A55....Lens...and going to WDW...

[BigGreen73]

Finally decided and picked up the Soney A55. Taken about 200+ pics so far and love the A55. The only think that I don't love is the lack of support for the camera around here.

Anyway, so far, I have the kit lens 18-55, 75-300 telephoto, and 50mm. Got a couple more lens coming from Amazon as well. Also picked up the Understanding Exposure book which has been heavily recommended on the Dis.

When heading to WDW, I used to bring a couple of point & shoots (higher end, different brands) as well as a few other accessories. Now with the Sony DSLR, I was looking to those who bring their's DSLR's to WDW...Which Lenses would you recommend to bring on a WDW vacation? Which ones do you find yourself using the most? Thanks!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

There are a few of us Sony shooters around! And the A55 is a terrific, fun camera to use.

I most often find myself using wider angle lenses at WDW and my favorites tend to be an ultra wide (10-20mm range) or a fisheye lens. It can come in handy getting closer to the subject and not having tons of people in the photos. I always have a telephoto for the safari at AKV and it can also provide some different perspectives at the other parks.

Have a great trip and enjoy the camera!

 

[BigGreen73]

When I decided to get a DSLR, I am limiting my Lens budget to <$300 per Lens unless it's a "wow" Lens that would produce pic quality a lot greater that what I have or can get at a lower cost. Anyway, any recommendation for an Ultra Wide angle lens for the Sony A55? Thanks!

 

[mom2rtk]

First, welcome to the photography board!

I shoot Canon, but there are a lot of folks here who regularly post spectacular shots from their Sony DSLR's. I recommned checking out Sony to most who come here looking for advice on what DSLR to get. I helped my friend buy her first DSLR recently..... a Sony. So no love lost here for Sony!

What lenses do you have coming?

I'm not sure placing an arbitrary limit of $300 on a single lens is the best approach. The nicer lenses tend to cost more than that. Once you have a good focal range covered with basic lenses, it might be best to just wait (and save) to see what you feel you need for your shooting style, and save for that.

At that point most will choose 1) a wide angle lens or 2) a faster walk-around lens (one with a constant aperture of 2.8)

There are a number of online sites that rent lenses. So if cost is an issue, it is possible to rent a wide angle (or whatever) for a given trip or occasion. But if the camera is new, you'd probably be best served to get to know each other on this first trip.

I'll add here what I tell a lot of posters. The most expensive lens is the one you buy twice. By this I mean, that if you skimp on what you really want and end up buying something less, it would have been a lot cheaper to just get the more expensive one from the get go.

 

[zackiedawg]

Congrats on the camera - should be very capable and lots of fun!

As for UWA lenses - they're all plenty capable, so it won't matter too much which one you go with - your primary choices are: Sony 11-18, Tamron 10-24, Sigma 10-20, Sigma 8-16, and Tokina 12-24. Each may have a slight advantage of its own, but for MOST common use and daytime photography they'll all be fine, and fun. Go with whichever you can find in your budget. If you want to stay cheaper, consider picking one of them up used - Adorama and B&H both have small used departments, and a place like KEH.com has larger selections.

As for what lenses to bring - I'm not a good person to ask for Sony users - I bring EVERYTHING! I just got back from Disney yesterday in fact, and I brought my 50mm F1.7, 30mm F1.4, 90mm F2.8, 300mm F4, 10-24 F3.5-4.5, and 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 for my A550, and I brought my NEX3 with 18-55mm, plus 135mm F2.8, 28mm F2.8, 40mm F1.8, and 50mm F1.7. I used most of them at some point or another...but definitely the 18-250, 10-24, and 30mm F1.4 got the most use on my DSLR.

 

[BigGreen73]

Congrats on the camera - should be very capable and lots of fun!

As for UWA lenses - they're all plenty capable, so it won't matter too much which one you go with - your primary choices are: Sony 11-18, Tamron 10-24, Sigma 10-20, Sigma 8-16, and Tokina 12-24. Each may have a slight advantage of its own, but for MOST common use and daytime photography they'll all be fine, and fun. Go with whichever you can find in your budget. If you want to stay cheaper, consider picking one of them up used - Adorama and B&H both have small used departments, and a place like KEH.com has larger selections.

As for what lenses to bring - I'm not a good person to ask for Sony users - I bring EVERYTHING! I just got back from Disney yesterday in fact, and I brought my 50mm F1.7, 30mm F1.4, 90mm F2.8, 300mm F4, 10-24 F3.5-4.5, and 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 for my A550, and I brought my NEX3 with 18-55mm, plus 135mm F2.8, 28mm F2.8, 40mm F1.8, and 50mm F1.7. I used most of them at some point or another...but definitely the 18-250, 10-24, and 30mm F1.4 got the most use on my DSLR.

Your right, you aren't any help. Did you fly to WDW with all those lenses? When I take my next WDW vacation, I am hoping to bring no more than two or three. As for my photography habits, it's mostly portraits & landscapes followed by action & night pics, then Macro.

Right now I have:

50mm F1.8
18-55mm F3.5-5.6
75-300mm zoom f4.5-5.6

And I have these on the way:

35mm F1.8
30mm F2.8 Macro

These are all sony A55 and I think that this will give me a good variety/ sample to get the feel of different lenses as well as pics styles etc. Once I really get the feel, I may then invest in some higher quality lenses once I determine where I want to focus more on.

Really it's mostly for pics of family, outdoor pics, and landscapes for day to day stuff. Most of my indoor/night pics will be at WDW. I wanted a camera that took better pics for FW's, night parades, and indoors w/o flash to use during shows etc.