Just bought a A55! Now...the hard part....

[strofan]

...I need lenses! As a student, I'm on a budget, so I'm looking to get some nice older minolta's. The question I have is can ALL Minolta lenses be used on the a55? I'm looking at a cheap 1.4 prime lens, but it's MD/MC (whatever that means!). Will it work on the a55? Please help a noob out, thanks!!

[OldClicker]

No, the MC/MD (actually called the SR-mount) will not fit on an A55 without an adaptor which is generally not considered worth it. All lenses labelled as Maxxum or A-mount or Alpha-mount or Minolta Auto Focus (AF) will work. Here is a cut from an old post with recommendations. - Terry

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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

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[Anbesol]

Terry put up an excellent list, same stuff I would recommend, with an emphasis on the 50mm f/1.7...

[Photo-John]

What kind of shooting do you plan to do? What constitutes a good lens depends greatly on your subject.

[strofan]

What kind of shooting do you plan to do? What constitutes a good lens depends greatly on your subject.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm planning on doing mostly outdoor photography during my vacations. Also, a lot will be night time as well. I like shooting my girlfriend in front of landmarks (sunsets, buildings, etc.). I'd also like to shoot some modeling type photos of her/us. Any more suggestions? Thank you so much!

[Anbesol]

For the portrait and low-light shooting, the 50mm f/1.7 is an outstanding lens. For the outdoor photography a Minolta 24-50 f/4 would be a little better than the 35-70, as you will want its wider angle. The 70-210 f/4 will get you close and tight shots of outdoor stuff too, plus the 70-210 is really fun. There is also a new version of the 50mm f/1.8, which has an internal AF motor, but its also APS, so you don't get the same sweet spot that you would with the 50mm f/1.7. I personally would stick with the old minolta version, but you can get the f/1.8 version new. If "outdoor photography" consists of landscapes, then the 24-50 f/4 would be more important than the 70-210 f/4, if your outdoor photography consists of animals and wildlife, vice versa.

The 50mm f/1.7 should be ~ $100, the 24-50 f/4 should also be ~ $100, and the 70-210 f/4 should be ~ $200. So, if you got all of them that would be $400. I would also consider that a bargain price considering their excellent value.

[Photo-John]

I expect it's out of reach of your budget, but I love the 18-200mm zoom range for an all-purpose DSLR lens. I have the Canon 18-200mm and I use it more than any other lens. Sony has an 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 (Sony DT 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens). I haven't used it so I can't speak to the quality. But the $580 MSRP suggests that it's a solid mid-range lens - about the same as my Canon. I expect $580 is a lot of money for you. However, this is probably a lens you'd keep longer than the camera. Unlike a digital camera, a good lens is a long-term investment.

[NoKnees]

To confirm P-J's suggestion, yes, give the 18-250mm from either Sony or Tamron a solid look. It's my "one lens solution" for travel where going light maters the most. Think, backpacking, skiing/snowboarding, etc...

When you have room to pack a couple lenses, the above recommendations are pretty good. The only one that seems to be a good point of contention is between the older Minolta 50mm f1.7 and the new Sony 50mm f1.8 SAM lens. People argue both ways on image quality. Shooting any video, the newer Sony 50mm with it's internal motor will be quieter.. However, if you bought the kit that includes the basic lens, then grab the Minolta for better low light work.

Anyway, enjoy your new camera... Looks to be a real nice piece of work by Sony...

Greg
Currently shooting a700 & a900 with a mixed bag of Minolta, Sigma, Sony & Zeiss lenses..

[Anbesol]

I am going to agree in part with photo-john for the practical versatility of a super-zoom lens. But, the superzoom is far from being a replacement for the 50mm f/1.7, so for portraits and low light the advantage still goes to the 50mm, and by a lot. The 50mm will also be optically superior, handle exponentially lower light, and probably best of all it will be a fraction the size and weight of the superzoom.

[Photo-John]

All true. However, I own two fast 50mm lenses and I rarely use either one. They just don't really do what I need most of the time. For me, the 50mm lens is basically a specialty item.

[Anbesol]

You and I are almost opposites then, because the 50mm is my mainly used lens, to me - everything else is a specialty.

Then, portraiture has been the majority of the stuff I've done lately.

[playpunk]

I just bought an a55 and a Minolta 50mm f1.4. The 50mm is still in transit, but I've taken a bunch of pictures with the Kit lens, and so far I am very impressed with the camera. I find the VR kind of amazing - shooting at 1/13 of a second without image blur.

[OldClicker]

I just bought an a55 and a Minolta 50mm f1.4. The 50mm is still in transit, but I've taken a bunch of pictures with the Kit lens, and so far I am very impressed with the camera. I find the VR kind of amazing - shooting at 1/13 of a second without image blur.

I'm always interested in hearing from those with the new Sony models - glad you like it. Please post somr shots (maybe you have - I'll look around). BTW - VR= Nikon; Sony calls it Super Steady Shot (SSS) or now, Steady Shot INSIDE (SS). - Terry

[playpunk]

I bought an a55 about a week ago, and also a minolta 50mm f1.4 lens. It is a sweet setup. I'd post pictures, but I think I need some more posts first.

[Photo-John]

I bought an a55 about a week ago, and also a minolta 50mm f1.4 lens. It is a sweet setup. I'd post pictures, but I think I need some more posts first.

Congratulations. I really like the A55. If I were buying my first digital SLR, I think that's the camera I would buy.

Please write a review for your A55. User reviews are the foundation of the site. They're how most users find us and we need everyone here to share their camera experience in the reviews section. Here's a link to the Sony A55 review page:

Sony Alpha A55 User Reviews >>

Welcome to the site and thanks in advance for your review!

[interspire]

Thank you for always providing great content
and a good community!

interspiresubmit com]interspiresubmit

[DaveWilky]

The Answer is yes you can use most if not all old minolta lens, I use the minolta 50mm 1.7, the minolta 70-210mm known as the beercan and the minolta 35-70mm all secondhand lens from ebay and i`ve had no problems with any of the lens...