Compact system with the a7iii

Hi everyone,

I am considering a a7iii and thinking what primes I would go with.

I mainly shoot with classical focal distances (primes) of 21-24mm, 28mm, 35mm , 50mm and 85mm (or 75mm equiv on crop sensors) focal length. Most used, by far, are 24, 35 and 50mm. Lesnes shoud be compact and light.

FE 55mm F1.8, Fe 50 1.4 are too expensive, at least for me (and the 1.4 large and heavy)

The FE 50mm 1.8 is also not considered because of its AF.

So it seems no 50mm on FF Sony E mount under my creteria.

Sony 35mm F2.8 Sonnar is nice, sadly only 2.8. A compact 2.0 would be much nicer.

FE 28mm f2 is nice.

Fe 85mm 1.8 very nice, and probably the nicest, but I use a 85mm abount 10 % of the time.

No 24mm or 21mm.

How is the quality of the listed lenses and are there other alternatives?

The Zony 35mm 2.8 is an amazing lens, I wouldn’t let the f/2.8 scare you off, the ISO capabilities of the A7 are such that it’s totally not an issue

Tessar III said:

Hi everyone,

I am considering a a7iii and thinking what primes I would go with.

I mainly shoot with classical focal distances (primes) of 21-24mm, 28mm, 35mm , 50mm and 85mm (or 75mm equiv on crop sensors) focal length. Most used, by far, are 24, 35 and 50mm. Lesnes shoud be compact and light.

FE 55mm F1.8, Fe 50 1.4 are too expensive, at least for me (and the 1.4 large and heavy)

The FE 50mm 1.8 is also not considered because of its AF.

So it seems no 50mm on FF Sony E mount under my creteria.

Sony 35mm F2.8 Sonnar is nice, sadly only 2.8. A compact 2.0 would be much nicer.

FE 28mm f2 is nice.

Fe 85mm 1.8 very nice, and probably the nicest, but I use a 85mm abount 10 % of the time.

No 24mm or 21mm.

How is the quality of the listed lenses and are there other alternatives?

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I can strongly recommend the 35mm 2.8 Zony. Wonderful image quality and it transforms the a73 in to a much smaller form factor, like a larger m4/3rds kit.

I recently purchased the 50mm 2.8 Sony FE macro. Yes, the AF is slow and somewhat noisy but it is really a fun lens with the close focus and the optical quality is tops.

I really fancy the 25mm 2.0 Batis but that is likely to expensive, so on the wide end wait for new Tamron/Tokina FE lenses to be introduced.

Tessar III said:

Hi everyone,

I am considering a a7iii and thinking what primes I would go with.

I mainly shoot with classical focal distances (primes) of 21-24mm, 28mm, 35mm , 50mm and 85mm (or 75mm equiv on crop sensors) focal length. Most used, by far, are 24, 35 and 50mm. Lesnes shoud be compact and light.

FE 55mm F1.8, Fe 50 1.4 are too expensive, at least for me (and the 1.4 large and heavy)

The FE 50mm 1.8 is also not considered because of its AF.

So it seems no 50mm on FF Sony E mount under my creteria.

Sony 35mm F2.8 Sonnar is nice, sadly only 2.8. A compact 2.0 would be much nicer.

FE 28mm f2 is nice.

Fe 85mm 1.8 very nice, and probably the nicest, but I use a 85mm abount 10 % of the time.

No 24mm or 21mm.

How is the quality of the listed lenses and are there other alternatives?

Click to expand...

There are a few autofocus primes around although I wish there was more. The 28 is great, the 35 is good as well, you can get a rokinon version for $260. The 85 is very good. 55 is probably the best Sony lens made. It’s worth the price. Tokina 20mm autofocus lens was just released. If you want a non classic lens the manual focus Voigtlander 15mm is my most used lens. It’s very small. My advice would be the 28,55,85 combo. The 55 is really worth it and you can put the savings from not getting the 35 to the 55.

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https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/sammy82/

Tessar III said:

Hi everyone,

I am considering a a7iii and thinking what primes I would go with.

I mainly shoot with classical focal distances (primes) of 21-24mm, 28mm, 35mm , 50mm and 85mm (or 75mm equiv on crop sensors) focal length. Most used, by far, are 24, 35 and 50mm. Lesnes shoud be compact and light.

FE 55mm F1.8,

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Excellent lens. Yes it's a bit pricey but tack sharp, Zeiss Otus-class sharp but at 1/4 price and can AF.

Tessar III said:

Fe 50 1.4 are too expensive, at least for me (and the 1.4 large and heavy)

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50/1.4 prime is large and heavy regardless from which brand. Check the new Sigma FE 50/1.4 Art, relative affordable but also large and heavy.

Tessar III said:

The FE 50mm 1.8 is also not considered because of its AF.

Click to expand...

Not really on reviews. Only slow AF in low light but pretty fast in good light.

Tessar III said:

So it seems no 50mm on FF Sony E mount under my creteria.

Click to expand...

There are third party options. Why not consider Samyang 50mm f/1.4 AF at very attractive price.

Tessar III said:

Sony 35mm F2.8 Sonnar is nice, sadly only 2.8. A compact 2.0 would be much nicer.

Click to expand...

You seem ask too much You want fast but light and small and cheap price? As others said it's excellent. You can consider Samyang FE 35/2.8 that has close performance but at half price. You can also adapt Canon 35/2.0 IS that is not very big and heavy. I used to own, one-stop faster but FE 35/2.8 ZA has similar sharpness, so I sold Canon lens.

Tessar III said:

FE 28mm f2 is nice.

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Indeed.

Tessar III said:

Fe 85mm 1.8 very nice, and probably the nicest, but I use a 85mm abount 10 % of the time.

Click to expand...

Indeed

Tessar III said:

No 24mm or 21mm.

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Tokina Firin 20mm f/2, not very expensive but big and heavy. Loxia 21mm, compact, excellent optical quality but expensive and manual focus.

Tessar III said:

How is the quality of the listed lenses and are there other alternatives?

Click to expand...

I own FE 35/2.8 ZA and FE 55/1.8 ZA, both excellent build and optical quality. Heard other lenses you listed are also very good.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums

So I started with a small light kit when I first came to Sony and then it kind of grew up over time as I did more and more shooting with my Sony's and less with my Canon. So I have GM for 16-35, 24-70, and 100-400mm.

But I have also tried to have a small alternative. The 55/1.8 and 35/2.8 are at the center but for others I have gone with Zeiss Batis family of 18/2.8, 25/2.0, 85/1.8, and 135/2.8. Some consider the Batis larger than they would like but I think the are a great compromise of fast enough but also light and small enough if not the smallest at each focal length. The Batis and Loxia lines are the only family of 4, and hopefully more, lenses that have a common approach which is a feature I value. Go Batis if you want AF and Loxia if you love and appreciate MF. The GM are a family approach as well but they are definitely big, heavy and expensive and currently consist of 4 zooms and 1 prime.

I would like a little faster 35 so I am hoping Zeiss adds a 35/2 or 35/1.8 Batis. Or maybe even a 40mm that would fit nicely between the 25 and 85mm.

Steve W

Steve W said:

So I started with a small light kit when I first came to Sony and then it kind of grew up over time as I did more and more shooting with my Sony's and less with my Canon. So I have GM for 16-35, 24-70, and 100-400mm.

But I have also tried to have a small alternative. The 55/1.8 and 35/2.8 are at the center but for others I have gone with Zeiss Batis family of 18/2.8, 25/2.0, 85/1.8, and 135/2.8. Some consider the Batis larger than they would like but I think the are a great compromise of fast enough but also light and small enough if not the smallest at each focal length. The Batis and Loxia lines are the only family of 4, and hopefully more, lenses that have a common approach which is a feature I value. Go Batis if you want AF and Loxia if you love and appreciate MF. The GM are a family approach as well but they are definitely big, heavy and expensive and currently consist of 4 zooms and 1 prime.

I would like a little faster 35 so I am hoping Zeiss adds a 35/2 or 35/1.8 Batis. Or maybe even a 40mm that would fit nicely between the 25 and 85mm.

Steve W

--
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe! - Words to live by. Albert Einstein

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Batis (as well as Loxia) lenses are amazing. In the past weekend, I did side by side test among FE 70-200 GM, FE 70-200G/4.0 and Batis 135 at FL at 70mm, 135mm and 200mm at aperture stops of F2.8, F4.0, F5.6 and F8.0. Batis 135 has one unique character that its sharpness at wide open F2.8 basically is almost the same as stops down to even F8.0, which means it is already tack sharp at F2.8 that is nothing short of amazing. Plus in pretty light weight and compact size, excellent choice for portrait and travel. I am thinking it can substitute FE 70-200G/4.0 OSS in travels on 2nd camera while I have either FE 16-35 GM or EF 24-70L/2.8 II default on the main camera while FE 35/2.8 and 55/1.8 sits between. Also I found my copy of FE 70-200G actually is pretty good @200mm when compared to FE 70-200 GM once stop down to F5.6 or beyond. GM version is still noticeably better but only obvious viewing at 1:1 full size. Originally I was planning to sell it and exchange to FE 70-300G and already got a quote in Greentoe but after carefully examining those test photos I decided to keep it as still prefer f/4 constant aperture.

Nevertheless here is a sample from Batis 135 @f2.8 in full size. I am very happy.



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https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums

Seems to me you are considering the wrong system. If you rule out the lenses that would serve you well, not much is left...

Thanks mike, good to know that. More than noise I was thinking about subject separation (I am used to a 35mm f/2).

One problem with the Sony system is that prices skyrocket if leaving the basic models. I was looking at the loxia 21mm (MF) and bastis 25mm.

Probably the 16-35 f/4 would be a better option for the wide angle range, but large.

PWPhotography said:

50/1.4 prime is large and heavy regardless from which brand. Check the new Sigma FE 50/1.4 Art, relative affordable but also large and heavy.

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Not really, my nikon AF-S 50mm 1.4 is small and light (280g)

PWPhotography said:

PWPhotography said:

The FE 50mm 1.8 is also not considered because of its AF.

Click to expand...

Not really on reviews. Only slow AF in low light but pretty fast in good light.

PWPhotography said:

So it seems no 50mm on FF Sony E mount under my creteria.

Click to expand...

There are third party options. Why not consider Samyang 50mm f/1.4 AF at very attractive price.

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I will look at it, thanks.

PWPhotography said:

PWPhotography said:

Sony 35mm F2.8 Sonnar is nice, sadly only 2.8. A compact 2.0 would be much nicer.

Click to expand...

You seem ask too much You want fast but light and small and cheap price? As others said it's excellent. You can consider Samyang FE 35/2.8 that has close performance but at half price. You can also adapt Canon 35/2.0 IS that is not very big and heavy. I used to own, one-stop faster but FE 35/2.8 ZA has similar sharpness, so I sold Canon lens.

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Nikon 35mm f/2.0 AF-D (200g), Nikon 35mm 1/8G (300g), and fuji 23 1.4 (300g) - the last one apples to pears, and expensive too.

PWPhotography said:

PWPhotography said:

FE 28mm f2 is nice.

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Indeed.

PWPhotography said:

Fe 85mm 1.8 very nice, and probably the nicest, but I use a 85mm abount 10 % of the time.

Click to expand...

Indeed

PWPhotography said:

No 24mm or 21mm.

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Tokina Firin 20mm f/2, not very expensive but big and heavy. Loxia 21mm, compact, excellent optical quality but expensive and manual focus.

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21-24 prime is perhaps the most difficult range here.

PWPhotography said:

PWPhotography said:

How is the quality of the listed lenses and are there other alternatives?

Click to expand...

I own FE 35/2.8 ZA and FE 55/1.8 ZA, both excellent build and optical quality. Heard other lenses you listed are also very good.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums

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fe 35mm, fe 85 could be the lenses to start with, and the fe 50mm 1.8 only after giving it a try.

Thanks for your comments.

MikeTakesPix said:

The Zony 35mm 2.8 is an amazing lens, I wouldn’t let the f/2.8 scare you off, the ISO capabilities of the A7 are such that it’s totally not an issue

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Absolutely, it was my first FE lens, and still my favourite, it's scarily sharp and the f2.8 has never been an issue, perfect walkaround lens, very light

Tessar III said:

Thanks mike, good to know that. More than noise I was thinking about subject separation (I am used to a 35mm f/2).

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Which 35 2.0 (& other lenses) do you currently have?

You might simply be able to adapt those...

PWPhotography said:

Tessar III said:

Hi everyone,

I am considering a a7iii and thinking what primes I would go with.

I mainly shoot with classical focal distances (primes) of 21-24mm, 28mm, 35mm , 50mm and 85mm (or 75mm equiv on crop sensors) focal length. Most used, by far, are 24, 35 and 50mm. Lesnes shoud be compact and light.

Click to expand...

PWPhotography said:

Fe 50 1.4 are too expensive, at least for me (and the 1.4 large and heavy)

Click to expand...

50/1.4 prime is large and heavy regardless from which brand.

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Rollei Zeiss 50 1.4 is the same size as slower 50s and weighs 220 grams.... C/Y version probably similar.

Tessar III said:

Thanks mike, good to know that. More than noise I was thinking about subject separation (I am used to a 35mm f/2).

Click to expand...

at this point in time, you'd have to adapt the tamron 35/1.8 or the canon 35/2

Tessar III said:

One problem with the Sony system is that prices skyrocket if leaving the basic models. I was looking at the loxia 21mm (MF) and bastis 25mm.

Click to expand...

you can get e-mount for cheap, i paid $220 for the samyang 35/2.8, on one of those ebay 15% days.

the nine sigma lenses will almost certainly be priced the same as they are in other mounts... we expect the tamron 28-75/2.8 to be competitively priced.

Tessar III said:

Probably the 16-35 f/4 would be a better option for the wide angle range, but large.

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modern wide af zooms usually are "large"... you have this funny habit of throwing non-sequiturs around in your posts.

Tessar III said:

No 24mm or 21mm.

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The loxia21 is excellent and I don't need AF with 21

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Zony 35mm f2.8 is a great lens. The cheaper Rokinon 35mm f2.8 is a good alternative if you think the Zony is too expensive.

Fast and compactness can't coexist in FF world due to physics, unless you are willing to go MF. 35mm is not the FL for target separation anyways, 2.8 will do just fine.

Lu1Wang said:

Zony 35mm f2.8 is a great lens. The cheaper Rokinon 35mm f2.8 is a good alternative if you think the Zony is too expensive.

Fast and compactness can't coexist in FF world due to physics, unless you are willing to go MF. 35mm is not the FL for target separation anyways, 2.8 will do just fine.

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I have a Sony 35 F2,8, IMO it's not "expensive" just looking at the price tag itself, but's very expensive for what you are getting out of this lens, on the other hand, the Samyang 35 F2.8 is HUGE bargain for what you get from that lens at $265 USD, it's on sale at B&H.

Tessar III said:

The FE 50mm 1.8 is also not considered because of its AF.

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Perhaps you shouldn't write that lens off until you or others have tested it on the A7III, which might have sufficiently better autofocus than that of the earlier generation cameras which provided poor AF performance with that lens to make the combination acceptable for your use.

Suck it up and get the 55, assuming you use that FL quite often.

I too thought/think it as being expensive, but justified it away. Had it been a 85 for that price I would have passed. I sucked it up and don’t regret the purchase

The 55 is said to be a baby Otus without the 5k price tag. At first I had it and the kit. It gets used 85% of the time. It is sharp wide open corner to corner and easily allows me to crop to 12MP and still retain good detail... kinda why I never bothered with the 85 batis. With the cheaper but almost equally good 85 Sony our, I will eventually get it.

Choose your most used FL(s) and invest in them. There is also the decent Samyang 35f1.4. You can also easily adapt the 40 or 50 canon stm or others way cheaper MF lenses or adapt Minolta A-mount lense

Rol Lei Nut said:

PWPhotography said:

Tessar III said:

Hi everyone,

I am considering a a7iii and thinking what primes I would go with.

I mainly shoot with classical focal distances (primes) of 21-24mm, 28mm, 35mm , 50mm and 85mm (or 75mm equiv on crop sensors) focal length. Most used, by far, are 24, 35 and 50mm. Lesnes shoud be compact and light.

Fe 50 1.4 are too expensive, at least for me (and the 1.4 large and heavy)

Click to expand...

50/1.4 prime is large and heavy regardless from which brand.

Click to expand...

Rollei Zeiss 50 1.4 is the same size as slower 50s and weighs 220 grams.... C/Y version probably similar.

Click to expand...

Yeah, forgot I used to own Canon 50/1.4 many years ago (which has weak AF ring) that is very compact. But those compact 50 f1.4 are designed in film era (Canon 50/1.4 is 20+ yrs old?), not for resolving 50mp or more sensors. The modern designed 50 f1.4's that able to resolve mega pixels are all big and heavy such as Sigma 50/1.4 Art, Sony, Zeiss ...and there are reasons. If Canon, Nikon re-design their 50 f1.4 to L or G quality, they will not be compact.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/55485085@N04/albums