OK, I finally have a little extra money and am trying to decide what to do with it. My camera lenses are all heavy and so is my camera, a Sony A77. I am considering buying the 50 mm lens for $480 or something like that but would also kind of like to try one of the new little ligjtweight cameras with exchangeable lenses, like the Nex 5. Does anyone have some advise as to which of these two options would be most useful in the long run? Unfortunately I can't do both.
While everyone should have a 50mm prime, I'd go with option 2 for being the most useful in the long run. Olympus E-PL5 would my recommendation though :)
@grizzlysghost I would agree - until you start getting into buying extra lenses for your EPL5... The wide angle is fab but costs more than the camera! Love my Olympus though.
@fueast An EPL5 can be purchased with a 14-42mm Zuiko on Amazon for $524 now which is an excellent and affordable start! That would hold anyone over for a while until they save up for the 12mm. Love my Olympus too! :)
@grizzlysghost Yep I lasted about 6 months before I got sucked into the additional lenses.Which are great quality btw. Now I've just bought a Pentax its all starting again! :-)
NEX's are good camera's and so is you A77. I have the Sony 50mm 1.4 lens and love it, it stays on the the camera in the studio. Tough choice. It would be great to d both. If you decide on the NEX, there will more lenses to buy for it. Buying lenses seems never to end.
If you are going to keep and use the A77 for awhile, have you considered looking into used lenses? I was able to buy a Nikkor f1.4 used for about $US300.00. And f1.8s which are really excellent can be had for under $150.00. Just a thought...otherwise, I agree that the flexibliity of the lightweight new cameras can't be beat.
I second the "used lenses" suggestion. I bought my 50mm prime lens for my Sony cameras (currently using an SLT A-65V, still have the A-200 as well) used from eBay. It was in perfect condition, looked like it was fresh out of the box, and I paid less than $150 for it. Actually, I also bought the SLT S-65V body from eBay used as well, and it was, as the seller claimed, "like new." Not a mark on it and it works perfectly.
Hi Carol. The A77 is a "cropped sensor" (APS-C) camera I think. So the 50mm isn't really the "nifty fifty" we read about in the literature, giving you more like a field of view from a classic 75-80mm on a full frame or 35mm film camera. So is that what you really want? John Cundiff @chapjohn mentions it stays on his camera "in the studio" and it is an excellent length for portraits if indeed he has an APS-C camera. 80mm (a slight telephoto) is a classic length for portraits. I actually like it even longer.
Did you ask yourself exactly why you want the 50mm and what it will do for you that your current lenses don't? An f/1.4 seems attractive for extremely narrow DoF, but I think the main use would be extreme low light shooting and autofocus. It would be for me.
As for a new "light" camera, might I mention the Lumix G5 from Panasonic? A Micro Four Thirds spec camera, and with the kit 12-42 zoom - the camera has a 2:1 crop factor, so that's roughtly equivalent to an 18-55, actually 63 on the top end, that is common on entry level APS-C DSLR cameras - a USA $399 promotion price is a steal. But again as John mentions, you will have more lenses to buy for it. The kit lens is OK, I shot with it all last weekend, but you will want more I think. I would.
I will not make a call on what is "most useful" for you. You'll have to do that. There is always an option to sell your current kit, say on eBay, or trade it in at a reputable camera store. The G5, and doubtless the NEX line although I have no experience with them or the Olympus Aaron @grizzlyghost mentions, are probably strong enough to be your only kit. Personally, I could live with just the G5 and be quite happy, though with some better quality lenses, the Panasonic f/2.8 35-100 for one and that is not cheap! Good glass of any type never is. Good luck and good shooting.
I bought a Sony NEX-5R as a light weight backup for my Canon 60D -- so far, I like it very much, but it doesn't get the results my Canon does. It came with an 18-55mm lens but I'm thinking of buying a 50mm as well. I use my Canon 50mm often; even though it's not top of the line (EF 1.4), I usually like the results. People often describe boats as holes in the water you fill with money. I guess cameras are holes in the light.
I have a Sony a55, also with the APS-C sensor and the 35mm 1.8 lens is a nice one for indoor shots, for example at restaurants or parties. I have a Minolta 50mm, but iit's a little long for inside shots. And the 35mm is under $200 right now. Another option that I find is a nice combination with my DSLR is the Sony RX100, about $650. Not a DSLR, so no added costs for lenses. It takes very sharp pictures and shots in RAW as well as jpeg. Its larger 1" sensor gives it a big advantage over most point and shoot cameras. Its light weight, compact size makes it my "always with me" camera. A second version of it is soon to be announced, so you may want to wait for either a price drop or new features available in the new version.
I would go with the second lighter camera. I recently bought a Pentax Q (on sale for $250 with the 5-15 zoom) and now I have a decent walkabout camera, which I use quite often. And I sometimes carry both so I don't have to change lenses.
I am trying out the Sony Nex 7 right now and being a life long Nikon user I am having trouble figuring the camera out. Having trouble loading raw because i need sony's software which the camera did not come with. so loading the raw files into sony's "editing and then saving them to my PS is a pain in the @$$.
the camera is super light and feels good in my hand, I am getting a back ache from carrying my big nikon around so I understand your need for a smaller camera. So far i am pleased with the quality of my shots that I can actually get loaded lol!
If you already own a sony..you should not have a hard time figuring out how to use it I would imagine.
Thanks for all this input. Frank the f1.4 is definitely one of the attractions to the 50mm for both broken and low light. Also the 50mm is much smaller and therefore I would assume lighter than any of my lenses. I am going to check out the other suggestions you all made for small cameras though. Dawn your photo with the Nex is really very beautiful, as is the subject. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.
@frankhymus@caroleb Frank stated things very well. Yes, my A500 is a crop sensor as is the A77. I would like to add that Sony makes a 35mm DT lens and that means on the crop sensor it is 35mm. Sony makes a few other DT lenses; 70-200mm is another lenses available from Sony in DT. I do not remember seeing a 50mm DT lens.
Just for interest sake, I've indulged in the Olympus E-M5 and I love it. It fits in my purse and travels....lightweight and small. I have bought an adaptor so that my previous E520 lenses fit to this one.....and they are heavy. At least I can adapt from my previous Olympus model and use them on both. As I have the money, I rather look at buying the light Olympus lenses that go with the E-M5. Just a thought. Lots for you to think about!
Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. Your answers and discussion helped a lot. I have ended up by purchasing another Sony, (guess I am just a Sony girl) I got the RX100 recommended by Karen @pengu1n. It was a little more than I intended to spend but no lenses to buy as it is not a DSLR. It is so small it will fit easily into my purse and I will be able to take it with me when I go cycling. I am currently charging the battery. Can't wait to try it out. Guess that 50 mm lens will just have to wait awhile. Thanks again everyone.
@pengu1n Karen. I ended up purchasing the RX100 and love it. The problem is I seem to be having trouble posting photos that have been taken in the raw format with my RX100 on the 365 Project. Have you had this problem? It downloads alright but then won't post because it says my date can't be used. It doesn't matter what I change the date to. It just won't accept it. The files have been converted to JPEG by the time I download them, they are no longer raw files. I don't understand. I edit with Lightroom and/or Photoshop CC, the same programs I use for my raw files from my A77 which cause me no problems.
@caroleb That seems strange. Is it possible there's a size limit? I know I have uploaded photos from the RX100, although they were probably jpeg to start with, as I had PSE10 & LR3 that would not open the RAW. But once you've converted to jpeg, it shouldn't be an issue. You might want to check with 365 support. I'll try loading a RAW image tonight & report back.
@pengu1n Karen, with the help of Russ, I found the problem. The date in my Rx100 was set to July instead of June so those photos were being dated July and I didn't notice. I feel really stupid for not noticing this, I checked the year bun really just didn't see the month or rather it didn't click with me that this is not July. Duh! No excuse, just stupid. Thanks for helping anyway and I really do love the camera.
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Did you ask yourself exactly why you want the 50mm and what it will do for you that your current lenses don't? An f/1.4 seems attractive for extremely narrow DoF, but I think the main use would be extreme low light shooting and autofocus. It would be for me.
As for a new "light" camera, might I mention the Lumix G5 from Panasonic? A Micro Four Thirds spec camera, and with the kit 12-42 zoom - the camera has a 2:1 crop factor, so that's roughtly equivalent to an 18-55, actually 63 on the top end, that is common on entry level APS-C DSLR cameras - a USA $399 promotion price is a steal. But again as John mentions, you will have more lenses to buy for it. The kit lens is OK, I shot with it all last weekend, but you will want more I think. I would.
I will not make a call on what is "most useful" for you. You'll have to do that. There is always an option to sell your current kit, say on eBay, or trade it in at a reputable camera store. The G5, and doubtless the NEX line although I have no experience with them or the Olympus Aaron @grizzlyghost mentions, are probably strong enough to be your only kit. Personally, I could live with just the G5 and be quite happy, though with some better quality lenses, the Panasonic f/2.8 35-100 for one and that is not cheap! Good glass of any type never is. Good luck and good shooting.
the camera is super light and feels good in my hand, I am getting a back ache from carrying my big nikon around so I understand your need for a smaller camera. So far i am pleased with the quality of my shots that I can actually get loaded lol!
If you already own a sony..you should not have a hard time figuring out how to use it I would imagine.