Telephoto Lens?

[tigers24]

Hello, I'm just beginning with photography so please bear with me!

I have a Sony A290 digital camera (http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Digital-SLR...s-Bodie/656917)

.. and I'm really interested in experimenting with a bit of wildlife photography. However, I've been tracking the web for telephoto lenses and there are so many that its left me a bit bamboozled! I'm a student and this is just a hobby so I don't want to spend excessive amounts of money, but at the same time I want a lens good enough to take decent photos.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a reasonable lens to buy for wildlife photography?
Or any suggestions of what I should be looking for?


I found these two that seem too good to be true:

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics...3/product.html

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics...6/product.html

What do you think? Do you think I need a lower aperture for decent pics? And am I overlooking an extreme negative of these lenses?

Thank you for your help!

[OldClicker]

I think that you will soon be quite disappointed with the image quality of these lenses. Both will require manual focus. The zoom lens is a push/pull type (not a ring). At maximum focal length (i.e. zoomed out with the 2x teleconverter), the largest aperture on the zoom will be f/32 and the other f/16 - they will require a lot of light to work.

I would recommend that you look at some of the used Minolta lenses recommended in the links below. Though not as long, the quality will be much better.

Also, the best way to get close ups of wildlife is to work on your 'hunting' skills - just get closer.

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Here are some possible lenses stressing value (all used 'legacy' Minolta):

Minolta 50mm f/1.7 $100
Minolta 35-70 f/4 $50
Minolta 70-210 f/4 'beercan' $175

$325 total that would surpass my talents for years.

I went with the Minolta 50mm f/1.4 for $218 instead of the f/1.7 and picked up the 28-75mm f/2.8 for $328 for better low light (indoors) and a little wider with the zoom. I also found that I really liked macro and splurged for a beautiful Minolta 100mm 2.8 Macro for $346 – a steal. I find I seldom use anything other than the beercan for the back yard and the macro for close-ups.

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All of the old Auto-Focus (AF) Minolta lenses - also known as the a-mount or, now, the alpha-mount - will work on your A200. Older Manual-Focus Minolta lenses with the SR-mount (mostly labeled MD or MC) will not fit on the camera. Here is a data base of the AF lenses.

http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/lenses.php

And this one has most everything for the Minolta Maxxum/Sony a-mount systems.

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/index.asp

The kit lens is certainly capable of taking great photos, but it is not the best - even among the lower grade lenses. If you work with it, learn its limitations and how to get around them, you will have learned a lot about photography. Most alpha owners pick up a Minolta 50mm f/1.7 early on because they can be cheap and provide a good low-light start. Some used lens places:

http://www.keh.com/OnLineStore/Produ...&GBC=&GCC=&KW=

http://www.keh.com/OnLineStore/Produ...&GBC=&GCC=&KW=

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?o...us&cat3=Lenses

http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?o...al&cat3=Lenses

http://www.photographyreview.com/Com...2847/KBID/3790

And, of course Ebay (but be careful).

Here are a few Guides - take them for what they’re worth.

http://reviews.ebay.com/The-Best-Max...00000000911239

http://reviews.ebay.com/Maxxum-70-21...00000000751723

http://reviews.ebay.com/How-To-Detec...00000001005542

http://reviews.ebay.com/Top-Minolta-...00000007572656

http://reviews.ebay.com/LENSES-amp-A...00000001549787

http://reviews.ebay.com/Sony-Alpha-M...00000004652715

[Don Schaeffer]

I agree. You really won't need that much magnification for most photography. A good 200 or 300 mm lens would be ideal. (That price for the telescope seems unreasonably cheap).

[tigers24]

Thanks for your help guys - I'll have a look through all the links

[tigers24]

I've had a scout around and I'm wondering if you'd choose either of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-70-300.../ref=de_a_smtd

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-Alpha-7...6402422&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-SAL5520...=pd_rhf_shvl_2


The sigma one seems to have good reviews..

[Anbesol]

I am going to agree with Terry here and reccomend the Minolta 70-210 f/4. It is an old lens, but its faster than any of the ones you listed, so you get better shutter speeds, and it has a better focus transition than any you listed. In fact, it is famous for its creamy soft bokeh (out of focus blur). It also has excellent contrast with a sharp resolution. I have that one myself and I wouldn't trade it for all 3 of the ones you listed. It also has a better build quality as well, without any telescoping optic while zooming. The ONLY lens on this mount I would prefer over this one will cost several times more, like the 70-300 G, or the 70-200 f/2.8. Those are $700-$2000. link

oh but since you are UK, I don't think KEH sells to you limey brits. So heres an EBay listing - Link

And heres a review and spec sheet of it, http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-...29_lens48.html You may notice it has an unusually high number of reviews, 297. Thats because its such a famous and popular lens. Along with the 50mm f/1.7, its probably the most popular Minolta legacy lens around.

Heres a review and spec sheet of the Sony 75-300 link

And the 55-200 link

And the Sigma 75-300 http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Sigma-70...S_lens549.html

Dyxum is the most comprehensive and complete database of lens and reviews for the Sony mount.

[tigers24]

Ok thanks, sorry to be dim but is this one the same as the one you sent me an ebay link to or is it a newer version?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Minolta-70-210...item41565e4b8d

[Anbesol]

no, thats a different version, thats the f/3.5-4.5, not the constant f/4. Link

[tigers24]

Think I might bid on this one..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Minolta-70-210...item45f84a3f4e

anyone think I shouldn't? I really appreciate your opinions! I worry that the 2nd hand lenses will be scratched or marked but I suppose there isn't a lot I can do about it..

[Anbesol]

Don't worry about second hand. Lens are solid pieces of equipment and meant to last decades, I have usually seen very good condition explanations on eBay as well.

That looks good, but I doubt it will stay that cheap.

[tigers24]

Okay cheers. There's a buy-it-now one at £105 that I'll go for if that auction one goes above that. Thanks for your help.

[tigers24]

Got outbid by £2 and it went for £93! So I bought the one at £105. Hope its good! Thanks for your help everyone - I'm sure I'll be back soon to pester you for more info!

[OldClicker]

Though it may take some time to get the best out of this lens, I think you are going to love it. Here are a couple of shots with the 'beercan' (its nickname) to hold you over until it arrives.





Terry

[tigers24]

Ohh those photos are fantastic!! I can't wait for it to come - really excited! I'll let you know how I get on with it!

[Anbesol]

Woah Terry, at 210mm? You are one heck of a birder! Awesome shots.

(is 'birder' the proper terminology?)

[OldClicker]

Ohh those photos are fantastic!! I can't wait for it to come - really excited! I'll let you know how I get on with it!

Remember that I said the trick is to get close - very close. For me, this means hiding in ambush and being very, very patient. - Terry

[OldClicker]

Woah Terry, at 210mm? You are one heck of a birder! Awesome shots.

(is 'birder' the proper terminology?)

Thanks and birder sounds good to me. (The second is at 160mm - close is the secret.) The background bokeh is what really stands out with this lens.

Terry

[OldClicker]

Here is an old thread with nothing but beercan images:

The Beercan (70-210 f/4) thread..

Terry

[tigers24]

I love my new lens!! Think I'm going to get a LOT of use out of it

[candy bersh]

In photography and cinematography, a telephoto lens is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length.[1] They achieve this by incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group that extends the light path to create a long-focus lens in a much shorter overall design. The angle of view and other effects of long-focus lenses are the same for telephoto lenses of the same specified focal length. Long-focal-length lenses are often informally referred to as telephoto lenses although this is technically incorrect: a telephoto lens specifically incorporates the telephoto group.[2]

Telephoto lenses are sometimes broken into the further sub-types of medium telephoto: lenses covering between a 30° and 10° field of view (85mm to 135mm in 35mm film format), and super telephoto: lenses covering between 8° through less than 1° field of view (over 300mm in 35mm film format)