Beginner 3 lenses

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Andyaero

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Andy
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Hi all, recently acquired a lot of time and an a6400. Would the following give a varied base of lenses? There'll be some landscapes, youtube vlog, grandkids and birding, so like I say .....varied!
All Sony,
50mm f1.8
10-18mm f4
70-350mm f4.5-6.3

Be gentle.....
 
Welcome aboard, Andy.
Those 3 lenses would be quite a good choice.
Personally, I would be looking at something in the standard zoom range rather than the 50mm as there is a huge gap between 18mm - 50mm, the range that would probably be the most used.
The 70-350mm is an amazing lens
 
Hi Andy.

50mm is a popular focal length for 35mm cameras but I think it's an odd choice for APS-C as due to APS-C's x1.5 crop factor it ends up like 75mm. If you like the more traditional field of view a 50mm gives you'd be better off with a 35mm f1.8.

Sorry if you knew this already :D
 
I think a wide(ish) zoom, a fast prime and a telephoto zoom makes for a versatile set up, so you're starting from a pretty good place there.

I don't know the Sony ecosystem that well, so these are more generic comments:
50mm f1.8 - Might be a bit long on APS-C, but see how you get on, if you keep struggling to fit your subjects in the frame, consider a 23mm or 35mm prime.
10-18mm f4 - This would be considered "ultra wide", which may work for landscapes/vlogging. Something in the 16-50mm range would be more versatile, but see how you get on with it.
70-350mm f4.5-6.3 - this will likely be fine for birding.
 
Like others have said, you may well find not having a zoom in the 16-50 range restricts how you frame some of your shots.
I have an A6000 as my travel camera, and use the 16-50 and 55-210 kit lenses when there's a decent amount of light, and have the 35 and 50 f/1.8 OSS primes for when the light drops, or I specifically want shallow depth of field.
I actually use the 50 more than the 35 - but that is very much a personal preference thing.
Do make sure the 50 f/1.8 you get is the APS-C 50 f/1.8 OSS, rather than the FF 50 f/1.8 - you will appreciate the OSS and small size / weight of the APS-C version.
 
woof woof said:
Hi Andy.

50mm is a popular focal length for 35mm cameras but I think it's an odd choice for APS-C as due to APS-C's x1.5 crop factor it ends up like 75mm. If you like the more traditional field of view a 50mm gives you'd be better off with a 35mm f1.8.

Sorry if you knew this already :D
Click to expand...
Hey, I'd much prefer it for folk to treat me like I know nowt re photography.........you'll not be far wrong:D
 
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You've got a gap between 18mm and 50mm, that doesnt sound a lot, but thats a spot lots of people use for general shooting. With a crop sensor like your I'd want a 17-50mm or something similar, 16-50mm 18-135 whatever you can get to cover that gap really.
 
As already said, something to cover the 18-70 range would be handy and if I was you, I'd be keeping the relatively fast 50mm lens (a fast lens lets more light in - the 40mm is f/1.8 and I'd guess the zooms are f/3.5 or even slower. Small numbers = larger aperture = more light gets through) for the fast moving ankle biters. If you find it's a bit too long (you can't get far enough away from them to get the scene in the viewfinder), then change it for a shorter (but just as fast) lens like the 35mm f/1.8.
 
So, after further thoughts/reading......
How's about......
35mm f1.8
18-135mm f3.5-5.6
70-350mm f4.5-6.3

At my level of ability, low but keen, is the 35mm (or a 50mm) necessary just yet, will the other 2, cover most situations? What extra does the 35mm bring to the party?
 
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Andyaero said:
So, after further thoughts/reading......
How's about......
35mm f1.8
18-135mm f3.5-5.6
70-350mm f4.5-6.3

At my level of ability, low but keen, is the 35mm (or a 50mm) necessary just yet, will the other 2, cover most situations? What extra does the 35mm bring to the party?
Click to expand...
More light and smaller size at 35mm
 
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OK........thinking more of where is its purpose and will it improve anything over the other 2 lenses. Better for vlogging or macro? I guess it's light weight is probably it's biggest advantage?
 
Andyaero said:
OK........thinking more of where is its purpose and will it improve anything over the other 2 lenses. Better for vlogging or macro? I guess it's light weight is probably it's biggest advantage?
Click to expand...
It’s ‘fast’ aperture and superior IQ are what makes it superior to the other 2 lenses.
 
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Andyaero said:
OK........thinking more of where is its purpose and will it improve anything over the other 2 lenses. Better for vlogging or macro? I guess it's light weight is probably it's biggest advantage?
Click to expand...


To give a basic answer, if you can get a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second using the zoom lens at 35mm, you can get a shutter speed of 1/60th - 1/120th using the faster 35mm prime (non-zoom) lens, possibly allowing you to get more keepers of the grandchildren by reducing the subject movement.
 
Andyaero said:
So, after further thoughts/reading......
How's about......
35mm f1.8
18-135mm f3.5-5.6
70-350mm f4.5-6.3

At my level of ability, low but keen, is the 35mm (or a 50mm) necessary just yet, will the other 2, cover most situations? What extra does the 35mm bring to the party?
Click to expand...
My own though is the 18-135 push's the 35mm out of the deal. I had an 18-140, son has it now. Really liked it! Thing was great for most things I might do. Have a 55-300mm and use it at field trials for dogs. An 18-200 mostly for walking around and a 170-500 and it for wildlife. Going that way I seem to have everything from 18mm to 500mm covered. I don't normally spend much time changing lens's just to make sure I have the right lens on. Then again I'm not a pro either, may be a reason for that! I really believe, not being a pro, that the most important person to satify with my photo's is myself! I've had better photographer's than myself tell me about boka or what ever it's called and I don't have a clue what they are talking about. As for edge to edge sharpness, unless it way out at the edge, I can't see it! The world of proper photo's is well over my head!
 
Check out Sigma 18-35mm 1.8, it covers the sweet spot around the 30mm thats the "standard" ish lens for a crop sensor. It's a handy range and fast at 1.8 (that said I'd personally go for the 17-55mm 2.8 any day)
 
Andyaero said:
So, after further thoughts/reading......
How's about......
35mm f1.8
18-135mm f3.5-5.6
70-350mm f4.5-6.3

At my level of ability, low but keen, is the 35mm (or a 50mm) necessary just yet, will the other 2, cover most situations? What extra does the 35mm bring to the party?
Click to expand...
I'm good enough to please myself and I think you could elminate that 35mm lens. That would leave you with the 18-135 which would also cover every mm between 18mm and 135mm and then the 70-300 covers everything over 135mm up to 300mm, and with it on you can still drop down to 70mm. I think todays zoom lens's are good enough you don't need a bunch of primes any more. I had, maybe still do an 18-140mm lens and it was great. Got it and sold my 18-105mm. I seldom do portraits but if I did I doubt my 18-200mm Tamrom would get many complaints. My three main lens's are the 18-200 Tamron, 55-300mm Nikon and 150-500 Sigma. They all overlap the one in front of and behind them. Everything from 18mm to 500mm covered with three lens's! Ah, come to think of it, I gave my grand daughter a D5000 I had and the 18-140 is on it. She never used it so my son took it over and now he's never used it! Very frustrating!
 
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