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Options for a 70-200 lens?


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Greetings! I own an a7s and i need your suggestions for an 70-200 zoom lens which i will use for dance events. I have read a lot of stuff but i cant figure out what to use. I need of course AF and it seems that the only way is the sony 70-200 f4 oss but not that budget friendly. Has anyone use any combination with acceptable results from sony a-mount, tamron, sigma, canon, nikon and with which adapter? My budget is around 700 euro

 

thank you

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Guest Jaf-Photo

Try getting a used 70-200/4. They're quite common and should go for about 700 or a bit more. You'll appreciate the native AF for your use.

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An alternative lower budget option is to get a Sony LA-EA4 adapter and some old Minolta glass.

 

I have this setup with the Big Beer Can 75-300  http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-AF-75-300mm-F4.5-5.6_lens52.html

and the 100-200  http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-AF-100-200mm-F4.5_lens60.html

And I also have the Sony 70-200 f/4 so I think I qualify to compare ;)

All on a Sony A7SM2 and a Nex-7

 

Pros and Cons with the Minolta glass:

 

+ Autofocus is accurate and fairly fast. Not as the Sony zoom but adequate most of the time.

+ Build quality with the mentioned Minolta lenses are far superior compared with the Sony zoom. I've dropped both and couldn't se a mark on my BBC and the Sony had to go for a $600 repair.

+ Colors on the Minoltas are superior. This is of course very subjective.

+ Sharpness and contrast is very good.

+ Bokeh is nicer than the Sony

 

- Autofocus is noisy compared to the Sony zoom who is almost totally silent. Not usable for video.

- Minoltas are older lens design with more CA than the Sony zoom.

- Limited and only centered autofocus points.

- Fixed open aperture when shooting video with AF.

- The BBC is heavy (the downside to build quality).

- More sensitive to flare.

 

I like my BBC very much and prefer it to the Sony when shooting stills. It gives me better images.

If you don't need the extra reach I guess a classic beer can http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-AF-70-210mm-F4-(beercan)_lens48.html

perform as good with slightly larger aperture.

 

Lasse

https://scatteredlightblog.wordpress.com

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest Jaf-Photo

​Dude.

 

First, the beercan is not MD but Minolta AF mount, i.e. Sony A-Mount.

 

Second, the beercan has a slow screw drive that cannot handle the constant AF adjustments needed when shooting dance competitions.

 

Third, the beercan is only Sharp between f8-11. That means you have to crank the ISO way up to be able to get high enough shutter speeds to freeze movement,

 

In conclusion, the beercan is totally useless for the OP's intended purpose.

 

Whatever happened to the beercan 70-210 lens with MD mount. Can't seem to find any on ebay

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

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Despite decades of technical progress 

in all aspects of lenses, 70-210:4.0 is 

still the proven sweet spot ... in design 

and construction. All the progress just 

further sweetens the same sweet spot.  

   

The earliest really good zooms were

80-200 and 70-210mm, f:3.5 and f:4.0, 

obviously-in-hindsight cuz those specs 

were the "natural" specs for success ... 

and that still holds true.

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