N00bie Sony A7 III Help

kg648 · 9 Feb 2023 at 10:42

Hi all,

Complete amateur here, I've just purchased an a7 iii with the 28-70 lens kit. I have a few questions that I need some help with, although I expect they are not easy answers and depend on what I plan to do with it.

1) Is the standard lens kit that comes in the box "good" ?
2) Should I be looking at another lens?
3) I purchased a v30 memory card, should I have gone for a v60/90? I'm not planning to record videos nor simultaneous pictures.
4) Struggling for a small ish bag, any suggestions

thanks in advance

.

Raymond Lin · 9 Feb 2023 at 11:23

kg648 said:
Hi all,

Complete amateur here, I've just purchased an a7 iii with the 28-70 lens kit. I have a few questions that I need some help with, although I expect they are not easy answers and depend on what I plan to do with it.

1) Is the standard lens kit that comes in the box "good" ?
2) Should I be looking at another lens?
3) I purchased a v30 memory card, should I have gone for a v60/90? I'm not planning to record videos nor simultaneous pictures.
4) Struggling for a small ish bag, any suggestions

thanks in advance .

All modern lenses are fine, but with anything, you get what you pay for.

So the answer is…Yes..and No.

What i would advise to do is just use it, for 6 months to a year, then look back in which focal length you shoot at the most and then get a prime in that focal length. That is the best way to spend your money to upgrade.

Unless of course you want to swap it for say a Sigma 24-70/2.8 Art or the Sony 24-70 GMII (don’t bother with the GM1 mk1, it’s an old design that is better by the Sigma for less money).

As for memory card, one slot is UHS-II and One is UHS-1. I shoot dual cards and write the same file to both so it is always going to be bottled necked by the slower slot. That means I just get a fast Extreme Card and be done with it, I think the 170mb/s one is the one i buy now. 2 x 128G of those and job done.

As for bag, there are lots, but i advise get one that can fit more than the camera and lens but room for 2 more lenses. Use the space for now to keep your wallet or bottled water or anything because a camera bag for 1 has no longevity (speaking from experience). For brands, I look at Thinktank, Lowapro? Or slightly more upmarket like Billingham or Wotancraft.

kg648 · 9 Feb 2023 at 11:26

Raymond Lin said:
All modern lenses are fine, but with anything, you get what you pay for.

So the answer is…Yes..and No.

What i would advise to do is just use it, for 6 months to a year, then look back in which focal length you shoot at the most and then get a prime in that focal length. That is the best way to spend your money to upgrade.

Unless of course you want to swap it for say a Sigma 24-70/2.8 Art or the Sony 24-70 GMII (don’t bother with the GM1 mk1, it’s an old design that is better by the Sigma for less money).

As for memory card, one slot is UHS-II and One is UHS-!. I shoot dual cards and write the same file to both so it is always going to be bottled necked by the slower slot. That means I just get a fast Extreme Card and be done with it, I think the 170mb/s one is the one i buy now. 2 x 128G of those and job done.

As for bag, there are lots, but i advise get one that can fit more than the camera and lens but room for 2 more lenses. Use the space for now to keep your wallet or bottled water or anything because a camera bag for 1 has no longevity (speaking from experience). For brands, I look at Thinktank, Lowapro? Or slightly more upmarket like Billingham or Wotancraft.

Thank you so much, that response has saved me hours of not knowing what I am looking at and gives me a good starting point.

Thank you.

MichaelHo · 9 Feb 2023 at 19:31

I find that having a lower F value lens will help you out at the beginning to be able to keep your photos sharp with faster shutter timer, be more useable in lower light and provide that bokeh to get the artistic shot. A prime with F1.8 would be a great next lens to move on to, just have to decide on 35 vs 50 vs 85 etc as Raymond has mentioned.

strang3r · 11 Feb 2023 at 08:13

The kit lens is ok but it wouldn't be my first choice. I've gone the other way with my lenses. I still use the Sony 85mm and Sony 55mm but I generally have a Tamron zoom on my A7iii. I shot with pretty much the 28 - 75mm f2.8 for aroud a year without really taking it off. The 70-180mm and 17-28mm Tamrons come for special occations but it's rare. I find the Tamron 28-200mm great for travel.

doodah · 23 Jul 2023 at 06:04

kg648 said:
Hi all,

Complete amateur here, I've just purchased an a7 iii with the 28-70 lens kit. I have a few questions that I need some help with, although I expect they are not easy answers and depend on what I plan to do with it.

1) Is the standard lens kit that comes in the box "good" ?
2) Should I be looking at another lens?
3) I purchased a v30 memory card, should I have gone for a v60/90? I'm not planning to record videos nor simultaneous pictures.
4) Struggling for a small ish bag, any suggestions

thanks in advance .

After Raymond's suggestion of testing the kit lens out, the best go to all round lens for me is a 24/28-70/75 F2.8 (such as the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8), I didn't care for it in the first few months but it rarely leaves the body these days. It's very versatile and does a great job, especially for the price. If money isn't an issue - there's always the G Master version. I'll link you the memory cards and bags I got, though for bags I quite like understated so it doesn't bring too much attention (one is a simple and light bag for one lens, the other is the faux leather variety that fits two lenses).

kg648 · 23 Jul 2023 at 06:38

doodah said:
After Raymond's suggestion of testing the kit lens out, the best go to all round lens for me is the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8, I didn't care for it in the first few months but it rarely leaves the body these days. It's very versatile and does a great job, especially for the price. If money isn't an issue - there's always the G Master version. I'll link you the memory cards and bags I got, though for bags I quite like understated so it doesn't bring too much attention (one is a simple and light bag for one lens, the other is the faux leather variety that fits two lenses).

Ha - funny enough me too. I really enjoyed using it to play around with for a while. Then I took the plunge on a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN ART, which made my life easier. I rented the lens prior to purchase which was helpful too.

If you could please re: others, I bought two bags, and sold them both as they were not really working for me.

doodah · 23 Jul 2023 at 06:50

kg648 said:
Ha - funny enough me too. I really enjoyed using it to play around with for a while. Then I took the plunge on a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN ART, which made my life easier. I rented the lens prior to purchase which was helpful too.

If you could please re: others, I bought two bags, and sold them both as they were not really working for me.

Bear in mind, they aren't anything special but I really like them and the whole understated thing. The small one and rucksack double up as good holiday/day trip bags.

Crumpler Banana Cube Medium Bag... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009AANB48?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Kono Camera Backpack Waterproof... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08PTVDMH1?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Large Waterproof Vintage PU... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ODETLZE?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And the USH-II memory card I last got was the Lexar Professional 1667x SD Card 128GB, SDXC USH-II, not bad got £35.

danoliver1 · 24 Jul 2023 at 08:39

If your doing in door photography a flash you can bounce off the ceiling is the best thing you can buy. And get lightroom and Photoshop so you can do any processing.