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Comment by tyho | Hacker News Reader

I recently got back into photography after a decade break. Brought a nice mirrorless camera and a few good lenses (Sony A7iii, 24-105 f/4, 35mm f/1.8). I was truly blown away at the progress that has been made in handheld imaging. The difference between my old Cannon EOS 450d and my current equipment is immense.

What has happened to the iPhone camera in the last 10 years has also happened to handheld cameras too, but they were starting from a much better place, most people just haven't realised as the iPhone is good enough for almost everything.

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Great camera. Don't discount the 3rd party E-mount lens makers, such as Samyang.

If you are unsure what to get next, I suggest looking at this list of every E-mount full-frame lens:

https://briansmith.com/sony-a7-a7r-a7s-lens-guide/

If you want to go even deeper down the rabbithole the Alphas are also great manual lens platforms.

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/manual-lenses-sony-a7/

Plus, a comprehensive list from the same folks for all the E mount lenses:

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/fe-lenses-sony-comprehensive-i...

Definitely. I recommend grabbing a Helios-44 58mm off eBay and a cheap adapter from Amazon.

I have one of these and would second the recommendation - really cool bokeh, light and cheap enough that I don't mind bashing it around. Seems they've gotten more expensive compared to when I purchased mine though (I think I paid 50-60 USD)

Generally speaking all of the M42 mount Soviet Zeiss clones will be interesting and relatively affordable.

And Tamron. Everyone remembering Tamron from 10 years ago looks at me as if I'm insane for using Tamron zooms (that was all released in last 2-3 years) on Sony A7 III. Then I show them end results and they are making big eyes. They are sharp and looking really good. As good as best Sony zooms or Sigma? No, but really close and cheaper.

I'm looking now to buy Tamron 28-200 that is basically best super zoom available on any system (including first party zooms). Excellent for vacations.

Second the recommendation for Tamron. I have their 70-200 f/2.8 with stabilization. It's amazing, especially for the price.

I shoot concerts with it on an A7ii. The lens is great. The camera body however is showing its age which is unfortunate, but I'll upgrade in a generation or two.

Oh, you are talking about older version for cameras with mirror. I'm talking about newer one designed from scratch for mirror less cameras. They are even better and getting really close to Sony lenses (even better than some like new 70-180 f/2.8 is cheaper and better than Sony 70-200 f/4).

I recently got started with photography (A7R M2) and the tamron 28-70 f/2.8 is my first zoom. Have a 28mm 2.8, 40mm 2.8, 85mm 2.8 but the tamron is the one that is almost always mounted (or the sony 28mm). It's truly amazing.

People used to give Sigma such a hard time over quality, but they (and Tamron, Tokina, Venus Optics, etc) have come such a long way.

Sigma have been top of DXOMARK's scores for the last five years.

I'm a bit of a Photography Amateur but the Sigma I have on my A6100 is my only non-kit lens and it absolutely blew me away as to how much I spent (~300$) for the quality. Just wish it had OIS.

I use the 28-200 Tamron on the A7 III. It is amazing for the price. It's a good size and weight for what it is. It isn't always mentioned online, but it's not bad at macro either. For my purposes it strikes many of the right compromises. Rent it and give it a shot.

Don't forget rokinon. The sharpest lens I've ever used was my cheap manual rokinon 35mm. It was heavy as hell but holy crap was it sharp.

Rokinon and Samyang are the same company. For some of their lenses, you can actually buy the same lens with either branding.

Sony really set the bar and lit a fire under their competitors to move faster

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