cameras soon (such as the A7RII or 5DSr).

Legacy lenses are the best choice for now, if you want to try out super low light shots within budget. I have a Canon FDn 50 1.4, which renders beautifully, is sharp, and has a 'secret' f/1.2/1.3 mode if you slide the adapter to open. (get up to a stop more light, but with a lot more flare/softness).

If you desperately need AF and prefer native glass, the only thing I can think of is the Sony Zeiss 55 1.8. But that's around $1000
 
You can usually buy it between $750 and $800
 
Myki2000 said:
neil holmes said:
From left field I would add the cheap little Sony APSC 50 1.8 OSS......you can use this in APSC mode for video and stills....especially video with an A7s/A7sii but also use it FF with AF extension tubes (16mm of extension seem to do it)....surprisingly good I think...
Click to expand...
Hello,

When you use the APS-C 50 OSS with 16mm extension tube with full frame, are you loosing the focus between a certain distance and infinity ?
Click to expand...
Yes......only focuses macro distance with the tube.
Myki2000 said:
I think you loose also a little bit of light also ?
Click to expand...
Just the same as using any other lens with extension tube.
Myki2000 said:
Is it useful for other usage than macro photography ?
Click to expand...
For video and stills in APSC mode, very useful....video especially with the A7s....both for the A7 (and stabilized on the non IBIS A7/A7s/A7R cameras).

In a pinch if I only had it with me, I would also use it for Jpegs full frame with a bit of clearzoom......maybe 1.4 or 1.5x.......OSS does not work with that though.
Myki2000 said:
tks,

Mike.
Click to expand...
 
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Random Photographer said:
But I'm still waiting for (and hoping for) Sony to release an FE version of a 'Nifty-Fifty'. Something Tiny, Cheap, Sharp, Fast, and Native w/AF. Something like CaniNikon's 50 1.8. Would bring a lot of potential photogs to Sony.
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I went ahead and got a gray market Zony Fe 55mm f1.8.

I agree that it would great if Sony eventually fills in their lens lineup with the equivalent of the:
  • Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM (~ $125 and very good to excellent IQ)
  • Canon EF 40mm f2.8 pancake STM (~ $125 and very good to excellent IQ)
  • Non "L" fast primes from 20mm to 135mm (~ $300 to $500)
 
jalywol said:
If you are willing to use MF only, there are a lot of very good legacy 50mm lenses out there for very reasonable prices. If you want AF you are a bit more constrained. I use a Minolta AF 50mm f1.7 with the LA-EA4 adapter., and am happy with it. Might be worth some consideration.
-J
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I gave this a thumbs up because after much deliberation this is what I'll be doing with my forthcoming a7RII. But its really only makes sense if the user has other screw drive a-mount lenses.

There should exist an FE equiv. to the inexpensive Canon 50mm f1.8 STM For the a7RII that 50 STM and fotodiox adapter is interesting.

Bruce
 
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