What to get? Upgrading from Kit 18-70.

[wonderlandworld]

Hello fellow brothers!

I am a newbie that is on a hunt for a better lens! Basically I shoot most pictures in portraits, therefore, with the limited $600 budget I have for now, what do you guys suggest me to buy?

I have list down these 2 prospectus:

Sony 50mm f1.4
Tamron 17-50 f2.8

Do you guys have any recommendations?

Stay Happy!

KS

[sherchoo]

If you have room to play I would suggest getting a Minolta 70-210mm f4 aka "beercan". I prefer thisi over my Minolta 50mm 1.7. Although, this is not a good comparison this depends on the range between the subject and the camera. Price will be less than $400 depending on the condition as the lens is no more in production.

[Fujiwara]

Hi,

what camera are you using ?

[wonderlandworld]

Hi Fujiwara,

Sorry forgot to include, I am using an a200. =D

[Drudkh]

What do you shoot?
And after using the 18-70 for a while now, what is limiting you?
At what focal length do you shoot often?
Have you ever encounter at times when you wished you have a XXX lens to shoot better?

[wonderlandworld]

Hi Drudkh,

I shoot mostly in portraits
The underexposed situations is always limiting my pictures
Often shoot at f3.5 in light that i would get the best lighting

[csgsl]

best to understand what u shot first, then get what u want?

[wonderlandworld]

Originally Posted by csgsl best to understand what u shot first, then get what u want?

Hi csgsl,

Yeah I am in favour of the Sony 50mm f1.4 due to its low light capability, but I am not too sure whether if the Tamron is on par of image quality although it's more versatile and provides more flexibility?

[kentjr]

Originally Posted by wonderlandworld Hi csgsl, Yeah I am in favour of the Sony 50mm f1.4 due to its low light capability, but I am not too sure whether if the Tamron is on par of image quality although it's more versatile and provides more flexibility?

I would suggest getting a Tamron 17-50 F2.8, This is the lens which replaces my kit lens and after which i never look back. Comparing to 50 F1.4, i think Tamron 17-50 will be a better choice, because for crop frame bodies 50 F1.4 will be infact 75 F1.4 due to the crop factor, and hence you will lose out on the wider end if you sell off your kit lens. My personal opinion is that 50 F1.4 is more suitable for FF bodies.

[sherchoo]

Frankly speaking, shooting at wide open on the 50mm F1.4 is not easy. Often than not, the image tends to be oof due to the shallow DOF. Not easy to handle if you're taking shot that are not 'posed'.

If you're getting underexposed shots, you may want to bump up your ISO, reduce the shutter speed etc.

[wonderlandworld]

Mmm referring to what seniors have said, that means i should drop the sony 50 f1.4, get the tamron and sell off the kit lens?

If that's the case, any recommendations for lenses similar to the tamron 17-50? Based on the budget of 600?

[navlem]

As a replacement for kit lens, get the tamron, the 50mm is good but not a replacement, its in a different category altogether.

I've replaced my kit lens with a 50mm and I regretted it because it is just not wide enough for alot of shots. Only best used for single person portraits.

[Getz10]

Keep your 1870 kit lens and forget about the 1750.
The 1870 is really decent enough and cheap enough to shoot without filter, even though a constant F2.8 may be attractive. Personally I would suggest the go for the 50mm fast, sharp and light enough to take shoots anywhere, anything.

It's not wat the lens can do, it's wat u could do with the lens

[teodesson]

my suggestion is to get tamron 17-50mm f2.8. In the next investment, you can go for sigma 50-150mm f2.8. You get faster lens from 17-150mm focal range

[wonderlandworld]

Originally Posted by Getz10 Keep your 1870 kit lens and forget about the 1750. The 1870 is really decent enough and cheap enough to shoot without filter, even though a constant F2.8 may be attractive. Personally I would suggest the go for the 50mm fast, sharp and light enough to take shoots anywhere, anything. It's not wat the lens can do, it's wat u could do with the lens

Wow, care to elaborate more about shooting with a fixed zoom 50mm f1.4?

I know I want that because of that low light capability, but the cropped factor of 75mm really makes me think twice about it!

[wonderlandworld]

Originally Posted by teodesson my suggestion is to get tamron 17-50mm f2.8. In the next investment, you can go for sigma 50-150mm f2.8. You get faster lens from 17-150mm focal range

Hahaha, very nice suggestion there! =D

But will it hurt my wallet too much?

Anyway, back to the topic, no any comparable lens for tamron 17-50? Except that CZ16-80 huh?

[reaper3075]

Originally Posted by wonderlandworld Hahaha, very nice suggestion there! =D But will it hurt my wallet too much? Anyway, back to the topic, no any comparable lens for tamron 17-50? Except that CZ16-80 huh?

how bout the Sony 16-105? just slightly above your budget.. but it has a pretty versatile range.

[haqeel]

keep your kit lens and get a 50 1.4 lens (:
u can get the 50mm lens for 450?

[NehaK]

If not in too much hurry - hold on.
50mm 1.8 is coming. I hope Sony will price it inline with Canon/Nokon ( around 120 SGD).
I am also waiting for the same.
Till then 1870 is very capable lens.

If you need zoom, SAL 55200 is there ( also the "new" one is announced).

[Galdor]

Forget about the 50mm f1.8, i'll rather get the Minolta 50mm f1.7 or 1.4 which are FF ready or get a beercan since you're doing portraits most of the time.