Lens or Teleconvertor

[robinlimkp]

Hi seniors,

Which is better for me as a newbie to invest.

2x Teleconvertor

or

30mm f1.4

or

50mm f1.4

(all above with Sigma brand)

[lennyl]

Originally Posted by robinlimkp Which is better for me as a newbie to invest.

But what do you want to do with them?

The other thing is - it's not an investment. Not unless you're a pro using it to expand your business.

[robinlimkp]

nope..a long way from pro.

seen alot of DAMN nice shots. So kinda inspire by it to take like that. I like street shots and candid.

i got a 70-300mm (sigma).

[lennyl]

Still not quite enough info for me to make a recommendation. Personally I prefer a wider angle for streets, and I'd pick a wide angle zoom, but I guess it's hard to capture candids when you're in their face I'd forget about the 2x TC, since you already have a 70-300, and I assume it's probably f/5.6 at 300mm, and with a 2x you'll have a 600mm f/11. For the other two - rent them, try it out and see what fits you best.

[robinlimkp]

ok...

I have a 18-70 kit. (Sony). like you say. Hard to take candid if you are right in their face.
It very "short" range... 28-300mm F3.5-6.3 DG Macro (sigma) in future when I have bonus. good for me when I travel oversea.

I seen alot of pictures taken with prime lens with low light. dun know really how gd are those.

[GENO]

Originally Posted by robinlimkp Hi seniors, Which is better for me as a newbie to invest. 2x Teleconvertor or 30mm f1.4 or 50mm f1.4 (all above with Sigma brand)

None of the above!

2x tube = about $250

30 mm f1.4 about $600?

50 mm F1.4 about $500?

i rather buy the sony 50mm..

[sherchoo]

I would also suggest to forget about the teleconvertor. Does not give satisfactory results IMO. For potraiture, the 30mm and 50mm will be a good choice. If you're going for street shooting, fix zoom amaybe be quite difficult. Actually, the 18-70mm kit maybe your best option for street. Personally, I'll use my 70-210mm beercan for street shooting.

[kingfishers]

Try the 90mm tanrom

[robinlimkp]

Hi kingfishers. can share what the lens can do?

[lennyl]

Originally Posted by kingfishers Try the 90mm tanrom

The Tamron 90mm macro is not my first choice for street and candids. I'm not familiar with Sony's lineup, but there has got to be faster lenses in that range even if you're interested in that particular focal length (which is already covered in his 70-200). Macros usually focus slower due to the increased range they have to go through, even with focus limiter switch.

[Galdor]

For street & Candid shots, some people use a longer focal range lens while others use a shorter range and some will use a prime lens. So it's up to individual and I would suggest that you try it out using your kit lens which gives very good range IMO or with your Sigma zoom.

[synapseman]

Go for 30mm/1.4

It is my opinion that the 50mm focal length is not suited for the APS-C format. It was the "perfect" general purpose lens on the 135mm (Full-Frame) format, but on APS-C, it's neither here nor there. There has been a discussion here before, that a lot of people buy 50mm for DSLR because it's fast and relatively cheap, but don't know what else to do with it.

Teleconverters are seen as a last resort, if you desperately need the reach. Quality (at least from the Kenko Pro 300 that I have) is quite rubbish with even top quality zoom lenses. Might be okay with primes though.

[kingfishers]

Well said, your are also right but it really depend on individual whether u like to zoom or just only using aperture and shoot as fast as possible to get the candid. Personal I feel the 50mm is to shadow.In the end is still good for him to try it in the cam shop.

[kl39717]

I used the 2x TC on my A700 with my 70 - 200mm G and the AF became very slow.
Anybody knows why?

[Galdor]

Originally Posted by kl39717 I used the 2x TC on my A700 with my 70 - 200mm G and the AF became very slow. Anybody knows why?

It's normal.

[Rashkae]

Originally Posted by kl39717 I used the 2x TC on my A700 with my 70 - 200mm G and the AF became very slow. Anybody knows why?

That's expected. Focus speed will always decrease with TC use. This is the same regardless of lens or brand.

In fact, many lenses will not even be able to AF when used with teleconverters.

[kingfishers]

Manual focus will be better and faster 2x T r use

[kingfishers]

If u like sharper lens try the CZ

[robinlimkp]

when using TC. If there is good sunlight, my ISO still can be at 200 ~ 400 right and shutter speed around 1/250. If ISO is at these range, the picture will look quite detail.

But if to take moving stuff, i guess TC is out of the league.

this is what i been reading on the Internet and summarize.

Can any share their photos taken with TC under good sunlight?

For prime, 30mm is a better choice because of the sensor limitation or the picture quality. can anyone enlighten me?

[lennyl]

Originally Posted by synapseman It is my opinion that the 50mm focal length is not suited for the APS-C format. It was the "perfect" general purpose lens on the 135mm (Full-Frame) format, but on APS-C, it's neither here nor there.

You mean 35mm I'm sure Just nitpicking...

Originally Posted by robinlimkp For prime, 30mm is a better choice because of the sensor limitation or the picture quality. can anyone enlighten me?

There's no reason why the 30mm would be better than the 50mm, all else being equal, in terms of image quality. It all depends on your need.

The 50mm is called a "normal" lens in a full frame, because it is very close to what you see with your eye. If you have a full frame camera, mount on a 50mm lens, and look through the viewfinder, what you see with the eye looking through the viewfinder is very close to what the other eye (not looking through viewfinder) sees.

In photography, you may not necessarily want to shoot what you see with your normal unassisted Eyeball Mark 1. You have to decide on what you want. Hard to tell just from reading. That's why I suggest renting and trying them out.