Advice on primes in the lower range

[Molti]

Hello everyone!

I would like to expand my lens selection with 1-2 prime lenses.

What I have so far: Sony A7C, Tarmon 28-200, Sony 28-60

Purpose: I mainly shoot street, travelling, landscape and am quite happy with my two zooms, but would like a 35mm focal length to expand my ‘skillset’ for street/travel photography and an extension downwards for landscape photography (possibly also a little astro).

Budget: not much more than 700€ for both lenses (still waiting for good Blackfriday/Cybermonday deals).

Possible choice: For 35mm, I think I've already settled on the Samyang 35mm 1.8 + Lens-Station

For the lower end I'm confused... I'm currently leaning towards the Tamron 20mm or 24mm, as they are cheap and the sharpness is supposed to be good, but I've also heard a lot of negative things about them and they are ‘only’ 2.8. However, I couldn't really care less about autofocus and aperture as I would mainly use it for landscapes, for astrophotography I could also be satisfied with the 35mm 1.8 if necessary.

What do you think? Have I overlooked any alternatives? Sony 20mm 1.8 would be the perfect choice, but too expensive for me, Samyang 24mm 1.8 also quite expensive and ‘only’ 24mm, so close to my existing lenses.
I also had the Tamron 20-40mm in mind but I would like to discover the world of primes...

Some more Informations: I don't care about the build quality, size of the lens matters though (should be small for street), I don't shoot professionally so no GM lenses etc., I wont do huge prints, but maybe 40x60 cm prints, the Tamrons have a macro function which might be nice for mushroom pictures, I'm open to second hand lenses.

Thanks already and have a nice day!

Max

 

[Molti]

Hey guys,

thanks for all the advice! I decided to get the Viltrox 20mm 2.8 now Got it on sale for around 130€ so I couldn't resist.

Still didn't buy the 35mm since no nice offer came around but I'm keeping my eyes open!

Feel free to continue texting on this thread (also about 35mm lenses now ), I'm sure others also benefit from reading here!

 

[thunder storm]

Hey guys,

thanks for all the advice! I decided to get the Viltrox 20mm 2.8 now Got it on sale for around 130€ so I couldn't resist.

Still didn't buy the 35mm since no nice offer came around but I'm keeping my eyes open!

Feel free to continue texting on this thread (also about 35mm lenses now ), I'm sure others also benefit from reading here!

I think that's a good decision.

A 20mm as your only lens is a bit wide. I think something normallish as a prime is worth it.

 

[James Stirling]

I recommend getting one great lens is better than getting two okay lenses. I own the 35GM and the Samyang 35 1.4 and i never used the Samyang that much(i prefered to use old pentax lenses instead and now the 35GM is my go to lens and the 24 GM is second.

My starter kit into Sony consisted of:

- Samyang 35mm 1.4 Samyang

-Samyang 45mm 1.8

-Viltrox 85mm 1.8

I only use the Viltrox for sports and the other two collect dust and never really haven seen much use.

better having one lens youuse than 2 that you dont. The GMs are expensive but they blow the Samyang aut of the water in every other regard. Buy once, cry once.

The only GM lens I have is the 24mm and it is excellent . I can't speak for the focal lengths you mention. But I have the Samyang 135mm F/1.8 AF and it is a fantastic performer . For lenses I use a lot I have no problem buying higher end gear. But for my casual use of the 135mm the Samyang is an excellent performer and the 135mm GM at well over double the price offers nothing extra that I need. Others will have their own needs or more likely these days wants .

A couple of reviews from my favorite reviewers:

Christopher Frost review

Dustin Abbot deep dive review

https://dustinabbott.net/2022/12/samyang-rokinon-af-135mm-f1-8-review/

Dustin has also done a side by side comparison between both lenses , I don't think in real life use that the differences which even at pixel peeping level are small. Would matter but there is of course the enjoyment given by the haptics of higher end gear . I think it is a bit of swings and roundabouts deal

 

[Impulses]

I recommend getting one great lens is better than getting two okay lenses. I own the 35GM and the Samyang 35 1.4 and i never used the Samyang that much(i prefered to use old pentax lenses instead and now the 35GM is my go to lens and the 24 GM is second.

My starter kit into Sony consisted of:

- Samyang 35mm 1.4 Samyang

-Samyang 45mm 1.8

-Viltrox 85mm 1.8

I only use the Viltrox for sports and the other two collect dust and never really haven seen much use.

better having one lens youuse than 2 that you dont. The GMs are expensive but they blow the Samyang aut of the water in every other regard. Buy once, cry once.

The only GM lens I have is the 24mm and it is excellent . I can't speak for the focal lengths you mention. But I have the Samyang 135mm F/1.8 AF and it is a fantastic performer . For lenses I use a lot I have no problem buying higher end gear. But for my casual use of the 135mm the Samyang is an excellent performer and the 135mm GM at well over double the price offers nothing extra that I need. Others will have their own needs or more likely these days wants .

A couple of reviews from my favorite reviewers:

Christopher Frost review

Dustin Abbot deep dive review

https://dustinabbott.net/2022/12/samyang-rokinon-af-135mm-f1-8-review/

Dustin has also done a side by side comparison between both lenses , I don't think in real life use that the differences which even at pixel peeping level are small. Would matter but there is of course the enjoyment given by the haptics of higher end gear . I think it is a bit of swings and roundabouts deal

 

[Jefenator]

Good call on getting the Viltrox 20mm.

It's pretty hard to go wrong when a well-regarded bargain lens like that goes on sale [from its already crazy-low price].

--

Jeff Addicott

Explore Jeff Addicott’s 600 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[James Stirling]

I recommend getting one great lens is better than getting two okay lenses. I own the 35GM and the Samyang 35 1.4 and i never used the Samyang that much(i prefered to use old pentax lenses instead and now the 35GM is my go to lens and the 24 GM is second.

My starter kit into Sony consisted of:

- Samyang 35mm 1.4 Samyang

-Samyang 45mm 1.8

-Viltrox 85mm 1.8

I only use the Viltrox for sports and the other two collect dust and never really haven seen much use.

better having one lens youuse than 2 that you dont. The GMs are expensive but they blow the Samyang aut of the water in every other regard. Buy once, cry once.

The only GM lens I have is the 24mm and it is excellent . I can't speak for the focal lengths you mention. But I have the Samyang 135mm F/1.8 AF and it is a fantastic performer . For lenses I use a lot I have no problem buying higher end gear. But for my casual use of the 135mm the Samyang is an excellent performer and the 135mm GM at well over double the price offers nothing extra that I need. Others will have their own needs or more likely these days wants .

A couple of reviews from my favorite reviewers:

Christopher Frost review

Dustin Abbot deep dive review

https://dustinabbott.net/2022/12/samyang-rokinon-af-135mm-f1-8-review/

Dustin has also done a side by side comparison between both lenses , I don't think in real life use that the differences which even at pixel peeping level are small. Would matter but there is of course the enjoyment given by the haptics of higher end gear . I think it is a bit of swings and roundabouts deal

I feel exactly the same way, I splurged on the 20G & 35GM, but for a fast 16mm or 135mm that I won't use nearly as much it's really hard to beat the value of a Viltrox or Samyang... Same for a macro (eg Laowa), etc. Sometimes those 3rd parties are barely making any concessions at like a third of the 1st party price point. I don't feel like my SY 45/75 are embarrassed when I use either next to the CV21 or 35GM.

There are a lot of amazing third party options now with excellent image quality . As well as the Samyang 135mm , I also have the Tamron 90mm III and a Laowa x2 100mm in Z mount they are all excellent performers . In fact having previously owned the Sony 90mm macro the Tamron is sharper with surprisingly fast AF for a macro lens. It is also close to my Nikon Z 105mm one of the very best macros on the market close

Viltrox make some very special lenses I was surprised to see just how high end they go the circa $100,000 cine lens discussed in the link below for example

VILTROX LUNA 42-420mm T5.6 Large-Format Cine Zoom – First Look | CineD

During IBC 2024, VILTROX announced a new massive 10x zoom cine lens, the LUNA 42-420mm T5.6. It will retail for $100,000.

www.cined.com

There is no doubt that some first party lenses are excellent and better than the third party alternative . But I think that the third party makers have been moving forward at a pace and a lot of their offerings are just as good often saving hundreds

 

[aSevenArr]

Hello everyone!

I would like to expand my lens selection with 1-2 prime lenses.

What I have so far: Sony A7C, Tarmon 28-200, Sony 28-60

Purpose: I mainly shoot street, travelling, landscape and am quite happy with my two zooms, but would like a 35mm focal length to expand my ‘skillset’ for street/travel photography and an extension downwards for landscape photography (possibly also a little astro).

Budget: not much more than 700€ for both lenses (still waiting for good Blackfriday/Cybermonday deals).

Possible choice: For 35mm, I think I've already settled on the Samyang 35mm 1.8 + Lens-Station

For the lower end I'm confused... I'm currently leaning towards the Tamron 20mm or 24mm, as they are cheap and the sharpness is supposed to be good, but I've also heard a lot of negative things about them and they are ‘only’ 2.8. However, I couldn't really care less about autofocus and aperture as I would mainly use it for landscapes, for astrophotography I could also be satisfied with the 35mm 1.8 if necessary.

What do you think? Have I overlooked any alternatives? Sony 20mm 1.8 would be the perfect choice, but too expensive for me, Samyang 24mm 1.8 also quite expensive and ‘only’ 24mm, so close to my existing lenses.
I also had the Tamron 20-40mm in mind but I would like to discover the world of primes...

Some more Informations: I don't care about the build quality, size of the lens matters though (should be small for street), I don't shoot professionally so no GM lenses etc., I wont do huge prints, but maybe 40x60 cm prints, the Tamrons have a macro function which might be nice for mushroom pictures, I'm open to second hand lenses.

Thanks already and have a nice day!

Max

Consider looking at used deals for primes.

IMHO primes make you think more about your shot and your photography in general improves.

But sadly a lot of lazy folks will buy a prime and never actually use it so there are some incredible (hardly) used deals out there. Take advantage and save a little money!

They also tend to be lighter, less obnoxious for street shooting and tougher than zooms. Plus you'll get those creamy background blurs.