Sony SAL-50F14

[Pink Dragonfly]

Anybody out there with an opinion on this lens? I was thinking it might make a nice Christmas present for myself

Mette

[Anbesol]

With as good as the 50 f1.7 is and as significantly cheaper, I was never interested in the 1.4. Is there a reason you are interested in this one in particular? Is it the extra third stop?

[Pink Dragonfly]

Is the 50 f1.7 a Minolta lens? The 1/3 extra stop sure doesn't bother me and if I can save money, I'm a happy lass But I do need one rather quickly, ie tomorrow - we celebrate Christmas on the eve of the 24th and tomorrow is the last day the shops are open. I'm also really scared of buying 2nd hand stuff over the Internet (unless Canuck wants to sell me his beercan... ). So, if I want to buy new, do I have a choice?

Mette

[Anbesol]

Well it depends on the photo stores in your area, the 50 f1.7 is the most popular minolta lens ever, so it wont be hard to find if theres a retail that supports 35mm vintage lens'. You should be able to find it between 80-120. If you don't have a photo store that supports the vintage lens, then you may have to get it online. the 1.4 is a great one as well, you can't go wrong with it, you can just get the 1.7 for so much cheaper.

They are almost identical, both have a minimum focus distance of 450mm and the same focus range. The Sony is simply 1/3rd stop faster and 3 times the price, the sony has a 55mm filter size and the minolta a 49, so the minolta is a bit smaller. Finding a new 50 f1.7 is possible but will prove incredibly difficult, as at least 99% of those out there will be second hand. I have seen some vintange lens being sold that are new in box, so its not unheard of.

[Canuck935]

If you need to pick something up in a shop it may be hard to find a Minolta 50mm f/1.7 or f/1.4 as many places don't keep used stock on hand anymore and instead sell it online. I have to say it doesn't look like I'll be giving up my beercan anytime soon. Sorry!

The Sony 50mm f/1.4 is actually a bit more than a re-badge of the Minolta version. They added ADI to it as well as applied different coatings to the lenses. Another site recently did a review of the Sony 50mm f/1.4, and found that it performed exceptionally well (on APS-C especially). You can read it here.

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks, guys

Problem is I promised the family I'd take photographs on Christmas Eve... so I don't have much time for shopping around...hehe...only tomorrow....and still got a bunch of other presents to get :eek6: and from that review you linked to, Canuck (thanks!), it seems a pretty decent lens. And there's very dealers here that do second hand... The review did mention an equivalent Sigma lens? (By the way, is there an easy way to get a quick overview on what lenses are available with Sony/Minolta fitting from the independent companies?)

Mette

[Anbesol]

Canuck - the performance evaluations and comparisons I've seen painted them very similar, the coating on the elements must have been a flare thing then eh? (The one thing that was marked as significantly better on the 1.4) The 1.7 doesn't do so well with flare.

Mette - dyxum.com has the most comprehensive review and spec's from the various A-Mount lens.

The sigma uses 9 aperture blades as opposed to 7, which would give a very soft and nice looking bokeh, but it only stops down to 16 (vs 22, if you'd even use it that slow). The Sigma is also much larger and much more expensive.

http://www.adorama.com/SG5014DMAX.html

[Pink Dragonfly]

I'll go with the Sony then!

Thanks for tip on that web page, I'll take a look. I've got an old standard Minolta 100-300mm zoom that I'm finding a little short now that birds have caught my interest - been hanging aroung N&W too much and would like something a little longer and preferably faster but Sony 400mm is way out of my league as I still haven't found a rich guy to marry

Mette

[Pink Dragonfly]

Hi again,
I never found one in time for Christmas but found it was cheaper online, so ordered it around NY, only to find out I could save a lot by ordering from the UK so I cancelled the order. With all the excitement of getting the beercan, I hadn't got around to ordering yet, but about to...Then I just got a call from this vintage shop that they had got a Minolta 50mm f1.7 in that they would sell me for 88 US$, which is about a quarter of what I would pay for the new Sony SAL-50F14. So now I'm confused as to what to do! Obviously the Sony lens is new, a bit faster and better suited for DSLR but is the difference worth 266 US$? He's keeping it for me for a few days...

Mette

[Anbesol]

The 50mm f1.7 is a *terrific* lens. f1.7 is already ridiculously fast and you are rarely likely to use it that fast. Personally I would save the lot of money and get the f1.7, but if money were no object, I'd get the 1.4...

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks, Anbesol! I guess I was just worried that I'd regret later that I didn't spend the extra money. It's not that money is not an object, but relatively speaking it's not tons of money and I was hoping to start making a little bit of money photographing kids and this would be the lens I'd use.

Mette

[Canuck935]

I think you'll be really happy with the f/1.7. It's far more common than the 1.4's, primarily because of the significant cost difference. An f/1.7 prime for less than $100 US is a deal if you ask me. If you decided you didn't like it you could resell it and get your money back.

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks, Canuck!

I'm so absolutely useless at decisions (typically female ) and I had finally made up mind to get the Sony from warehouseexpress in the UK, and then 2nd hand shop called me up about the Minolta lens...

Mette

[Anbesol]

Thanks, Anbesol! I guess I was just worried that I'd regret later that I didn't spend the extra money. It's not that money is not an object, but relatively speaking it's not tons of money and I was hoping to start making a little bit of money photographing kids and this would be the lens I'd use.

Mette

the 1.7 will not disappoint, the money you save can be better applied to other accessories and lens - do you have your flash yet?

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks, Anbesol and Canuck! I called the shop today to let them know it was mine and I would pick it up this week!

Yes, I did get the flash, and I'm still struggling with it! Flash photogtaphy is definitely not my strongest point along with my adversity to reading manuals...But it has been very useful, I've also used it outside with some success (there's been very little light these past couple of months) I'll get there in the end...Just missing my built-in flash on my old Minolta Dynax 800si, the most powerful handgun in the world (on any SLR - and probably also DSLR), that - at least in my memory - worked perfect and did everything I asked it to do, apart from macro photography.

Mette