ACD

I am looking for recommendations on the top three or four praticle lens choices for a Sony a77 in the Sony lens line.

Thanks for your help.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

There are several lenses I would recommend for the a77 but first I need to know what kind of photography do you like to do and what kind of budget?

ACD

Thank you for your reply!

Jounalism, wildlife and sports would be the primary need. Budget would be mid range.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

O.k. let's get started. The DT 18-250mm zoom is a very good all around lens. It goes right at $600.00 For the wildlife, I would recommend the SAL 400mm telephoto lens if you can afford it. It goes for $2,000.00. It is a fantastic lens! I would recommend it over the Sigma 500mm lens. The Sigma is not a bad lens at all. It is just a tad soft but it is half the price of the Sony lens. To round things out, try to pick up a Minolta 28mm f2.8 wide angle AF prime. You can find these on Craig's List , pawn shop or at a camera store that sells used lenses. This lens is great for indoors, tight quarters, and low light conditions. It is sharp as a tack by the way. I paid $50.00 for mine at a camera store.

These are what I would recommend. But if this exceeds your budget, then go with the 18-250mm zoom. It is top rated and it fills the needs of 99% 0f what you shoot. It is also not a bad lens for the occasional portrait type of shots. If you can afford everything but the 400mm, then go for the Sigma 500mm. Nothing wrong with it. It too is a quality lens but like I said, just a hair soft sometimes.

When you get rich and famous, then buy the Carl Zeiss lens. Any Carl Zeiss lens. It will blow you away! Oh, and for shits & grins, pick up a nifty fifty when you can. It is a 50mm prime. You can pick them up pretty cheap. Sony sells them new for $145.00. It is a great lens for not being one of their top of the line. At f1.8, they are great for low light conditions also. I do have the Sony 300mm zoom also. It is their cheapest 300mm lens. I am not too happy with it at all. It is sharp but I have all sorts of fringing problems with it. I bought a Sigma 300mm lens used for $50.00 and it was much better. Somewhat soft but it took very good photos.

I hope this helps.

ACD

Thank you again for your reply. I appreciate the options you have outlined, and they are on target and helpful.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

You are most welcome.

camerabuff58 Loc: Ontario, Canada,

If you are interested, I have a new sigma 170 - 500mm lense for sale that would fit the bill for nature and wildlife photography. I say new because I only took three pictures with it. Send me a private message and I will get back to you with pics, price and my e-mail. Camerabuff58

gideon Loc: Tampa Bay, FL

If it's still available, I would be interested in talking to you about your Sigma 150-500mm lens. My email address is gidrech@yahoo.com.
Thanks,
Gideon

meatyore

This is an excellent resource for Sony users with loads of information on lenses, ratings, and real-time pricing:
http://www.dyxum.com/ .
I also recommend this lens, which I find tends to stay on my Alpha quite a bit, even though I have a full array of lenses: Tamron SP 17-50 mm F/2.8 Di-II XR IF AF
Very sharp.
Hope this helps~

lorvey Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Not sure if this fits into your budget, but I have the Zeiss 3.5/4.5 16-80mm and the Sony 4.5/5.6 70-300 G series. The two of them provide excellent IQ and good coverage of most situations. Probably, the only downside is the speed. Need to boost the ISO in low-light situations.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

You didn't say whether your budget is limited but the very high priced Zeiss lenses Sony sells should be your ultimate goal because there is nothing better. They will show off your a77's capabilities like no other.

Which lenses to purchase first depends completely on what you're going to be shooting. 85mm or 100mm for portraits. 400mm for wildlife. 14 or 18 mm wide angle for building interiors. 35 to 50mm for everyday use. Zoom lenses of 25 to 100mm are convenient for everyday use too.

Just be aware that your lens system is going to cost you much more than the camera itself.

chapjohn Loc: Tigard, Oregon

I was out shooting a couple weeks with a gentleman who was using A77 with the Sony 100-400mm G series lens and produced some great pictures. Sony G lens are great, but spendy.

GeneS Loc: Glendale,AZ

not sure how much you want to spend,so will tell you my mid range lens. I'm not a pro but enjoy taking some nice photographs and a few snap shots of the Grandchildren.
I moved up from the sony A33 to the A77. Only kept a couple of the lens I used with the A33, because the 24mp 0of the A77 needs a much better lens to take advantage of the 24 mp. That doesn't mean it can't use a lesser lens.
I got the A77 with the (kit lens) 16-50 2.8 lens which is plenty sharp on the A77,there may be some better but I'll never know the difference.
I kept a sigma 18-250 3.5-6.3 dc os hsm, which I use as a walk around, it is a little slow for low light but fine for the zoo,etc. I also kept my minolta 50mm 1.7 this is a good older cheap lens I use indoors some times, 1.4 is a better low light lens but I have no need for that and it costs alot more. Got the 1.7 at goodwill for $20.00 and it is in great shape.
I have a Sony 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 G lens I use for longer shots. This is great on the A77. Between the 16-50mm and the 70-300 G these are the lens I really like because they are really sharp compared to the sigma and the tamron 18-270 I tried. You can really see the difference.
I don't use a really wide angle other than the 16-50, but if there was one lens I'd really like to have it would be the Sony 70-200mm 2.8 because it is sharp and good in low light.
Get a good tripod and enjoy the A77

alibelle Loc: london

I had been looking to buy a sony A77 when I came accross your discussion. Can you give me your comments on the A77? So far everyone tells me to buy a Nikon instead...

adam1134

50mm prime, 35mm prime and 70-400G. Cannot say enough good things about the G. It is by far my favorite lens. Worth every penny.