Sony A7 III Advice for new A7iii user please??

roxannebcb

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Roxanne Basey
I just got this camera used on ebay with this lens:
Sony a7 III Digital Camera - w/ Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 E-Mount FF Lens - Small Rig Cage
What lens would you purchase first to add to this lens? I really appreciate it.
Roxanne C. Basey
new user in Central Oregon
 
This question will get you as many opinions as you do responses!

Let's start by asking you some questions:

What do you shoot the most? Landscape? Indoors? Family/friends? Street? Birds?
Do you prefer primes or zooms?
Do you like to shoot wider shots that cover a lot of area, or do you like to fill the frame with your subject?
 
Well can't I have it all???
Probably to start would be a zoom lens. With a wide angle. Not a super telescopic lens yet.
And also a prime 50mm lens or so.
 
Use this example , what a Sony kit lens can do for you. 28- 70mm f 3.5
8B1434AC-AA7C-47B5-98E6-0D19EA3B08A6.jpeg
  • ILCE-7
  • FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
  • 32.0 mm
  • ƒ/4
  • 1/160 sec
  • ISO 125
39C26161-B6EE-4B50-8FD7-A167DC9CB4E0.jpeg
  • ILCE-7
  • FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
  • 44.0 mm
  • ƒ/10
  • 1/80 sec
  • ISO 100
 
You can absolutely have it all, @roxannebcb!

I love the Tamron 17-28/2.8 for a wide-angle zoom. It out-performs Sony's 16-35/4 at half the price. A little less focal range, but a stop faster throughout.

You have a 35mm prime, that's the same FL I use most of the time and my only E-Mount prime. My 50 is a Minolta Maxxum 50/1.7 A-Mount with a $17 Fotasy adapter. Most of the 50's are pretty decent. Samyang/Rokinon are excellent and not costly. I would stay away from Sony's cheapo 50, it doesn't get good reviews, other than that your choices are many.

For an extraordinary but expensive mid-zoom, the Sony 24-70 is top drawer. Most folks appreciate the extra 4mm on the wide end over 28, it does make a difference. Another option and one on my short-list is the Sony 24-105. This is an excellent walking-around focal range and can serve as a one-lens option for vacations and day trips when you don't want to take a lot of kit.
 
I just watched a new video by Julia Trotti who compared the Samyang 24-70 F2.8 with the Tamron 28-75 II F2.8 and both a relatively inexpensive and produce lovely shots. It depends on what you like to shoot but both of these are good options if you are looking for a zoom. The Sony 85 F1.8 is a cracking lens for a future additional prime consideration.

Here's the link to Julia's video.
 
Well can't I have it all???
Probably to start would be a zoom lens. With a wide angle. Not a super telescopic lens yet.
And also a prime 50mm lens or so.
You can, Roxanne, just hand over your pocketbook. :p Just kidding. Great choice of camera, bye the way. Take a look at the Sony FE 24-105 f/4 G Zoom. You can mount this lens and use it all day. Whatever you choose, do a Google search for reviews on your respective new glass. you'll find it informative and part of that education will be an insight to some of the reviewers themselves. Have fun. Oh, BTW, what part of central Oregon?
 
You can, Roxanne, just hand over your pocketbook. :p Just kidding. Great choice of camera, bye the way. Take a look at the Sony FE 24-105 f/4 G Zoom. You can mount this lens and use it all day. Whatever you choose, do a Google search for reviews on your respective new glass. you'll find it informative and part of that education will be an insight to some of the reviewers themselves. Have fun. Oh, BTW, what part of central Oregon?
I hear that about the pocketbook. I enjoy low light photography. Interior and no flash. Or at interior events low light. Does the 24-105 work well for that?
 
I hear that about the pocketbook. I enjoy low light photography. Interior and no flash. Or at interior events low light. Does the 24-105 work well for that?
Near Bend in the small town of Prineville. We moved here from Lake Oswego 6 years ago. Portland is just insane now.
 
Or at interior events low light. Does the 24-105 work well for that?
With a maximum aperature of F4, that's a no. You will be wanting a larger aperature lens. That 35 f1.8 you already have is a great start.
 
With a maximum aperature of F4, that's a no. You will be wanting a larger aperature lens. That 35 f1.8 you already have is a great start.
Well, that's not necessarily true. For an outdoor walking around lens, f/4 is more than enough. Add to it the fact that you can boost ISO a bit if needed. My main walking around lens on my M-4/3 is a 12-60/3.5-5.6, (similar FL equivalence) which on the smaller sensor means less light yet, and I have no problems with it. In fact, I've used it in plenty of low-light situations. The intended use for these lenses is general purpose, out and about. For that use f/4 is plenty.

These lenses are made smaller, which naturally requires a larger minimum aperture, but the idea is a lens that you can comfortably carry around all day and not be fatigued.

This was made in 'mood' lighting during a tour of the Crystal Onyx Cave in Cave City Kentucky. Note the ISO 1250, f/4.5, 1/8 SS. That's what IBIS can do for you. The equivalent FL is 50mm in this shot, so the shutter is 3 stops slower than normal.

P1075876 by telecast, on Flickr
 
Near Bend in the small town of Prineville. We moved here from Lake Oswego 6 years ago. Portland is just insane now.
Yes! The insane people have taken PDX over!
 
Well, that's not necessarily true. For an outdoor walking around lens, f/4 is more than enough.
I agree. I love the 18-105 F4 on my a6000 for outdoor and well lit indoor shooting. My response did lean towards adressing the indoor low light use the OP was referring to, although we would all agree the low light performance of these sony sensors is quite good, having a couple of extra stops of light will help produce better images.
 
Your wide angle prime lens is a excellent start. It all depends now if macro or bird photography are in your sight
 
Yes! The insane people have taken PDX over!
Yes. I am a native Portlander. Lived for 55 years in Lake Oswego. Actually L.O. is livable now but so expensive. Businesses are moving to the burbs. But Portland traffic and parking is absolutely impossible now. Not for us any longer.
 
I hear that about the pocketbook. I enjoy low light photography. Interior and no flash. Or at interior events low light. Does the 24-105 work well for that?
Is there any difference between the FE 24-1055 mm f/4 G OSS lens on bhpphotovideo.com and the Sone FE 24-105mm f/4 lens with UV Filter kit? They are the same price. Just kind of thinking I will order this one. Will it give me good shooting outside? I would rather spend a bit more on one lens than have a ton of lenses. Not that I won't order lots more lenses. I just want to have a good low light and a good zoom lens for outside to start with. Do you think this will work? I think my camera is arriving Thursday!!
 
Is there any difference between the FE 24-1055 mm f/4 G OSS lens on bhpphotovideo.com and the Sone FE 24-105mm f/4 lens with UV Filter kit?
Other than the included UV filter, no, so you may as well get the one which comes with the filter as well.

It's a well respected lens as per Jeff's previous comment and you won't find many bads words said about it online. I don't own that particular lens but own it's crop sensor E mount counterpart 18-105 F4 and found it a terrific travel and general purpose lens.

I doubt you will regret the purchase. I couldn't work out how to sort through the image gallery here to find photos shot with that lens but here is bunch of photos on the reddit sonyalpha page taken with that lens
 
Is there any difference between the FE 24-1055 mm f/4 G OSS lens on bhpphotovideo.com and the Sone FE 24-105mm f/4 lens with UV Filter kit? They are the same price. Just kind of thinking I will order this one. Will it give me good shooting outside? I would rather spend a bit more on one lens than have a ton of lenses. Not that I won't order lots more lenses. I just want to have a good low light and a good zoom lens for outside to start with. Do you think this will work? I think my camera is arriving Thursday!!
It's the same lens. Here's the thing: You're going to take a $1400 lens and stick a UV filter in front of it that B&H is willing to give away for free. Image Quality is only as good as your worst piece of kit. I abandoned UV/Sky etc. filters a long time ago, and simply use the hood to protect the front glass.
 
Roxanne, if you ever want to see examples of images taken with various Sony lenses, you should become familiar with Mark Galer. Here is a link to Mark Galer's Album on Flickr of images taken with the FE 24-105 G lens. Now I can't hold a candle to Mark Galer's images but here is a Link to my Album I shot last July on San Juan Island using the Sony FE 24-105 lens. This was probably my first real use of my A7III after having started my Photography adventure 6 month prior to that trip. I now have an A7 IV as well as the A7III.

If you're not used to Flickr, here is a little Summary on how best to view images on Flickr. I love Flickr because they will never Down-Res your images. It's a really good place for Pixel Peeping to evaluate how sharp an image is.

Recommended viewing method for Flickr:
  1. From the Albums page, Single Click or Tap the Album you would like to view
  2. Next, Single Click or Tap the upper left photo in the Album grid to expand the photo and expose the Caption which is below the photo. You may need to scroll down a little bit.
  3. Most photos can be clicked a second or third time to zoom in.
  4. Navigate through the photos by Clicking or Tapping the Right Arrow symbol at the right side of the picture to see the rest of the photos in the Album.
 
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