topic what lens is best for my slt a-77 in Alpha & NEX interchangeable lens cameras

what lens is best for my slt a-77

wilkilad — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:17:15 GMT

i have a sony alpha a-77 i have the startard lens for the camera but in june i am going to see the british super bikes at would like to get some fantastic close up shots ive been looking through alot and seemily the 400mm lens is the best for its price but would like a little more help if thats possible never done anything like this so yeah haha kind regards liam

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

GoNz0- — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:35:48 GMT

what's your budget ?

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

Si_1966 — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:43:08 GMT

I use to own the Sony 70-400mm and used it on my A77. The results were breath taking and if you can afford it it would be my recommendation. It is one of the best zooms out there.

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

DistantMelody — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:15:31 GMT

Hello

Is 70-400 the large grey lens that needs a special tripod? Can it be used as a macro lens? What is the best macro lens for A77 (regardless of price)?

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

Bieomax — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 08:56:39 GMT

i'd probably check out the Sony A mount lens database over at dyxum Here

Macro wise will depend how far you want to go into it? if your wanting just 1:1 reproduction most of the sony ones are nice just depends on what sort of working distance you want between your lens and the subject.

people that go greater then 1:1 generally start either using pairs of lenses one reverse mounted to the other via the filter thread lenses of which then you get a hugh amount of options.

There is even a rare Minolta lens which will mount to your camera Minolta AF 3x-1x 1.7-2.8 macro but from some of the macro pro's on dyxum you are better off using the right pair of reverse mounted lenses.

I'm very happy with my minolta 100mm 2.8 macro lense which Sony still produces today with no real changes.

the greatest thing i could say is no matter what lens you use is to get a focusing rail to put between your camera and tripod and use focus stacking which will help with the very thin depth of field you get if your going for greater magnification.

Mark.

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

DistantMelody — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 12:12:14 GMT

Thank you Mark

It is a lot of new information. I mostly use the lens that came with the camera and it doesn't do good close-ups. I don't know what focusing rails are. I noticed that very small parts of flowers are in focus when I photograph them (just the stigma or only some of the petals). It would be nice to increase the depth of field. I saw a cool photo of a dandelion's seeds very close up (so close that only 2 seeds were in the frame). I wanted to do something similar to that.

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

kevc67 — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 20:48:55 GMT

I have the Sigma 120-400mm f4.5 5.6 , you can use the lens stabilization or camera it can be used hand held and still get great results price when i got it was at £629 . There are some shots in my gallery where i used the lens , hope this gives you an option

Regards

kevc67

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

Bieomax — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 10:56:25 GMT

a focussing rail will sit between a tripod head and your camera and it allows you to move the camera backwards & forwards (2 way - there's also 4 way, which will do left to right movement is well) in nice small increments, better then nudging the whole tripod forwards/backwards.

With macro you generally have a really small depth of field, so some people use a process of focus stacking, which is taking alots of pictures covering different parts of the subject in focus and then using software to stitch them together into one picture with the whole subject in focus.

some say its better to use the rail to move the camera rather then re-focusing the Lens as when you adjust focus you slightly change the magnifcation of the lens which alters the perspective slightly which can cause issue when putting them together in a stack.

This is my A57 on minolta focusing rail (also with bellows attached which will allow for greater magnifaction then 1:1)

Here: https://flic.kr/p/eLf3wR

Lens wise if you want to go closer, you can get one of the Sony Macro lenses (30mm/50mm/100mm - full list of A mount macro's Here) which are quite good, they will get you down to 1:1 ration so if its 1mm in real life it'll take up 1mm on the sensor so it'll make things pretty big, but if you want to go even bigger, you may want to either look at bellows/extension tubes or lens reversing ( probably worth googling ' Diy macro ' )

Flickr Macro Set: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bieomax/sets/72157634032671482/

On here the 5 pence piece / dead bee was taken with the above 50mm lens on the bellows, the electric spark was done with reverse mounting a lens onto the front of another.

this is the rig i used at the time when i was experimenting with my first macro stuff,

DIY Macro Rig

minolta kit lens reversed onto a minolta 70-210mm 3.5-4.5 lens, although a good starter for 10 is to reverse a kit lens onto a 50mm prime

it reminds me that i really need to start posting back to flickr again with some more up to date stuff.

Anyhow i'll stop waffling for now

Mark.

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

DistantMelody — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 18:11:26 GMT

Hello Mark

Does the focussing rail move automatically when focus is adjusted? Is it for indoor photography only or can be taken outside?

I noticed only 3 Sony Macro lenses on this site (Sony site). I didn't know which one to choose. Your link has so many more. Now the choice is even harder. How to choose between 30mm, 50mm and 100mm, or is it best to have them all? Are the measurements indicative of the distance that the object must be from the lens?

Your macro photos are wonderful. The electricity shot was a good idea.

Do you use a polarizing filter?

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

Bieomax — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 10:08:01 GMT

The rail is manual, it's basically a ***** you turn which is attached to some gears which moves the mount which is attached to the camera along a rail of 2 rods.

For focusing say on a flower, I'd put camera into manual focusing on the body switch and or lens switch if applicable, the on live view focus peeking will show me where my current area of focus is. So I'll focus the lens to the closest part of the flower to me that I want to keep in focus, then take a shot with either remote release or timer, then turn the ***** on the rail which will move it a fraction closer, then it's just rinse amd repeat until I've enough shots with all the flowers parts in focus to join together. If you look at the pictures in sequence it'll just look like your focus is moving to the rear slowly.

The rail is handy on a tripod in doors or out if your even doing a single macro shot as it allows you abit more movement across the tripod.

If you look on Dyxum and change the filter to sony it'll show the 3 sony make themselves. If you click into one of them it will tell you the minimum focus distance, the measurement is as far as I know is from the little circle mark with a line through it on your camera body which is to tell you where your sensor is.

Pick up the 50mm and see if you like it then decide if you need to be further from your subjects the maybe look for a longer focal length

Mark.

Edit: Strange how sony's word filters dont let you post the word for a round object which you open doors or drawers with. thus why the **** in the above.

also a great article on stacking is Here

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

DistantMelody — Thu, 08 May 2014 12:06:57 GMT

Hello Mark

I keep replying to this post but my replies are being removed. Why?

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

DistantMelody — Thu, 08 May 2014 12:14:13 GMT

What I keep trying to say, and my replies keep being removed, is that:

- I don't understand the rail yet. Is it also for added stability?

- I have borrowed a Sigma APO 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG MACRO lens to try. The macro cancells itself out because it can only be used from 1m+ away from the subject. It is good for far away photography though

- Out of the 3 macro lenses 2 are full frame. Does that mean they can't be used with my camera?

- Do you have any of the 3 Sony macro lenses?

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

Bieomax — Thu, 08 May 2014 14:12:57 GMT

Erm rail wise, it adds an extra dimension to your tripod, so instead of just being able to move your camera either in a rotating/panning or pitching/up or down, it'll allow you to move slightly backwards and forwards in the direction you camera is pointing.

Most zooms which have a macro feature means that it'll allow you to focus a little closer, as far as I know most of these Will only magnify down to a 1:2 ratio (1mm on the sensor to 2mm of real life) were as full macro lenses will give you 1:1 and when you are at 1:1 you are generally at the closest / minimum focus range of the lens as if you focus further away you lose magnification thus why I have the rail to be able to move the focus point without touching the lens to focus.

Full frame lenses will work fine, your camera is aps-c which is a little smaller sensor then full frame. A full frame sensor is the same size as a 35mm film negative, so it means the lens is designed to cover that area, where as a aps-c lens will cover your camera ok but a full frame will likely have heavy vignetting. have a Google of dslr sensor sizes as it explain it a little better then I can at the moment as I'm on my phone.

I have the minolta version of the 100mm 2.8 which when sony bought out minolta's camera section they still make as the Sony 100mm 2.8 it's a very nice lens.

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

Bieomax — Thu, 08 May 2014 14:22:47 GMT

It's probably down to linking to none sony products if I had to guess

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

DistantMelody — Wed, 14 May 2014 14:25:35 GMT

Thank you Mark

The rail definitely sounds like something good for macro photography. Macro photography has interesting possibilities and sounds interesting to me.

I am looking at better extension tubes than the ones I have, so that they have connections to go from the lens to the camera. I like that they can change the magnification but a lense is quite fixed. I don't know though, for sure, before trying them. I am looking at Mcoplus extension tubes that say they have AF. I haven't found any reviews yet for the ones that are for Sony cameras, only Canon. Maybe they are not the best.

Do you prefer to use tubes or your Minolta macro lens?

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

Bieomax — Thu, 15 May 2014 12:54:00 GMT

i think you'll need to make sure they have the mechanical aperture control connection, the lens electrical contacts i'd not be so bothered about as with macro you'd be better off with manual focussing rather then AF.

when i reversed the lens to do the electricity shot i had abit of rolled up paper wedged into the reversed lens's aperture level to open it up, not perfect but it did the job.

I dont have a preference really its all horses for courses, proper macro prime lenses are Very sharp, but then if you want to get even closer you then look at the extension tubes/bellows

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

DistantMelody — Sat, 17 May 2014 14:44:13 GMT

Hello Mark

I don't know how to operate the apeture manually. Is it inside the lens? How did you get there?

Which extension tubes are the best in your opinion (not considering price)?

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

Bieomax — Sat, 17 May 2014 17:03:21 GMT

If you have a lens in your hand and look at the bayonet, turn it so the electrical connections are at the top, on the left side just inside the bayonet area between it and the rear lens element there is a little Lever, with a biro or something similar you can move the lever up which moves the aperture mechanism, it should spring back down if the mechanism is in good condition ( this is something you should check if your buying a second hand lens, as some times older lenses get sticky apertures from internal grease getting old and splitting. So if you move the lever up and its doesn't snap back down at speed it'll have a sticky mechanism, which you want to be wiry of as it effects your picture exposure.

Tube wise I couldn't say as I've an old m42 bellows is use for extention which I use old film lenses with (which have a ring on the lens body to change the aperture manually)

I would post a question on dyxum.com for that as some of the macro guru's will be able to advise better.

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

marashfo — Sat, 24 May 2014 05:59:46 GMT

In terms of Macro tubes I went for the Kenko brand after doings hours of research. They carry electrical connections for auto focus and aperture which was important for me. (Expect to pay between £80 - £100 for a set of three.)

One important consideration when using Macro tubes is that you lose infinity focus. So lets say you're out in the garden taking photo's of flowers with a standard 50mm lens with a Macro tube added. Yes you can get up really close to the flower (8") and take a Macro shot, but lets say you want to take general shot of the garden you can't, as the camera simply won't be able to focus that far.

If you are looking at macro lenses, I would defintely consider the Sony 30mm Macro. It was my first ever Macro lens and it is fantastic for the money. What I really like about it is the fact it's easy to use and is very forgiving if you're just starting out.

Re: what lens is best for my slt a-77

DistantMelody — Tue, 27 May 2014 17:22:13 GMT

Thank you Mark