p.2 #1 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
Welcome! You've come to the right place for sure!
Any lenses you are looking at buying? I'd suggest watching Dustin Abbott and Christopher Frosts video reviews. Though imho Dustin is top notch and more detailed than Chris.
You can also consider joining Mark Galers Patron and download his 500 page A7IV book. Mark is a Sony Global Ambassador so you won't get many 3rd party recommendations from him.
And many here are spot on with gear recommendations. My only other advice is you can join the A7IV group on Facebook if you are on that. Most are kind and will answer your questions or concerns...me for instance!
p.2 #2 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
These are difficult questions. They basically ask "what would have been your first lens kit if you had the knowledge and experience?" I am not a pro, just on the basis of some experience, my first advice would be "keep it small." It is tempting to try everything: astro, macro, portraits, landscapes, wildlife... yet this is probably uncommon when all genres of photograph are equally explored by a single person. From my experience: at some point I thought I should try macro and bought a macro lens (Sigma 105 mm f/2.8). I have used it a few times, and I don't know when I might need it again. Sony 20 mm G lens is another lens that I have used a few times. I liked it for nightscapes - starry skies, but this isn't something I do on a regular basis. Thus, the lens is very little used. Furthermore, I came to dislike the distorted perspective of wide lenses. This is personal for everyone, but I better like the normal and tele focal lengths. Thus, my Sony 16-35 GM is also sitting on the shelf collecting dust most of the time. Another early acquisition: Sony 24-105 f/4 - totally unused today because of the Tamron 35-150 f/2-2.8. This was another lesson to me: avoid relatively "slow" lenses. I don't mean to generalize, and by no means I expect that my experience is the experience of an average "Joe." Yet another lens I bought and sold after a couple of years: Sony 100-400 GM. I wish I would not have bought it in the first place.
The lenses that excite me and that I actually use: Tamron 35-150, Sony 70-200 GM II, Sony 200-600 G.
It was said already (above) "My suggestion is to start with ONE really good lens that covers most of what you want to shoot" - I like this. To me this is the Tamron 35-150. The Tamron might not be suitable for someone who is new to FF systems. Then, the Sony 24-70 GM II is an obvious alternative.
Another suggestion from @mudlake that I like: get a fast GM prime or two - the 35GM and 50GM’s (myself, I own the 35 GM but would rather replace it by the 50 GM). Consider Sony 50 mm GM in addition to Sony 24-70 GM II. Invest in few excellent lenses that will serve you many years. The kind of lenses that will motivate and excite you.
p.2 #3 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
Viramati wrote:
I had the Tamron 28-200 (sold it when I got the hefty but excellent Tamron 35-150 a lens that really covers it all except for the wide end) and it is indeed a great lens for outdoor use but indoors is pretty limited except at 28mm. I would also get the 50/1.8 at the same time so you have more flexibility
Thanks! I'll keep Tamron 35-150 in mind. As for 50mm, it's cheap enough to buy for sure - but maybe better to buy the much more expensive 20G or Tamron 17-28mm just because it both complements the 28-200 and from what I've seen, takes really impressive photos. The 50mm is the most lightweight, but its use case might be limited if the photo quality does not exceed Tamron 28-200 at similar focal length?
Wow, thanks - that's a lot of useful info for a beginner (and above I assume)! I'm definitely gonna think about those primes. Wonder if I should get the 20G or 17-28mm to complement the 28-200mm I already bought yesterday?
Opinions vary on what a good lens for a beginner is.
It is true that experienced users have bought the Tamron 28-200 and are satisfied with it.
I think it's a good way to start and I'd delay buying other lenses. Just use it and with time you can work out what other lens(s) you want.
Thank you! Those are amazing photos - my beginner eyes probably couldn't tell what's the difference between these and better lenses. It'd be more worth it if my eyes got trained and pickier to buy others. That said, I'm still considering 20G or 17-28mm just because the wide angle is not covered by the Tamron 28-200 and could be very useful.
p.2 #6 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
I don't think you mentioned what camera you are coming from.
You have gotten a lot of really good advice here. It will take some time to digest it and figure out what your interests are and what your limitations are. Weight and size limits vary by person. For example ruthenium loves his 35-150 and I think it is his primary lens. For me that lens is both too big and too heavy. For others, they like small manual focus lenses, for me anything smaller than say a 35GM I don't see any advantage to the smaller size. For me a Sigma 45DN has no size advantage vs the 35GM even though the 45DN is significantly smaller. You will only be able to determine this for yourself by trying things out. Same thing for zooms vs primes, some love the versatility of zooms and some love primes for various reasons.
I think the carry options are important to your enjoyment as well. I often choose 1 lens and carry the camera and lens in a thinktank digital holster 10 v2. If I want a second lens I mount a lens case to the holster. I store all my gear in a hard case and pull out what I want for the day. All my lenses fit in the digital holster 10 with the popup retracted except my 70-350G. I used to have a 100-400 it also fit with the popdown extended. A larger lens like the 200-600 would not fit in this. How you carry will be very personal. I like to have the camera fully protected when I'm not shooting, so no strap around my neck. I also don't want a big bag with lots of gear, anything I carry must be light.
For other lens selection ideas watch Mark Galer's video. He is a Sony ambassador so he tends to underplay 3rd party lenses. Also check out Mark Aladeff for his lens reviews. I tend to agree with him with a few minor exceptions. The Tamron 28-75 G2 should be in the excellent range. I'm also not sure if the 24-70 GM II and 70-200 GM II deserve to be in the exceptional range. Mark originally rated the 24-70 GMII as excellent and then revised it to exceptional. From what I have seen it is very close to the Sigma 24-70 DN and Tamron 28-75 G2. He is also a Sony ambassador so there might be a little bias.
I'm sure you will find the 28-200 has excellent image quality and you might wonder how you could ever want more. I do recommend some brief testing to make sure the lens is not decentered or tilted. As far as image quality it is very much a case of diminishing returns. If you rate the best prime GM at 100 then the best of the zooms like 70-200GM II might be 97 and excellent zooms like Sigma 24-70 might be 96 and more typical zooms like 24-105 or 28-200 might be a 93. They still all get an A and all can take great photos.
p.2 #7 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
beginner2023 wrote:
I'm still considering 20G or 17-28mm just because the wide angle is not covered by the Tamron 28-200 and could be very useful.
I use the little Tamron 20mm F2.8 much more than the 20G or 17-28. There are situations where the larger, more expensive lenses could be useful. The 17-28 is not very similar to the 28-200. It barely varies focal length.
p.2 #8 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
I have the 28-200 (not my only lens but first choice when I added ff). But I've also used a variety of interchangeable lens cameras and lenses for quite a number of years, going back to film slrs. So, experience, compromises, budget, objectives all come into play. And different people put these things together and come up with different "right" answers. It does take a while to find one's own best spots.
I've found I want something longer than 70mm or it's aps-c counterparts when I'm "traveling" even locally. The alternative is usually two lenses. So, it starts out convenient, economical and lighter, less bulky, etc. I've had primes and almost never use them. Yet I'm still contemplating a smallish fast prime for an upcoming trip. (One part of me wants it because "everyone..." but part of me says you don't like swapping, it's not completely convenient, and DxO and Topaz go a long way to eliminating the need for wider aperture for low light, so why buy and carry it if not going to use it?).)
So, whether starting with a mid-range zoom, or a longer "super-zoom," give it a try for a while, try to get a feel for it, see if you "miss" something. Not just go with the ideas that "everyone needs a xxx." I do find a wider lens is handy and wider than 24mm fits for me, so I have the 17-28/2.8, too. with aps-c, I used a wider prime now and then.
p.2 #9 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
@JD07 Thanks! I'm more leaning towards 20G or 17-28mm now as they're complementing the range while the cheap 50mm might not be better than Tamron at the same focal length anyhow?
@Newenglandrocks Makes perfect sense. Travel would be my #1 use case for sure. Sounds like the 28-200 is certainly the single lens best meeting my needs for now. But I'm still a bit itching over adding 20G or 17-28mm. Any thoughts? Thanks!
@AZHeaven Thanks for the suggestions! Unfortunately I haven't used Facebook for a long time. I did watch quite a number of Youtube videos, although I don't remember the names of the reviewers. Will try to watch your recommendations. I'm leaning towards the Tamron 17-28mm lens to add.
@ruthenium what you said sounded just like what I see myself doing if I get more lenses! I'll probably gravitate towards one or two lenses max. I'll keep your lens suggestions in mind when I upgrade. But for my first set, I'm still thinking about adding the Tamron 17-28 to the 28-200 I bought yesterday. Just thought that in many landscape sceneries I just might want a wider angle than 28. A decent wide angle would be helpful for indoor videos too? Thanks again!
@tschopp In 2012, I bought the RX100 when it first came out and was really wowed by it. It's like an SLR quality in point-n-shoot. Used it for a few years then the cellphone cam caught up (mostly, with more features), so I haven't gotten any camera since. Excellent point about diminished return - partly why I didn't want to spend a lot at first. If I don't train my eyes first, I wouldn't care the higher quality of the more expensive lenses - and there's a chance that I might never care anyhow. So 28-200 might just be enough for me. Could be the sad truth for layman users like me But if I get pickier, I can always upgrade. I'll check out other info you provided - a lot to digest, thanks!
@Craig Gillette What you said echo some others and definitely fits my mindset - I don't see myself traveling/carrying a lot of lenses, probably two max. I do think at times I'd want wide angle, so adding 17-28 to 28-200 sounds reasonable. Even just for indoor events, that wide angle probably will see usage even if I gravitate towards only using 28-200 for traveling. Two lens set is not too heavy either.
Sounds like I just might go with the two lens setup: 28-200mm (already bought) and 17-28mm (likely will get).
Thanks a lot everyone! Feel free to point out if my thinking of adding Tamron 17-22mm is not a good one, I appreciate all the inputs!
p.2 #10 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
Sounds like an excellent plan. Your Sony RX100 had the equivalent of a 28-100mm f/4.9 - f/13, so your new lens will be just as wide, give you more tele, and give you around 2 stops more light. Sounds like a win. I rarely find myself wanting wider than 24mm, but I think it depends on the location and what you are shooting. 17-28 would be a good companion, and it is perfectly fine if you stop there and just enjoy taking photos.
p.2 #11 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
tschopp wrote:
Sounds like an excellent plan. Your Sony RX100 had the equivalent of a 28-100mm f/4.9 - f/13, so your new lens will be just as wide, give you more tele, and give you around 2 stops more light. Sounds like a win. I rarely find myself wanting wider than 24mm, but I think it depends on the location and what you are shooting. 17-28 would be a good companion, and it is perfectly fine if you stop there and just enjoy taking photos.
I hope we hear more from you as things get going.
Thanks for the info! The 11-year old RX100 still beats cellphone photos in many cases, I'm sure the bigger zoom and better quality of A7 IV + 28-200mm will likely compel me to use them more. I took a closer look at the 17-28 sample photos at https://www.opticallimits.com/sonyalphaff/1105-tamron1728f28e?start=2 and also compared them to the 20G photos, I must say that I agree with @ruthenium that the distortion of these wide-angles also unsettle my eyes a bit. I probably would only be using them when absolutely necessary (like too many people need to be in a photo, or can't take a photo of a complete building on a narrow street). So I'm having a bit 2nd thought on whether to get the wide angle now. Trying to think when I traveled with the RX100 quite a bit, did I feel like it's not wide enough or not. Can't remember but probably rarely, and probably didn't bother me enough to be memorable.
p.2 #12 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
@beginner2023 - I used to own the Sony 16-35ZA and sold it off two years ago.
I initially covered wider angles with the 20G and FE35. I thought briefly about buying the Sigma 14-24, but ended up buying all three wide angle GM primes instead. I shoot astro landscapes for a week every year at the darkest spot in New England and despite owning a tracker, I still prefer just shooting with fast glass.
And the 20G is just flat out a fun lens to shoot because of f/1.8. Plus it is small and has great handling and decent rendering. I haven't owned the Tamron, but I have no GAS for it or any other wide angle f/2.8 zoom. Maybe the 12-24GM, but I already struggle at 14, so I imagine that I will be totally failing at 12mm...
p.2 #13 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
Newenglandrocks wrote:
@beginner2023@ - I used to own the Sony 16-35ZA and sold it off two years ago.
I initially covered wider angles with the 20G and FE35. I thought briefly about buying the Sigma 14-24, but ended up buying all three wide angle GM primes instead. I shoot astro landscapes for a week every year at the darkest spot in New England and despite owning a tracker, I still prefer just shooting with fast glass.
And the 20G is just flat out a fun lens to shoot because of f/1.8. Plus it is small and has great handling and decent rendering. I haven't owned the Tamron, but I have no GAS for it or any other wide angle f/2.8 zoom. Maybe the 12-24GM, but I already struggle at 14, so I imagine that I will be totally failing at 12mm......Show more →
As usual, thanks for your input! Question though: The more I think about the wide angle's distortion, the more I feel that I'd rather have a good prime at higher focal lengths similar aperture, and post-process to stitch photo together, rather than having one photo that has every building/person slightly distorted. What's wrong with this idea other than the obvious hassle of the stitching (but software is good nowadays)? Of course, for astro, wide angles are perfect, but I don't see myself always doing it. Probably just a couple times for fun, not worth buying a wide angle lens for it.
p.2 #14 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
I tend to use the geometry feature in post if I'm really concerned about distortion. The 20 isn't so bad. You could always get the 24GM if you're worried about distortion. And there is renting to see what you like. I rented both lenses for a week before buying them.
p.2 #15 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
Newenglandrocks wrote:
I tend to use the geometry feature in post if I'm really concerned about distortion. The 20 isn't so bad. You could always get the 24GM if you're worried about distortion. And there is renting to see what you like. I rented both lenses for a week before buying them.
Hmm, I never rented before but trying before buying expensive lenses really make sense. Thanks for the suggestion!
Mar 07, 2023 at 10:18 PM
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.2 #16 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
beginner2023 wrote:
I've always only used point-n-shoot before, total beginner for interchangeable lenses. I just bought A7 IV for its all-around ability - I'd use photos more than videos. Now comes the daunting lens choices. Would really appreciate any input!
My thinking is that as a total beginner, I'd rather not spend too much on lenses yet and later regret. I don't like selling stuff on eBay either. So I'd rather buy budget lenses, try it out, then upgrade as I get better. Here are my use cases and thoughts on lenses:
Travel: This is the biggest use case for photos. I'll consider city and open sceneries, and occasionally I assume I need to zoom in quite a bit - taking videos indoors in a concert/performance could be a use case too. So I'm thinking Tamron 28-200mm Di III VXD would be a great lens. Tamron 28-75 might be better for everyday/low light but might require another zoom lens, which is more cost and weight.
Portrait: This is also important and I think Sony 85mm F/1.8 seems highly recommended.
Everyday lens: For just needing to do some casual photography, lightweight might be important, the inexpensive Sony 50mm F1.8 seems fitting well.
Macro lens: My kids like to take photos of insects, flowers and nature in general in detail. Sony FE 90mm F2.8 a bit expensive, Sigma 70mm F2.8 Art DG Macro was said to be not that great with AF so better for the static flower. Is there a cheap but good macro lens for insects?
Two things are less important but intriguing - I know my kids would love to do them: telephoto for birds and astro photos. But they're more expensive lenses so maybe only need to be taken into consideration as expansion for the current lens set.
So to sum up, my current thinking is, for my use cases, I'd like to buy Tamron 28-200mm Di III VXD (everyday+zoom) + Sony FE 85mm F1.8 for portrait (edited from 90mm F2.8, which was an expensive macro) + Sony FE 50mm F1.8 (lightweight everyday). What do you think? Should I throw in a wide angle one like Tamron 17-28mm (might be useful taking photo of parties)? Or maybe get the Tamron 50-400mm + 28-75mm for both telephoto and better everyday lens (maybe not buy the Sony FE 50mm then)? But if I keep use the 28-200mm, I can later do Tamron 150-500mm for telephoto or Sony's 200-600mm for telephoto.
p.2 #17 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
Regarding your comment "I'm more leaning towards 20G or 17-28mm now as they're complementing the range while the cheap 50mm might not be better than Tamron at the same focal length anyhow?"
The cheap 50mm is a 50mm f1.8.
The Tamron 28-200 is a 50mm f3.5.
So for the 50mm comparison, the Tamron is 2 stops slower.
This means the cheap 50mm lets in 4x as much light.
In the simplest of terms, the aperture, or "f number" matters. Not always, but often.
We could start an in depth discussion on aperture, IMHO best to just start with 50mm f1.8 and 50mm f3.5 are very different. 85 f1.8 and 85 f4.5 are even more different. (see below)
p.2 #18 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
@AmbientMike OK, I guess I do lean back towards getting a wide angle now. But I don't think 20G or 17-28mm are good for macro right? At least some reviews are dissing wide angles as macros, despite that there're some decent macro sample images.
@Choderboy I see, good point, the 1.8 would mostly be better in indoor/low light situation then?
p.2 #19 · Total beginner, just bought A7 IV, can you recommend lens combination?
Hi @beginner2023. As Choderboy@ has already said, the 28-200mm covers 50mm, but a 50mm f/1.8 is still quite a different lens. The 50mm f/1.8 will be significantly better in low light (eg indoors) and will give you a significantly blurrier background. And I expect you would find 50mm a pretty good focal length for shots of your kids. The 50mm f/1.8 is not the best lens in the world, but it's cheap (as lenses go) and it would let you try out a lens with a fairly wide aperture. The 28-200mm will let you try a lot of things, but it won't let you try that. If you decided the wider aperture is important to you, I'm sure in time you will start looking at other wide aperture lenses (50mm f/1.4 or f/1.2, 35 mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8 or f/1.4, etc, etc). On the other hand, you might decide you don't need the wider aperture and you will be more interestes in other lenses.
As for the Sony 20G or Tamron 17-28mm, I haven't used either one (sadly!) but from everything I have seen and read, they are both good lenses and I'm sure you could have fun with either one (or both!). The question is really how much money do you want to spend at this point? And what are your priorities in terms of size/weight of lenses, covering a wide range of focal lengths versus having one or more lenses with a wide aperture, fast AF, etc, etc. To be honest, I think most people who get into photography end up buying and selling quite a bit of gear because generally you have to try things for yourself to see what really works for you. You have all of that to look forward to!
Only you can say what you want to buy at this point, but for what it is worth, given you have already bought a 28-200mm I reckon your best bet is to add a 50mm f/1.8 (or something similar, although the 50mm f/1.8 is probably the cheapest option and it's a lens which is easy to carry). Once you have used those two lenses for a while I expect you will start getting a clearer idea of what else you would like to add. There really isn't a right or wrong answer though. And of course something like the Sony 20G would let you try a wider aperture, just at a very different focal length from 50mm.
Another option you could consider is renting lenses to try them out, if there is a good lens rental place anywhere near you which charges reasonable prices.
Opinions vary on what a good lens for a beginner is.
It is true that experienced users have bought the Tamron 28-200 and are satisfied with it.
I think it's a good way to start and I'd delay buying other lenses. Just use it and with time you can work out what other lens(s) you want.
Best advice going. Buy the one lens and determine what type of photos that lens is stopping you from taking…then look for another lens to fill that hole. Diving into a bunch of lenses for sure will result in you selling a bunch of not used lenses…why do you think we have such a healthy B&S board here.
what you said sounded just like what I see myself doing if I get more lenses! I'll probably gravitate towards one or two lenses max. I'll keep your lens suggestions in mind when I upgrade. But for my first set, I'm still thinking about adding the Tamron 17-28 to the 28-200 I bought yesterday. Just thought that in many landscape sceneries I just might want a wider angle than 28. A decent wide angle would be helpful for indoor videos too? Thanks again!
But if I get pickier, I can always upgrade. I'll check out other info you provided - a lot to digest, thanks!