Sony A7 Budget Lens

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Smilyan
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Recently I found an offer for a Sony A7 body and got it. Previously I've used Nikon D90, so it's a huge upgrade for me, but now I'm looking for lenses. At the moment I don't have the budget to get into the Sony lenses as they are quite expensive, but from what I've read many other non Sony lenses are compatible with adapters.

Does anyone have experience with non Sony lenses for the A7 or any other budget lenses (by "budget" I mean under £300 / £400). In particular I am looking for lenses for landscape and street / travel photography. Particularly for landscapes I think I can deal with manual focus as well. For street it would be nice to have a lens that can work with the autofocus, but I am open to any options.

Note: I did search through the forum, but didn't find similar threads, so please forgive me if this is a duplicate.

Thanks for the help!
 
The best decision I took was to buy the LA-EA4 from ebay, you can get a good deal and then the whole world of Sony A mount lenses is up for grabs :) Of course if you have the budget go for the FE lenses, the kit lens is great for the price
 
If you are willing to look at old film era manual focus lenses there are many nice lenses out there at reasonable prices and if you have the time to manually focus very good accuracy is possible or you can zone focus or hyperfocal / Merklinger method.

I went for Minolta Rokkor, Olympus Zuiko and Canon FD as they're easy to find and reasonably priced and I'm happy with the image quality an A7 and these lenses can give. Check out the Sony A7 thread and you'll see lots of pictures and BTW I happen to know that there's a set of 3 Canon FD primes (28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8) and a Novoflex adapter in the for sale section at a very reasonable price and below your budget :D

I use manual lenses for fun and for the look they give and to cover the focal lengths I don't use enough to justify spending modern AF lens money on.
 
for landscapes check out Samyang 14/2.8 - it's fully manual but very easy to focus

http://www.samyang-lens.co.uk/samyang-14mm-f28-if-ed-umc-lens.html - £319 in E Mount

They alsoi do 35/1.4 , 50/1.4 , 85/1.4 and 135/2 depending what you want for portraits all very good sharp lenses but also manual. These are much trickier to focus but not that hard with peaking and magnification

If you want budget autofocus. FE 50/1.8 is probably your best bet, but reviewers say that autofocus motor is awful (noisy and slowish)

FE 55/1.8 is absolute killer but expensive

As is FE 35/2.8 - this one is my favorite travel option (although it did take time to get used to it) - very compact and universal enough for landscapes, environmental portraits and family stuff. This one can be had for around 400 used

Samyang also do autofocus enabled 50 1.4 but it's still not cheap - around £500
 
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The Sony 28mm f/2.0 (SEL28F20) is worth considering for a native lens and is reasonably priced.

I tried Canon FD lenses with an adapter. I went for the cheapest adapter, and found I couldn't achieve infinity focus.

I also have the LA-EA4, and after buying some Minolta lenses went backwards and got some Minolta film cameras to try film. I also found it a great way to pick up lenses as they seem to sell cheaper when sold with a film camera, particularly if the seller doesn't provide specific details of the lens (check the pictures closely). In terms of lenses one to definitely get is the 70-210mm f/4.0 which is commonly referred to as the beercan, and can be had for around £50-£60.

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/index.asp is a great resource with ratings and reviews of various lenses.
 
There's also the Sony FE 28mm f2 Lens? Seems to be well regarded in the reviews with quiet autofocus if that's important. Comes in at £359.

I think Sigma are going to start making FE lenses also, could be worth seeing what's happening there?

Of course there's also places like MPB Photo, London Camera Exchange, Mifsuds etc to try and find a used bargain but photography gear seems to insanely hold its value (unless you are the one selling of course!)
 
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The Sony 28mm f/2.0 (SEL28F20) is worth considering for a native lens and is reasonably priced.

I tried Canon FD lenses with an adapter. I went for the cheapest adapter, and found I couldn't achieve infinity focus.

I also have the LA-EA4, and after buying some Minolta lenses went backwards and got some Minolta film cameras to try film. I also found it a great way to pick up lenses as they seem to sell cheaper when sold with a film camera, particularly if the seller doesn't provide specific details of the lens (check the pictures closely). In terms of lenses one to definitely get is the 70-210mm f/4.0 which is commonly referred to as the beercan, and can be had for around £50-£60.

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/index.asp is a great resource with ratings and reviews of various lenses.

Very helpful @an1uk! Thank you! I am still learning about the adapters, don't really know the difference, but seems to be a subject on its own.

Here I found a few lenses on eBay I am researching:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SONY-E-FE...S-FULL-FRAME-a7-a6000-a5000-NEX-/162384564855
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Minolta-M...28-50mm-MD-to-FE-adapter-bundle-/252769616689
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-E-mo...S-50mm-f1-7-A7s-A6000-FS100-A7R-/112315885066
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-E-mo...ENS-50mm-f2-A7s-A6000-FS100-A7R-/112312284301
 
...s (by "budget" I mean under £300 / £400).
Blimey!
Budget means twenty quid or thereabouts.
I have a £15 lens waiting for an A7 body ... which I do not yet have.
I splashed out a tenner on the adapter a couple of years ago,
so that's £25 so far.

If I was lazy and wanted autofocus I'd get the Sony adapter and the Minoltal50mmF1.7.
If I was lazy.
I get that lens for free though.
 
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After more reading, here are some cheap options I am considering:

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MINOLTA LENSES:

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ADAPTER:
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/ibn/Neewer-Lens-Adapter-Minolta-Camera-A6000-A6300/B01IDDXGL0/
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MANUAL LENSES:
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55mm f1.7:
Review: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/minolta-mc-rokkor-11-7-55mm-review/

50mm f2:
Review: https://phillipreeve.net/blog/minolta-md-50mm-2-review/

35mm - f2.8:

35-70mm f3.5 (with macro):

Review: http://phillipreeve.net/blog/minolta-md-zoom-35-70mm-3-5-review/



============================

PENTAX LENSES:

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ADAPTER:
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http://amzn.to/2boOdIT
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MANUAL LENSES:
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Pentax K 3.5/28
Review: http://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-pentax-k-smc-28mm-13-5/



============================

CANNON LENSES:

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ADAPTER:
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http://amzn.to/2e22SNW
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MANUAL LENSES:
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Canon new FD 20mm 1:2.8
Review: http://phillipreeve.net/blog/canon-fd-20mm-28-review/

Canon new FD 24mm 1:2.8
Review: http://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-canon-new-fd-24mm-12-8/

Canon nFD 2.8/35
Review: http://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-canon-new-fd-35mm-12-8/

Canon nFD 1.4/50
Review: http://phillipreeve.net/blog/canon-new-fd-50mm-11-4-review/

============================

These are lenses within the budget I was imagining and with the relative qualities I need for the purposes I have. I am posting here, just for future reference if anyone else is looking for similar information. I haven't bought any, but it will be one of these. Probably a 50mm and a 35mm to begin with.

Any comments more than welcome and thanks everyone for the help!
 
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If you go for Minolta Rokkors I'd recommend you go for the later MD's rather than the MC's for the better coatings. IMO the better coatings of the MD's really do make a difference. I had a MC 50mm and I much prefer the MD's, I've had the f1.7 but now just have the 50mm f1.2 and f1.4. If you're looking for a 35mm you should also consider the MD 35mm f1.8. I initially got the f2.8 and I was so impressed with it I got the f1.8 which is as good or better at f2.8 and gives you the wider aperture option.

You could also consider Olympus Zuiko. I have from 24 to 135mm (as I do Rokkor) and the 24 and 28mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.8 are tiny. The 50mm f1.4 and 85mm f2 are about the same size as the Rokkors.

When budget allows I can recommend the Sony FE 35mm f2.8 and 55mm f1.8. I have both and IMO they're both outstanding.
 
@woof woof thanks so much, I will definitely have a look at each of those and add them to my list to consider! And MD it will be!

Edit: After more research I think I might go for your suggestions of Olympus @woof woof as they are much smaller. Still looking, but thanks for the help!
 
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Anyone tried the 50mm FE Lens? Thinking about manual focusing only makes me nervous
 
Similar question from me, looking for a good focal length of about 200mm variable aperture not really a problem. Just can't justify a 70-200 f2.8 just yet. (Inb4 there's an f4 version haha)
Something under £400. I don't think manual focus would be ideal for what I want sadly.
 
Anyone tried the 50mm FE Lens? Thinking about manual focusing only makes me nervous

Yes I had it. Great optics. But a bit slow to focus. Not a problem if your subjects are still.
 
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