elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

Hi all, after some doubts and thinking I just ordered the Sony a37.

Hope I made a good decision.

What about the SONY SIGMA 50/2.8 EX DG MACRO for beginner macro.

I have the Sigma 105 macro on my D700 and love it but don't now how it renders on SLTs.

me198

After much debate , I purchased the Sony A-65. Love the camera. Afterwards got the Sony 30mm 2.8 macro lens, best lens I ever bought for less than $200.

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

This is my first SLT camera and the weight was important so I went for this one.

samleo Loc: Norfolk,England

I have the Sigma Sony mount 50mm 2.8 macro,I use it on my A550 and A77 slt. For the money its an excellent little lens, produces very good results. I also have the Sigma 105 macro on my Nikon d7000, I think its better than the 50mm but the 50 is smaller and lighter and better around the home for macro work!

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

Think I'll get one

chesterludlow

I have a Sony SLT A33, my first DSLR and I love it. I have the Minolta 50mm 1.7 that work great.

Shutterbugsailer Loc: Staten Island NY (AKA Cincinnati by the Sea)

Good move! }ust be on the lookout for all the Minolta 35 MM film lenses thatnare compatible with it

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

I'm anxiously waiting for it to arrive

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

I'm out hunting for those lenses

RaydancePhoto

Here is a list of my lenses for Sony Alpha. I have an A57 and an A65

70-210 f/4.0 Beercan lens - better than my Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L lens.
35-105 /3.5-4.5 with Macro, very nice lens, good for portraits
100mm f/2.8 Macro - this lens is so sharp you don't dare use it for portraits.
135mm /2.8 again very sharp and great color - love this for portraits
50mm f/1.2 extremely sharp
50mm f/1.4 extremely sharp

elandel Loc: Milan, Italy

Thanks

Photogdog Loc: New Kensington, PA

I'm a MAJOR believer in Sony equpment. I have an NEX-5N (with the additional EVF) an NEX-7 and a bunch of lenses that go along with them.

Having said that, I just purchased an RX-1 and I may sell off some of my other gear. You have to see the images to belive how good the Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.0, 24MP sensor and the Exmor sensor are to be believed.

RX-1 Macro setting, post processed to the MAX

Photogdog Loc: New Kensington, PA

I'm a MAJOR believer in Sony equpment. I have an NEX-5N (with the additional EVF) an NEX-7 and a bunch of lenses that go along with them.

Having said that, I just purchased an RX-1 and I may sell off some of my other gear. You have to see the images to belive how good the Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.0, 24MP sensor and the Exmor sensor are to be believed.

wierdphotoguy Loc: the snow belt in Michigan

Prime lens macros are nice, but take my advice - get an older zoom macro lens. I picked up a Quantaray 28-90mm f3.5-5.6 macro lens in a package deal (also Quantaray 70-300 and Minolta 28-80) the whole thing was $50 and the 28-90 lens is my favorite lens of all the glass that I own. I can shoot portraits and macros without changing the lens.

I am not saying don't buy the prime, but for beginners a zoom macro will get more use. For really small items (I am shooting rings and watches tomorrow) I throw a Tamron 2X AF teleconverter on there and I can photograph the back of a diamond that is set in a ring from about a foot away. And if that still is not small enough, the little zoom button on top of the camera can let you know what gender a gnat is!
I photographed over 50 pieces of jewely last week and never moved the camera. With a working distance of 10 inches - vs 2 inches with a 28mm prime - you can get laser sharp macros without scaring live subjects, or adjust other subjects without bumping the lens. Very handy if using a light tent also.

Some lenses that cost $400 - $600 thirty years ago can be found for dirt cheap, and still fit your a37! I just found three camera bundles (35mm film) for $100 each on CL, emailed the guy and asked how much for all three bundles. I got it all for $200; three cameras, three flashes, a couple dozen filters (including Cokin) and 13 lenses (not counting the teleconvertor) I am jazzed about the Rokkor primes (28, 135, 200 and 300mm) and the four macro zooms. Cant wait to try them out! Sorry, I'm kinda a lens geek.

If you have doubts, borrow a macro zoom to try it out. Try to keep your lens in the sweet spot (f8-f11 for most lenses) and slow down your camera speed as much as you can while still getting a good exposure. Keep your ISO at 400 or less to keep the noise down. I use 1/5 to 1" since it is on a tripod. Oh yeah, I use twin 6500K lamps outside my light tent so I set my WB accordingly. The peaking function makes it easy to focus where you want even with the low res lcd. Geez, I guess I am a macro geek as well. :)

Photogdog Loc: New Kensington, PA

Actually, the quater shot was taken with a Sony RX-1 using a fixed Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.0 lens set to macro.

I have an EF 100mm (non-L) Macro That I use on my Canon Eos 5D MK II or 7D & it's excellent!

That said, I thought the RX-1 did a pretty decent job (with a little post processing in PSE 10).