Hi some advise plz :) I have a Sony a300 camera with a 200mm lens - i'm thinking about getting a 300mm - i want to be able to get close ups of birds flying but i don't know if there is really much differece between 200mm and 300mm when it actually comes to the photo
Hubby bought a telephoto lens off ebay only to discover it wouldn't focus - unbeknown to me my maximum f/stop of 5.6 was the problem so now i have stuff i can't use and don't want to make another mistake with the 300mm lens (which is what i wanted in the first place :P )
any help would be appreciated :)
thanks
Hi Myky50
I am not too familiar with the Sony range of lenses and cameras, but there is definitely a big difference between 200 and 300 so far as how much you fill the frame with your subject. Birds in flight are hard to do a good job on without the right equipment. The movement of both camera and lens plus the birds themselves means that you are going to have to use either an image stabiliser if they have one or a faster shutter speed to freeze the movement.
I'll have a check on the net for you and see if I can educate myself on the Sony range! I worked in the photographic industry for years but in those days Sony were not really a big player, so I know nothing about them.
Will get back to you
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Well you'll be lucky if 'aa' comes on (he's a contributor), I'm pretty sure he has (or used to have anwyway) a Sony DSLR and from the photos I've seen he is really really good at taking photos of birds in flight. Though I'm sure Birdie's research will produce good results :)
thanks birdie (good to see you btw :) ) and Amateur
i use a fast shutter speed atm but you have to watch the light issue - then the higher the iso to compensate the noiser the picture so i would imagine a longer lens would mean less light - winter in Toowoomba lately has not been a good tome for shutter priority shots - we have been lucky to see any sun - i also want to be able to get closer to the birds of prey circling over the valley - not asking much i know but you have to have goals :)
Amateur i thought of aa too :)
I think the long shots that AA gets are done with his Canon 600 L lens from memory. I could be wrong and it will be stated somewhere in the archives when we were all discussing it. But he does have another camera that he uses and you could be right Amateur, still checking.
cheers and thanks Myky
Be back soon
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Myky, it concerns me that you say hubby bought a lens that wont focus. Do you need a minimum of 5.6 for you AF to work?
I will put a link in to an old customer of mine in Perth.
http://gibbscamerahouse.com.au/sonysonyzoomlenses-c-34_207_226.html?page=2&sort=20a
they are a camera house store and the info reads well. Not too hi brow!This is showing a 75 - 300 4.5 - 5.6. That is the same as I use on my Canon. I find it is really not long enough but immensely better than a 200ml. ideally I would like 400m. Once converted from the old 35m focal length the 300 then equates to about 450m once on your sony camera. Likewise the 400ml increases accordingly. their web special seems ok but you could shop that price over the country and maybe find it cheaper ... who knows these days.
I have just reread the specs on your camera and there doesn't seem to be a problem with using it with their 75-300.
Have I misunderstood or did the 2nd hand lens just not have enough fstops?
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
i just got Hubby to explain it to me in the 30secs before he left for work (5.46am) :P
apparently he bought a 2.5 teleconverter (it screws onto the front of the 200mm) and because the f/stop of the 200mm is a maximum of 5.6 there is not enough light getting in - the teleconverter apparently needs a higher f/stop to work but we didn't know that at the time - i'm so confused :P
all i know is it will not focus manually or on auto
i mentioned i was saving up for a 75-300 lens for my birthday (which didn't happen)as he gets laptops etc for his so i though stuff it :P so instead i get a teleconverter that doesn't work on my lens
i don't want much in my life but i don't get it either :)
thanks for the link Birdie :)
LOL, the story of my life with birthdays Myky :')
A tele converter is a very different beast indeed, and yes when you use one, it cuts down the amount of light that your lens is able to get. therefore, it takes your camera below what your system requires to focus. BUT if it is not focussing manually either , then it could be that there is a shape difference ( if it connects directly onto your camera body and then onto the lens) or it could have a small switch small mechanical piece that is preventing it. BTW, the front of you lens is the widest part at the end opposite your camera body, and most converters attach to the rear of the lens. If yours attaches to the front then it sounds more like a filter of some sort? :I think not though, it wounds like a normal tele converter.
Keep saving and buy your 75 - 300. My shots are not perfect but as it is all I can afford I just make the best of it. If you can perfect your stuff with average equipment, then when the time comes that you can buy some serious gear if you want to, then the sky will be your limit ! (ha ha especially with BIF shots )
Good luck
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
BTW I read that yoru camera has in the body stabilisation, so that should be a help with camera movement with a long lens.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
thanks for your help birdie much appreciated :)
myky50 i had the a300 and now have the a700 in both cameras i have been using the Minolta 500 AF Reflex lens i can tell you this is one must have lens, i also have the 100/400mm and 75/300 also the 75/210 but the 500 Reflex is my favourite and stay on the camera 99% of the time, you can pick one up from ebay around $600.00 well worth it..
Cheers Raoul
Hey Raoul long time no see!!
I knew there was someone who had that camera but couldn't think who it was. So can you use the Minolta lens on the Sony?
Is that the one you call a beer can?
Cheers
Birdie
How come we don't see any more great canning river stuff then?
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Hi birdie yes you can use the Minolta lens on the Sony just make sure that they say that when you buy one.
The Beer can one is the 75/210 mm . Been having a break from posting, have heaps of good pics on file now..
Cheers Raoul
thank you Raoul i'll look into it :)