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Jan 11, 2016 15:07:37   #
zimm95030 Loc: Los Gatos, CA
 
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with kit lens and looking for a lens beyond that.
The primary use is people in social settings, mostly dinners, parties, sports events, wine tastings etc.
I’m shooting mostly indoors - low light, and without flash, unless someone convinces me that flash is a wiser upgrade than faster glass and not intrusive.
I hope to secure new glass < $500 but will consider up to $1,000 or so.
I see Sony offers e-mount in
• 35mm f1.8,
• 50mm f1.8, and
• 24mm (full frame?) f1.8.
There is also Zeiss Touit 32mm f1.8 and likely others you know of. Does Sigma market here? Other brands?
These will all be handheld candid shots in "active" situations. How important should I consider optical stabilization?
What is the optimum focal length range for shots that typically include 2 to 6 people?
I intend to rent the chosen lens for a week and then buy that, or a new copy, or start anew.

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Jan 11, 2016 15:11:27   #
tainkc Loc: Kansas City
 
Do you have any "A" mount lenses? I have seen some really good stuff done with these on an A6000 using Sony's adapter.

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Jan 11, 2016 15:13:46   #
Photocraig
 
zimm95030 wrote:
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with kit lens and looking for a lens beyond that.
The primary use is people in social settings, mostly dinners, parties, sports events, wine tastings etc.
I’m shooting mostly indoors - low light, and without flash, unless someone convinces me that flash is a wiser upgrade than faster glass and not intrusive.
I hope to secure new glass < $500 but will consider up to $1,000 or so.
I see Sony offers e-mount in
• 35mm f1.8,
• 50mm f1.8, and
• 24mm (full frame?) f1.8.
There is also Zeiss Touit 32mm f1.8 and likely others you know of. Does Sigma market here? Other brands?
These will all be handheld candid shots in "active" situations. How important should I consider optical stabilization?
What is the optimum focal length range for shots that typically include 2 to 6 people?
I intend to rent the chosen lens for a week and then buy that, or a new copy, or start anew.
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with k... (show quote)

Sigma does have a highly reviewed 18-35mm f1.8 zoom. That should cover most indoor group situations and cropping for single portraits. It is in the $900 range but worth a look.

Reply
 
 
Jan 11, 2016 16:07:44   #
lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.
 
zimm95030 wrote:
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with kit lens and looking for a lens beyond that.
The primary use is people in social settings, mostly dinners, parties, sports events, wine tastings etc.
I’m shooting mostly indoors - low light, and without flash, unless someone convinces me that flash is a wiser upgrade than faster glass and not intrusive.
I hope to secure new glass < $500 but will consider up to $1,000 or so.
I see Sony offers e-mount in
• 35mm f1.8,
• 50mm f1.8, and
• 24mm (full frame?) f1.8.
There is also Zeiss Touit 32mm f1.8 and likely others you know of. Does Sigma market here? Other brands?
These will all be handheld candid shots in "active" situations. How important should I consider optical stabilization?
What is the optimum focal length range for shots that typically include 2 to 6 people?
I intend to rent the chosen lens for a week and then buy that, or a new copy, or start anew.
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with k... (show quote)
I might be able to help you some. I own the a6000; bought it 13+ months ago. I have hand tremors intermittently, so IS is important for me to have. IS is also important for any video you plan to shoot and in both cases, I'm assuming that a tripod is not an option.

Other Hogs here with bigger budgets may advocate for the more expensive lenses than the ones I own. I'm in no position to disagree with them.

Instead of buying the kit 16 - 50 mm PZ lens with OSS, I elected to buy two lenses: the pancake 16 mm f/2.8 and the 35 mm f1.8 with OSS. I wanted the faster option. I also bought a Lensbaby Composer Pro with the Sweet 50 mm optic. None of my A-mt telephoto lenses have OSS, so relunctantly I purchased used (for just over half the new price,) the Sony 55 - 210 mm OSS SLOOOW lens, which works okay but requires me to boost the ISO when shooting indoors.

Welcome! I hope this helps you.
lev29 &#128526;

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Jan 11, 2016 18:16:39   #
John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN
 
Do let us know your decisions and maybe let us see the results. I got the a6000 around about the time you did with the kit lens.

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Jan 11, 2016 19:23:46   #
zimm95030 Loc: Los Gatos, CA
 
No A mount lenses.
I do have the 16mm f2.8 pancake E mount.

I also have a Canon EF 50 mm f1.4, but never considered adapting it.

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Jan 11, 2016 19:25:04   #
zimm95030 Loc: Los Gatos, CA
 
Are you happy with the 35mm f1.8? How does it work for portraits and small groups?

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Jan 11, 2016 19:59:04   #
PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago
 
Sigma in general makes quality lenses.Consider their zoom 18-35mm f/1.8
zimm95030 wrote:
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with kit lens and looking for a lens beyond that.
The primary use is people in social settings, mostly dinners, parties, sports events, wine tastings etc.
I’m shooting mostly indoors - low light, and without flash, unless someone convinces me that flash is a wiser upgrade than faster glass and not intrusive.
I hope to secure new glass < $500 but will consider up to $1,000 or so.
I see Sony offers e-mount in
• 35mm f1.8,
• 50mm f1.8, and
• 24mm (full frame?) f1.8.
There is also Zeiss Touit 32mm f1.8 and likely others you know of. Does Sigma market here? Other brands?
These will all be handheld candid shots in "active" situations. How important should I consider optical stabilization?
What is the optimum focal length range for shots that typically include 2 to 6 people?
I intend to rent the chosen lens for a week and then buy that, or a new copy, or start anew.
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with k... (show quote)

Reply
Jan 11, 2016 22:26:03   #
tinplater Loc: Scottsdale, AZ
 
I would purchase the Sony 28mm 2.0...it will cover most of what you intend to photograph with the exception of sporting events (indoors). That is a fabulous lens for the price, fast and amazingly sharp. I got mine for $400 on Ebay and love it. For more reach (with quality and speed) you will have to spend a lot more...the 70-200 is excellent but runs around $1000 on Ebay. I briefly had the 24-240 and was very disappointed with image quality and sold it.

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Jan 12, 2016 00:00:47   #
BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA
 
zimm95030 wrote:
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with kit lens and looking for a lens beyond that.
The primary use is people in social settings, mostly dinners, parties, sports events, wine tastings etc.
I’m shooting mostly indoors - low light, and without flash, unless someone convinces me that flash is a wiser upgrade than faster glass and not intrusive.
I hope to secure new glass < $500 but will consider up to $1,000 or so.
I see Sony offers e-mount in
• 35mm f1.8,
• 50mm f1.8, and
• 24mm (full frame?) f1.8.
There is also Zeiss Touit 32mm f1.8 and likely others you know of. Does Sigma market here? Other brands?
These will all be handheld candid shots in "active" situations. How important should I consider optical stabilization?
What is the optimum focal length range for shots that typically include 2 to 6 people?
I intend to rent the chosen lens for a week and then buy that, or a new copy, or start anew.
I'm avid but amateur utilizing a Sony A6000 with k... (show quote)

FWIW, I keep a Sigma 30mm f/2.8 lens on my a6000 almost all the time.

Reply
Jan 12, 2016 03:16:43   #
lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.
 
Mogul wrote:
FWIW, I keep a Sigma 30mm f/2.8 lens on my a6000 almost all the time.
... and I, likewise, keep my Sony 35mm f/1.8 with OSS on my a6000.

Reply
 
 
Jan 12, 2016 04:13:00   #
BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA
 
tinplater wrote:
I would purchase the Sony 28mm 2.0...it will cover most of what you intend to photograph with the exception of sporting events (indoors). That is a fabulous lens for the price, fast and amazingly sharp. I got mine for $400 on Ebay and love it. For more reach (with quality and speed) you will have to spend a lot more...the 70-200 is excellent but runs around $1000 on Ebay. I briefly had the 24-240 and was very disappointed with image quality and sold it.

As I converted to SLR from TLR, I was fascinated by the prospects of owning telephoto lenses that would pull in that shot from "way out yonder"; it took many years for me to learn the value of a wide angle rectilinear lens. Now, I am looking for anything in a good 16 to 20mm rectilinear prime lens to use as an everyday lens on my a6000.

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Jan 12, 2016 06:59:39   #
fhuhman Loc: Jefferson City, MO
 
I have the 2 kit lenses and a 19mm 2.8 Sigma, which I really like on my 6000.

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Jan 12, 2016 07:04:40   #
sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey
 
I had the Sigma 17-50mm 2.8 on my Nikon and loved it. Remember when you use f1.8 you have a shallow DOF.

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Jan 12, 2016 07:23:35   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Play it safe and see what professional reviewers say.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/lenses
http://lenshero.com/lens-comparison
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx
http://www.lenstip.com/lenses.html
http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare

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