I pre-ordered the new Sony A7III body and am due to collect it next week. I'm new to Sony having shot M43 and Fuji X100 series the last few years. Before that i shot Canon Dslr. On M43 i having exclusively used prime lens. Usually shoot in 35mm or 50mm. What would be a good starter lens for my Sony A7III. My only requirement is that it not be big and heavy so i dont mind a 35mm prime lens. Alternatively an F4 zoom provided its very good quality. Appreciate any advice given.
Sony A7III - Lens recommendation
- Thread starter chihuahua
- Start date
35mm full frame equivalent?
Small and lightweight, you have 2 options, Samyang 35mm f2.8 and Sony Zeiss 35mm 2.8. Samyang is cheaper but a decent performer. Alternatively you can also consider Sony 28mm f2 - very good performer at almost the same price as Samyang.
F4 zoom you have Sony 24-105mm f4, not used it but hear good reviews about it.
Will suggest that you ask the price of new ones in shops before considering used ones.
Small and lightweight, you have 2 options, Samyang 35mm f2.8 and Sony Zeiss 35mm 2.8. Samyang is cheaper but a decent performer. Alternatively you can also consider Sony 28mm f2 - very good performer at almost the same price as Samyang.
F4 zoom you have Sony 24-105mm f4, not used it but hear good reviews about it.
Will suggest that you ask the price of new ones in shops before considering used ones.
It's strange that since Sony A7iiii is a full frame camera and it's bigger and heavier than M43 or APSC camera (Fuji X100)
that you still want small and light lenses. Well it's all relative...it comes with the territory so to speak. Sorry!
That said , might as well enjoy the full frame quality and it does make sense to use full frame lenses so here is a write up
for sony A7iii autofocus full frame lenses:
http://www.rwbaker.com/blog/2017/best-lenses-for-sony-a7-2017-edition
However , don't get offended if you want to save money although it's an illogical decision that people buy high performance camera
bodies and use cheap lenses (again relative) there are the APSC prime E series lenses 35mm and 50mm. (FF sensor downsized to apsc).
85mm f1.8 would be my most recommended lens is you were using 50mm on m4/3 which is effectively a 100mm equivalent. Its not too heavy for a 85mm lens and incredibly sharp lens.
35mm would be a good choice too as a compact lens.
I mainly use 28mm f2.0 and 85mm f1.8 on my A7. Will be upgrading to A7III when its readily available.
35mm would be a good choice too as a compact lens.
I mainly use 28mm f2.0 and 85mm f1.8 on my A7. Will be upgrading to A7III when its readily available.
Actually i've been shooting in 35mm FF equivalent on the X100 series (which has fixed 23mm f2.0 lens) and on M43 i have a variety of primes but seem to mainly use the 25mm, so 85mm on FF may be a bit tight for general purpose.
I've been looking at either the 28mm f2.0 ($452) but thats out of stock everywhere or the 55mm f1.8 ($957) which is also out of stock. Apparently popular choices. However the Zeiss 35mm f2.8 is available and at $756 its reasonably priced. I'm not particularly price sensitive. Just don't want to buy lens which i won't use. I want maybe 2-3 primes which are of excellent optical quality. How does the Zeiss 35mm f2.8 compare vs the Sony 28mm f2 for a general walkabout prime. I will probably get the Sony 55mm f1.8 as well unless there's a better alternative.
28mm f2.0 is a good lens and my main lens which stays on the camera all the time when I am travelling. Its super light and small and makes for a small package. Dont expect tact sharness at f2.0, think f4.0 and f5.6 is where its best at. It can compete with the 85mm in terms of sharpness as that lens is sharp even wide open at f1.8. Heard the 55mm is a very sharp lens. I am also waiting for the Sigma art prime lenses for FE mount to be available..
I have both the Fuji X and M43 systems and had used the A7R II extensively. One thing you will definitely notice is the extra weight and size of the Sony system even when using "small" compact lens like 28mm or 55 mm (both of which I have). There are times, that I had wish I had brought along my lighter X100 or EM10 II instead for events, shoots or casual.
28mm and 55mm are out of stock at those prices, because most other shops sell them at 600+ for the 28 and 1200 for the zeiss 55.
28mm and 55mm are out of stock at those prices, because most other shops sell them at 600+ for the 28 and 1200 for the zeiss 55.
Thanks..i bought it already couple of days ago. Collected my A7III too. Very compact. Its actually smaller and lighter than some of the bigger M43 cameras like the GH5 and GX8. I'm looking to buy the 24-105 F4 now as a general purpose vacation lens but it seems to be out of stock too.
Bamboopictures
Senior Member
Congrats! The A7III is the reigning King of low light with an almost unfathomable reservoir of usable clean gain (ISO).
If you play that incredible ISO to your advantage, you can literally walk fearlessly in the night with a cheap kit lens, or a small APS-C E-mount prime. (or tiny M-mount pancakes from voightlander if you don't mind a some vignetting. 35mm, 40mm and 12mm and really tiny. )
For small but fast manual primes, SLR Magic's range of FE cine primes are also significantly smaller than any autofocus FE primes.
For shooters coming from M43, the full frame DOF of the A7III will be nothing short of gobsmacking. An f4 lens FE lens will deliver similar DOF as an f2 M43 lens.
If you did your maths and realise that one zoom is lighter and cheaper than three primes, then consider the new Tamron 28-75 f2.8. Definitely a bokehlicious mount and forget lens.
If you need a little more reach, Sony's 24-105mm f4 OSS is the lens of 2017. (Think of this one as a 12-50mm f2 in M43 terms!!!!)
If you play that incredible ISO to your advantage, you can literally walk fearlessly in the night with a cheap kit lens, or a small APS-C E-mount prime. (or tiny M-mount pancakes from voightlander if you don't mind a some vignetting. 35mm, 40mm and 12mm and really tiny. )
For small but fast manual primes, SLR Magic's range of FE cine primes are also significantly smaller than any autofocus FE primes.
For shooters coming from M43, the full frame DOF of the A7III will be nothing short of gobsmacking. An f4 lens FE lens will deliver similar DOF as an f2 M43 lens.
If you did your maths and realise that one zoom is lighter and cheaper than three primes, then consider the new Tamron 28-75 f2.8. Definitely a bokehlicious mount and forget lens.
If you need a little more reach, Sony's 24-105mm f4 OSS is the lens of 2017. (Think of this one as a 12-50mm f2 in M43 terms!!!!)
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Has anyone used the Fotodiox adaptor for Canon EF lens to Sony FE with success? I just realised that i still have a bunch of Canon DSLR stuff including the 24-105 F4 L-Lens, Sigma 50mm f1.4, Canon 85mm f1.8 and a number of others. Which is the best adaptor for Canon to Sony which retains electronic connection?
I have used the Canon 24-105f4L on a 6D 2 years ago for an event shoot. The Sony 24-105f4 is way better. I am not familiar with the other lenses so cannot comment.
I bought the A7III with Sigma's MC-11 convertor. My lens collection consists of Canon and Sigma lenses. Since I own a couple of Sigma lenses it was logical for me to buy the Sigma convertor for compatibility. Furthermore I also have the USB Dock from Sigma in case of firmware updates for the MC-11 and Sigma lenses.
I bought the MC-11 from TK Foto for $284. Cheaper than the Metabones adapter. Not sure about the Fotodiox.
So far the AF is okay with Sigma (85mm Art, 35 mm Art) and Canon (24-105mm, 20 mm, 100 mm, 200 mm) . I do not have any Sony lens so I do not know how fast they focus with a Sony body. You can test out the MC-11 by bringing your lenses to the camera shop. That's what I did.
The only lens that has a problem with the MC-11 is my very old Tamron 90 mm Macro. AF was unstable.
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