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A friend of mine has just bought herself a new Sony A37 camera, which came with the standard lens. I understand this camera can use the old Minolta lenses, so I said I would buy her a couple for her birthday.
Any recommendations for which lenses to look out for? She is going to South Africa in the near future and would like something with a long focal length for wildlife etc, but doesn’t want to carry a whole bag full of lenses around.
First on the list has to be the quite wonderful little f1.7 50mm
On my thread [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/cameras-cameras-camerasdecisions-decisions-help/page/2#post-4704654 ]here[/url], I was recommended the 70 210 f4 'Beercan' lens http://www.ffordes.com/product/12121013580881
Found one for £70 on Ebay and it is fab for the price.
TheArtist..STR fella also recommended a 70-300, which I would think would be great for a safari.
[url= http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/index.asp ]Dyxum[/url] has lens reviews for all alpha fit lenses, including (or especially) Minolta.
As mentioned above the 70-200f4 and 50mmf1.7 are good value (although a new Sony 50mm f1.8 can be had for little more).
At the longer end there's the [url= http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-AF-75-300-F4.5-5.6_lens52.html ]75-300 f4.5-5.6 Big Beercan[/url] but things get expensive after that. The Tamron 200-500 is about the best value long lens you can get.
As mentioned above the 70-200f4 and 50mmf1.7 are good value (although a new Sony 50mm f1.8 can be had for little more).
It can although the Sony is plastic bodied
TheArtist..STR fella also recommended a 70-300, which I would think would be great for a safari.
That was a new Tamron - don't think they are much over a ton
The beercan mentioned above is lovely although its fame has increased the second hand price a little.
I have one of these just before xmas, the 1st lens I got was the F1.7 50mm Lens. Paid £57 inc postage and its in cracking condition. I also have a 70-300 Tamron lens but the zoom is a little stiff so thinking of changing to a 70-300 Minolta is I can find one. Still, it takes a great picture and you can pick these up for a really low price.
I picked up a F1.7 50m minolta mount for my sony a390 last week on ebay for about £60, just played about with it in the house so far but its great.
The beercan mentioned above is lovely although its fame has increased the second hand price a little.
It had, but they're now half the price of what they peaked at.
Anything up to 300 will be great. I picked up a Sigma 70-210 for about £35. It about doubles the weight of a Sony camera as it is proper old school camera heavy. Make sure you get the A fit lenses - Minolta did a couple of different fits.
Thanks for the suggestions folks.
What about the MINOLTA AF ZOOM 70-210MM F4.5-5.6? It seems a bit cheaper than the F4 model.
quite wonderful little f1.7 50mm
To add to the chorus, this is a cracking lens. I've had some really nice results using it.
What about the MINOLTA AF ZOOM 70-210MM F4.5-5.6? It seems a bit cheaper than the F4 model.
I wouldn't.
A good cheap lens in that range is the Sony 55-200 f4-5.6 or the Tamron 55-200 f4-5.6 (basically the same lens).
Or... the Minolta 100-200 f4.5. Excellent but the range is a bit cumbersome.
I've got one of these F1.4 lenses I bought a few years back when digital was flying in and there was no demand for old Minolta lenses.
http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=15
Looks like they're worth a fair bit of dosh now?
Yeah, £140+