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Good portrait + street lens for a6300?


lisa1988
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I have an a6300 with the 18-105mm G lens atm. Now I am looking for a lens that I wanna use for close up portraits + regular street photography. I want high quality. Price is not an issue as long as I get a good lens.

 

How is the Sony E 50m f/1.8 OSS compared to Sony Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA on a a6300? I know there is a huge difference in price between the two of them and that the Distagon is made for FF but with the cropping the FOV should be about the same. The Distagon does not have OSS. Will this be an issue in this focal length? If yes, how much of an issue? I don't plan on shooting with a tripod.

 

Any other lens recommendations for what I am looking for?

 

Thanks guys!

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i can recommend the E 50mm 1.8 OSS

 

it is a very good lens!

 

i don´t have the distagon 35mm 1.4 but several other lenses as Zeiss FE35 2.8 and nokton 35mm 1.2,

 

but 35mm is not 50mm!

 

a 50mm lens is different to a 35mm lens

 

anyway sharpness and IQ from the E 50mm 1.8 is very good, much better than the sony SEL 35mm 1.8 OSS

 

if you look for a good 35mm go for the sony FE 35mm 1.4 or sony FE 35mm 2.8 or Sigma 30mm 1.4 or sigma 30mm 2.8

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The 24z is very good also. I also enjoy my 32 Touit. Try to see what focal length most of your photos were taken with your 18-105 to see which mm you will use the most.

 

I have the 50mm 1.8 coming, which may be good for portraits but maybe not for street photography.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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as yellojello wrote the SEL 50mm is good for portrait but for street i would go with a 35mm or 30mm

 

the focal length does not change !

 

so a FE 35mm lens is still a 35mm lens on the 6300 but a FE lens would also cover a Full Frame sensor

 

the SEL lens does only cover a APS-C sensor, if you not plan do go for a FF Sensor in future or to have the brilliant IQ from these lenses like the Distagon 35mm (but it is very bulky) you can stay with the SEL line

 

or Sigma DN (DC) but the zeiss 24mm or 32mm APS-C lenses have also brilliant IQ

 

OSS at 35mm is not essential but for 50mm it is nice to have it, if you plan to shoot at low light

 

you have to consider what smallest aperture you need because  together with the focal length you will determine the DOF with the selected aperture

 

for street you will need 5.6 to 8, for portrait it can be nice to have good object isolation, so 1.8 would be nice 1.4 even better but the lens will be much bigger

 

F 2.8 is also o.k. but at 35mm you will have more information from the background in the picture,

 

with a 50mm or 60mm lens 2.8 is very good so the sigma 60mm DN (very sharp)  would also be a great portait lens

but the Sony 50mm has OSS!

 

if you plan to shoot portrait i would go for the SEL 50mm 1.8 OSS to have more distance to the subject and nice object isolation and a 35mm or 30mm for street

 

all zeiss lenses have awesome IQ

 

the Sigma 30mm 1.4 could be a good compromise if you don´t want to change lenses so much, if 30mm is not to small for portrait.....you have to check

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@Golem @Gilgenberg

 

Sorry, but you are both completely wrong :(

 

The 35mm F1.8 has an Equivalent Focal Length of 50mm on a Full Frame camera.

 

Therefore the original poster @lisa1988 is correct in asking this.

 

For street, you want to use either 28mm or 35mm EFL, this limits the choices on the Sony.

 

The 20mm F2.8 pancake - small and cheap but so so IQ

Sigma 19mm F2.8 - larger than Sony 20mm, better IQ but center contrast AF points only

 

The Sony/Zeiss 24mm F1.8 is the only lens available that gives EFL of 36mm. Excellent IQ, kinda large and expensive.

The Zeiss Loxia 21mm F2.8 gives EFL of 30mm - too heavy, manual focus only but excellent IQ 

 

I have tried all of them and the Sony/Zeiss 24mm F1.8 is on my A6300 today. It is the best rendering lens on the A6300 I have used to date (and I have all Loxia and Batis models).

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No. 

 

 

Look it up. 

 

 

I have looked it up and most pages say that you should multiply the crop factor with the focal length and the aperture. Here is a quote from one camera labs review of the Sony FE 70-200m f/4:

 

As an FE lens, it's fully-corrected for use on full-frame Sony mirrorless bodies, but also compatible with their APSC models, where it becomes equivalent to 105-300mm.

Are they wrong?

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@lisa1988

 

Both @Golem and @Gilgenberg are wrong.

The book is correct.

 

You need to think what is the Equivalent Focal Length on a full frame camera.

 

the 70-200 F4 becomes 105-300 on the A6300 (or the A7r II in APS-C crop mode).

 

This is true for any lens on any crop sensor for any manufacturer.

 

This is one reason wildlife shooter prefer bodies such as the Canon 7D II or Nikon D500 - because they give the extra reach due to the multiplication factor of the full frame lens on a crop sensor body.

 

This is FF lens on crop body = extra focal length = magnification factor = crop sensor factor (usually 1.5x).

 

On crop body lenses, the focal length needs to multiplied by the crop sensor to give the Equivalent Focal Length (if shooting on full frame)

 

To summarize:

 

ALL Sony APS-C lenses need to be multiplied by the crop factor to get the Equivalent Focal Length on full frame.

 

20 => 30mm

35 => 52.5mm

24 => 36mm

 

APS-C lenses can be used on a FF body, if the body has an APS-C mode (A7r II, Nikon D810 etc).

The Equivalent Focal Length = lens focal length x crop factor.

 

FF lenses can be used on an APS-C body.

The Equivalent Focal Length = lens focal length x crop factor.

 

HTH

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@lisa1988

 

Both @Golem and @Gilgenberg are wrong.

The book is correct.

 

You need to think what is the Equivalent Focal Length on a full frame camera.

 

the 70-200 F4 becomes 105-300 on the A6300 (or the A7r II in APS-C crop mode).

 

This is true for any lens on any crop sensor for any manufacturer.

 

This is one reason wildlife shooter prefer bodies such as the Canon 7D II or Nikon D500 - because they give the extra reach due to the multiplication factor of the full frame lens on a crop sensor body.

 

This is FF lens on crop body = extra focal length = magnification factor = crop sensor factor (usually 1.5x).

 

On crop body lenses, the focal length needs to multiplied by the crop sensor to give the Equivalent Focal Length (if shooting on full frame)

 

To summarize:

 

ALL Sony APS-C lenses need to be multiplied by the crop factor to get the Equivalent Focal Length on full frame.

 

20 => 30mm

35 => 52.5mm

24 => 36mm

 

APS-C lenses can be used on a FF body, if the body has an APS-C mode (A7r II, Nikon D810 etc).

The Equivalent Focal Length = lens focal length x crop factor.

 

FF lenses can be used on an APS-C body.

The Equivalent Focal Length = lens focal length x crop factor.

 

HTH

 

Thanks alot for your post. This also applies to the aperture, correct? So a FE lens with the aperture of f/4 becomes f/6 roughly when used on a a6300. This is important to take into consideration when shopping for lenses.

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We are a bit off topic here, but is there any solution to the cropping? Does Metabones have any product that "reverses" the effect so that FE lenses can be used with the (close to) original specs of the lens on a APS-C body?

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yes and no

 

the focal length does not change!

 

also the aperture does not change!

 

it is not so easy to convert

 

that the smaller sensor does show a other field of view this is right but a 35mm lens is still a 35mm lens

 

the angle of vision from a 35mm full frame sensor with a 50mm lens is equal to a 75mm lens with a APS-C Sensor (1.5 crop factor) but

 

if you use your kit zoom on your a6300 and it shows you a focal length and you look for a equivalent FE lens, the focal length is the same!

 

so if you shoot pictures with your kit zoom and you find out that 24mm is a good focal length for your way of looking and shooting

 

it does not matter if you go for a FF or a APS-C lens ....a FE 24mm will show the same field of view on your camera

 

it is the same with the aperture, you will have the same exposure setting on your camera at the same aperture, does not matter if it is a FE or APS-C lens

 

i would not go with a focal reducer, you will encounter problems like color´s are changing in the edges and distortion and .....

 

better do buy a good lens for your camera, like the zeiss 24mm 1.8

 

if you like 35mm you will have also 35mm on your A6300 and the same light flow that hit the sensor

 

so a 35mm 1.4 lens will be a 35mm 1.4 lens on both sensors, only the angle of view is different with different sensor´s

 

and a FF lens like the FE will cover the FF sensor, the APS-C lenses like SEL does not

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i did not looked to the video because this thing is a common miss understanding that has been discussed so often

 

the subject with crop factor is only important for people that are used to shoot with FF Body´s or analog 35mm cameras before.

 

They are used to know there favorite focal length and depth of field of there lenses with the used aperture.

 

So if they swap to APS-C Body´s they have to convert there habits, because the APS-C sensor is smaller and so have a different field of view.

 

If you not have this habits, there is no sense in thinking in this direction.

 

If you maybe later change to a FF Body, you also have to think about this things, because you have created habits with your APS-C Body and your lenses

 

Than it make sense

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Gilgenberg is exactly correct. 

  

Plus, you should always assume that internet

videos are wrong. This is an oversimplification

to be sure. But if applied, it can lead to doubt

about all internet videos, which is can further

lead to not watching any of them. Which will

help you to grow and learn :-)

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Overall, I think all can recommend a lens of 35mm or lower for street and portrait. But the 24mm or lower range may be best.

 

Here is a good article explaining the difference between focal length and field of vision. Focal length printed on a lens is the true nature of the lens. The camera sensor is what change the field of view or some say "equivalent focal length."

 

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/tutorials/crop_sensor_cameras_and_lenses.html

 

"So why does the format size matter and what effect does it have on focal length? Well the answer to the second part of the question is "none". The focal length of a lens is the focal length of the lens. Whether you mount that lens on a 35mm camera, a medium format camera of a large format camera doesn't change its focal length. All 35mm lenses and lenses designed for use on APS-C DSLRs are marked with their true, actual, focal length.

 

The problem is that most of us have been trained to think in terms of focal length rather than field of view when comparing lenses. We've been trained to think that a 50mm lens is "normal", a 35mm lens is "wide normal", a 28mm lens is "wide", a 24mm lens is "very wide", a 20mm lens is "super wide", a 16mm lens is "ultrawide" and so on. In fact this is true ONLY if that lens is making a 36mm x 24mm image. The field of view (which is what "wide" is all about) is actually determined just as much by format size as by focal length. The diagram below shows why."

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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@lisa1988

 

The aperture doesn't change.

An F1.8 aperture on an APS-C lens gathers the same amount of light as a F1.8 lens on FF.

 

What does change is the Effective Depth of Field.

 

Again, the crop factor has to be taken into account.

Therefore, an F1.8 APS-C lens has the equivalent depth of field as 1.8 x 1.5 = 2.7 = F2.8 on a FF.

 

This is why the Sigma 18-35 F1.8 lens for APS-C is such a big deal.

It has the advantages of being an F1.8 lens for low light and the equivalent depth of field (bokeh, when shot wide open) as a 24-50 F2.8 on FF.

 

Basically it doesn't matter much unless you are planning to shoot portraits :)

 

HTH

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@lisa1988

 

If you can afford them, the two best lenses for street and portrait respectively are the 24mm F1.8 and 55 F1.8.

Both are Zeiss Sonnar designs and render almost the same.

 

They give 36mm and 82.5mm respectively.

The only caveat is that they are very expensive and push the A6300 into $3000 territory.

 

Personally, after trying the Sony RX1r II and owning the A7r II, I think that the A6300 + 24 F1.8 + 55 F1.8 is a much better camera (system) and more versatile than the RX1r II.

The 36mm renders almost identically and if shooting XFINE JPGs, you will be hard pressed to tell much difference between them.

Yes, the RX1r II is "better", but with a 42 MP sensor it is useless for the street.

The battery life is much better, it is easier to grip and you can add a 70-200/70-300 to it and get great results.

 

HTH

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  • 3 weeks later...

RE: That video. 

 

Anything which takes only 2 sentences to say in text

should need only 58 sec to show in a video. Anything

more is NOT improved info, it's aggravated confusion.

  

Typical of most such videos, that one sux. The actual

"lesson" received ? NEVER "Ask the photographer" !  

   

How much engine do you need to go 100mph ? That

depends on whether it's a bike, a family sedan, or an

armored bullet-proof limo. Buy the vehicle you need,

and don't ask about the engine specs.

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SHORT VERSION : 

 

(LS / FL) x DS = FV    

   

LS = long side of format

FL = focal length of lens

DS = distance to subject

FV = width of field of view  

 

  

##############################       

  

 

NEED slightly LONGER VERSION ?

 

(35mm / 105mm) x 30ft = 10ft

 

FF format and a 105 lens, at 30ft from

subject, will encompass a field of view

that is 10ft wide.

  

You need to know just ONE constant,

the long dimension of your format aka

width of your sensor.  

  

Sensor sizes are not kept secret:  

   

https://www.google.com/search?q=graphic+of+digital+sensor+size+comparison&biw=1089&bih=550&tbm=isch&imgil=pL4ZLchnStY-IM%253A%253BA_UmMSHmqVuseM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Ftheonlinephotographer.typepad.com%25252Fthe_online_photographer%25252F2016%25252F01%25252Fcamera-sensor-size.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=pL4ZLchnStY-IM%253A%252CA_UmMSHmqVuseM%252C_&usg=__HFVxEnGSLNqbrD7FWHb7-kpSEls%3D#imgrc=pL4ZLchnStY-IM%3A
  
https://www.google.com/search?q=graphic+of+digital+sensor+size+comparison&biw=1089&bih=550&tbm=isch&imgil=zimZfQTR1YKHBM%253A%253BRDIsv2S1KXAkSM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.the-digital-picture.com%25252FReviews%25252FCanon-EOS-M-Camera-Review.aspx&source=iu&pf=m&fir=zimZfQTR1YKHBM%253A%252CRDIsv2S1KXAkSM%252C_&usg=__rs_336MdHCN5dDZYhQcZU_oA4LE%3D#imgrc=zimZfQTR1YKHBM%3A
     

https://www.google.com/search?q=graphic+of+digital+sensor+size+comparison&biw=1089&bih=550&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiK_8bm8a_OAhWk5oMKHVphBS8QsAQIGw
 

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