[Peter E]

I am in the process of buying a new cam and I am very interested on the Sony ALT-A58K, as my son on law bought one for their holidays in Mexico and the results are stunning.
Being an SLR/Bridge cam hybrid with interchangable lenses, this would be quite a step up from my Fujipix S4300,
The thing that bothers me a bit, as a novice, is that my Fuji has 24X Optical Zoom, whereas the Sony uses an 18 - 55mm lens as standard, as far as I can gather this is equal to about 3.1 Optical Zoom, which seems tiny by comparison. It's difficult to visualise in real terms, just how much zoom value one is using under normal conditions, but Sony say that it is fine for most normal situations! Is that correct? can anyone advise me please.
The sort of photography I am involved with is holiday type, ie., scenery stuff, people, maybe visiting historical towns and buildings etc., and more recently the studio model photography I have become involved with. I play around with the zoom control a lot but only to the extent of framing a shot, or getting a bit closer, what value would I be likely to be using?. I only used really long shots now and again for the fun of zooming into something a long way off, like when I was up a mountain in France and wanted to Zoom in on the river, or the road, miles down!
Any one got any thoughts on this, and has anyone here got a Sony SLT - A58 to tell me about their experiences with?
I would love to here from you.

Peter.

[PhotoPlay]

Hello and welcome to shuttertalk Peter E We have members here in shuttertalk that have the same model of camera you're using. I'm sure he can enlighten you with it. Can't remember get to remember who's he or she. Great to have you here!

[Dean]

Don’t know the camera at all but would suggest that a 18-55mm lens will be ideal for landscapes, buildings and people.

[EdMak]

Does the Fuji indicate your Zoom length, if so, take pics restricting to Sony spec, there is a big difference. Obviously buying another lens for Sony would "cure" this, but not to the 24 times extent. Also raises overall costs. You may find the Sony a bit restrictive, in terms of zoom comparison. Is there a shop near you where you could evaluate it. Welcome. Ed.

[Peter E]

Don’t know the camera at all but would suggest that a 18-55mm lens will be ideal for landscapes, buildings and people.

Thanks Dean. I imagine you are right because thinking about it again, most of the types of pics I take are restricted by not being able to get enough in, rather than less! if you know what I mean. It isn't often that I would want to take something a long distance away, only occasionally. The Sony has the most fantastic panoramic system involving about 40 consecutive fast shots while you pan, compared to my Fuji which just uses 3 shots. and is relatively fiddly to line each one up. The Sony panoramic results are superb and pin sharp. I can see myself using this more than distance Zoom.
Problem is the Fuji has developed some problems so soon after purchase (3 months) that I have to return it. My conflict is whether to ask for an exchange (Just to retain the Zoom) or a refund to to buy the Sony. The Sony is of course hideously expensive by comparison but the photographic results I've seen from one are substantially better. I am sure this is what I will do but am just wondering if I am going to be disappointed by the lack of Zoom length, but probably not.
Thanks for taking the time to answer.
Peter

[Peter E]

Does the Fuji indicate your Zoom length, if so, take pics restricting to Sony spec, there is a big difference. Obviously buying another lens for Sony would "cure" this, but not to the 24 times extent. Also raises overall costs. You may find the Sony a bit restrictive, in terms of zoom comparison. Is there a shop near you where you could evaluate it. Welcome. Ed.

Hi EdMak, Thanks for your reply. Yes it does indicate the scale in jumps ranging from from 18 to 500 and I have tried doing just that through the view finder, but it jumps up so quickly it's difficult to do, and without an integrated line scale you don't really know when you are on 55! I do have a tiny Olympus pocket cam with a 3X zoom, which gives me a better idea. I can see that 3X is not that much but adequate, I would imagine, for my type of photography. I am going out this afternoon to see if I can study one at a retailers and see what the effects are in the store.
Regarding the additional lens, the store I will be getting this from (when they are back in stock - good price!) has an offer for another £60, where it is supplied with an additional 55 - 200 lens (not the 75 - 300 extra lens kit, shown on the Sony website for some reason) but reviews I have seen of this lens are not too good. Might be better to buy the body and basic 18 - 55 lens now, and invest in a really good quality Zoom lens, perhaps from a lens specialist later if needed.

Peter.

[Korry]

Welcome to the forum, Peter

I'm a huge Sony fan, but A58K really disappointed me. It is a nice camera and is a good buy for that price. Still, I was expecting much more from it as it should replace older Alpha models on the market. It is still very noisy camera and things like moving AF points aren't improved (you have to move them point by point using small buttons and it takes quite a lot of time). The main reason I didn't decide to buy it was that the display is downgraded and poor quality and EVF is not even close to sharp.

[Peter E]

Hello and welcome to shuttertalk Peter E We have members here in shuttertalk that have the same model of camera you're using. I'm sure he can enlighten you with it. Can't remember get to remember who's he or she. Great to have you here!

Hi Photoplay, Thanks for your welcome, I am sure I am going to enjoy it here. It sure would be great to talk to someone who owns a Sony SLT-A58 to hear there views on it. I am sure I will obtain one in the next few days.
The cam I am actually using is the Fuji Finepix S4300 which is a lot cheaper camera to buy, so I am considering this as a substantial upgrade but, sadly, at the cost of the fuji's Zoom capabilities. True I can buy additional Telephoto lens/s, but one thing bothers me (bearing in mind I am not that well up on the subject) but when you unclip the Sony lens, which is really easy to do, you expose the guts of the body and the mirror! Is there not a really serious risk of getting dust in there, no matter how careful you are? Seems it would be better to have a system where something is attached to the front of the existing lens to increases it's capabilities. Don't know if that's possible?

Peter.

[Peter E]

Welcome to the forum, Peter

I'm a huge Sony fan, but A58K really disappointed me. It is a nice camera and is a good buy for that price. Still, I was expecting much more from it as it should replace older Alpha models on the market. It is still very noisy camera and things like moving AF points aren't improved (you have to move them point by point using small buttons and it takes quite a lot of time). The main reason I didn't decide to buy it was that the display is downgraded and poor quality and EVF is not even close to sharp.

Thanks Korry, Wow that's got me a bit worried, and surprised! as the results I have seen on my son in law's A58 where (mainly) absolutely superb and pin sharp, with outstanding colour.
I would probably rely on the cams intelligent settings a lot, at least to begin with, so might not be too worried about the AF stops at this point.
I am a bit of a novice here so bear with me, but I am not exactly sure what you mean by 'noisy'? Do you mean the pics have noise distortion, or the lens movement, or the click of the shutter? Sorry to sound so thick but this is all new to me.
I thought the screen resolution was really good, and my son in law invited me to view a couple of movies through the EVF, they where HD and fabulously sharp! One thing I did notice, re. your comment about the EVF not being sharp, is that it is equipped with a focus wheel. Perhaps the one you saw was just out of focus. When I turned the wheel out of focus it was horrible.
Sony is a new venture for me, as I have always been an addicted Panasonic fan, all my electronic stuff at home is Panasonic, and I have a fantastic Panasonic HDC-SD100 3MOS video cam, the results of which can only be described as stunning, quite amazingly good. Trouble is I have no idea what Panasonic cam would have the same features and capabilities of the A58, at a price I can afford. I am going to be paying about 360 English pounds for the A58 in it's basic lens form. This has come down in price so much here now, a lot less than it started out as! so I am so tempted, considering the results on the one I have seen. However I won't be able to just go out and buy another good cam a few months down the line, so I have got to get it right.

Peter.

[Korry]

Sorry peter, I should've been clearer. There is NOTHING wrong with the image quality. Images are sharp, not too noisy and good. Sure they could be better, but hardly in this price range.

Sonny cameras are, well - loud cameras You will often hear audible noises (like scratching sound) when focusing and adjusting some values. It's not actually a big deal, and you get used to the scratching sound with time, but I have to admit I'd like my camera to be quieter than me.

Low res display and not enough sharp EVP don't affect the image quality, but I'm a short sighted person and would love to be able to see everything right on my camera screen instead of just shooting and hoping that the camera will do the job right.

[Dean]

Don’t forget that with the cropped sensor on the Sony the kit lens will give you a 1.5 times magnification, making it equivalent to 27 to 82mm on a full frame.

[KeithB]

Hi Peter,
I haven't had any exposure (no pun intended) to the A58, I own an A77 and if the A58 is only half as good you'll be happy with your purchase!

[Peter E]

Sorry peter, I should've been clearer. There is NOTHING wrong with the image quality. Images are sharp, not too noisy and good. Sure they could be better, but hardly in this price range.

Sonny cameras are, well - loud cameras You will often hear audible noises (like scratching sound) when focusing and adjusting some values. It's not actually a big deal, and you get used to the scratching sound with time, but I have to admit I'd like my camera to be quieter than me.

Low res display and not enough sharp EVP don't affect the image quality, but I'm a short sighted person and would love to be able to see everything right on my camera screen instead of just shooting and hoping that the camera will do the job right.

Hi Korry,
Thanks for the explanation, I see what you mean, I don't think the noises you describe will worry me much, as long as the image quality is consistently as good as the results I've seen on my son in laws. I am a bit of a perfectionist and not easily pleased. You say in that price range? I know you can obviously pay into the thousands for really expensive cameras but what price range, and make, would I have to go for to see a really significant improvement, over the A85?
I have to admit I didn't notice the screen res as being that bad when I saw the camera (I will have another look with a more critical eye, next time), but composing your shot through the EVF seems to be what the splurge you read suggests is the right way to do it for perfect results.

Peter.

[Peter E]

Don’t forget that with the cropped sensor on the Sony the kit lens will give you a 1.5 times magnification, making it equivalent to 27 to 82mm on a full frame.

Hi Dean,
Thanks for that but it's a bit over my head! What do mean by a cropped sensor? and why would that change the values. Can I trouble you for a bit of clarification on what you mean by that. I haven't seen any reference to a cropped sensor on any technical data I've read about this cam, but it is consistently stating it to be 18 - 55. I am puzzled!!

Pete.

[Peter E]

Hi Peter,
I haven't had any exposure (no pun intended) to the A58, I own an A77 and if the A58 is only half as good you'll be happy with your purchase!

Thanks Keith that is very heartening indeed. The results I have seen on my son in laws A58, which they have had made into one of those professional holiday photo albums, in book form, are (mainly) absolutely stunning, with only a couple where I thought the focus could have been improved a bit, but not much. There where some very highly coloured scenes, and the colour representation and clarity was absolutely fantastic.
An area where I am highly critical, and which the A58 passed with flying colours, is in flesh tones and detail. For my satisfaction skin, on say a face, shot relatively close should be completely sharp, sharp enough to clearly see skin detail like pores, or beard stubble sharply, not slightly grainy. Hair, like long hair on a person, should clearly show any individual strands, in finite detail. That, combined with genuine skin colour, should give the sort of results I look for, especially as I have joined a camera club involving some life modelling. How does your A77 handle this kind of critical eye?
Peter.

[Barbara G.]

Welcome to the forums! Thanks for joining us!

[Dean]

It is confusing, Peter. Sensors are sized in relation to a 35mm film camera frame. The top range DSLRs, such as the Canon 5D, have a sensor the same size as a 35mm film frame, 36mm x 24mm, but most digital cameras have smaller, or cropped, sensors, The most common size, as used in the Sony is the APS-C sensor. The sensor in the Sony camera is 24mm x 16mm. DSLR lenses are usually rated as if they are on a full size, 35mm, camera. An APS-C sensor is smaller and therefore sees a smaller angle of view, the crop factor compares the angle of view with that seen by a traditional full-frame 35mm film SLR. The Sony has a crop factor of 1.5x. This means the 18mm setting on your camera actually captures the angle of view of a traditional 27mm focal length setting (18×1.5=27). This is known as the effective focal length.
Hope that goes someway to explaining it. Enjoy your new camera and let us see the results.
Dean

[KeithB]

Peter, in response to your earlier question the sensor will handle anything you throw at it with aplomb. Do bear in mind though, the part the lens plays in all this. In my fairly limited digital experience a 2mp sensor can resolve some pretty impressive images if it's looking through a decent lens.
A salesman was recently trying to sell me a new phone quoting the fact ' It's got a 12mp camera you know!' I responded by pointing out that that may well be the case, but it's viewing the world through a lens the size of a glass shirt button! Now I know that modern cell phone cameras are pretty good but they will never match the performance and versatility of even an entry level DSLR, nor, I would imagine, are they meant to.
Getting back to the point, you will find there is a respectable and growing range of A mount Sony (Minolta?) lens available. Check Ebay out, there are always deals to be had on used Sony and Minolta glass. Some of the budget models have attracted some criticism from the more anally retentive reviewers out there, (looks cheap, its plasticky, it's too light, It''ll soon break, (are you going to use it as a cricket ball or take pictures with it?)).
These are the sort of comments you will often find and they're not very helpful are they? I have a 50mm F1.8 prime (£110), an 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 zoom (the now superceded Sony kit lens)(Ebay £39) and a 55-300mm F4.5-5.6 zoom, my most expensive purchase at £299 and the results from all three lenses have exceeded my wildest expectations. Yes, I would love to indulge myself in some classy fast lenses, who wouldn't? But I expect they would boost my ego more than my image quality. Let me know how you get on and If I can help with anything, shoot!

Cheers Keith

[Peter E]

It is confusing, Peter. Sensors are sized in relation to a 35mm film camera frame. The top range DSLRs, such as the Canon 5D, have a sensor the same size as a 35mm film frame, 36mm x 24mm, but most digital cameras have smaller, or cropped, sensors, The most common size, as used in the Sony is the APS-C sensor. The sensor in the Sony camera is 24mm x 16mm. DSLR lenses are usually rated as if they are on a full size, 35mm, camera. An APS-C sensor is smaller and therefore sees a smaller angle of view, the crop factor compares the angle of view with that seen by a traditional full-frame 35mm film SLR. The Sony has a crop factor of 1.5x. This means the 18mm setting on your camera actually captures the angle of view of a traditional 27mm focal length setting (18×1.5=27). This is known as the effective focal length.
Hope that goes someway to explaining it. Enjoy your new camera and let us see the results.
Dean

Thanks Dean that explains a lot. You would think the digital camera manufacturers would scrap the obsolete rating of 18 - 55, if it doesn't actually apply to their cropped sensors, and publish the actual figures applicable, wouldn't you. Presumably that reckoning would also apply to a 55 - 200 telephoto lens, making it truly 82.5 - 300.
Haven't got the Sony as yet but when I do, and get to using it to good result, I shall get involved in how to upload examples her.

Peter.

[Peter E]

Peter, in response to your earlier question the sensor will handle anything you throw at it with aplomb. Do bear in mind though, the part the lens plays in all this. In my fairly limited digital experience a 2mp sensor can resolve some pretty impressive images if it's looking through a decent lens.
A salesman was recently trying to sell me a new phone quoting the fact ' It's got a 12mp camera you know!' I responded by pointing out that that may well be the case, but it's viewing the world through a lens the size of a glass shirt button! Now I know that modern cell phone cameras are pretty good but they will never match the performance and versatility of even an entry level DSLR, nor, I would imagine, are they meant to.
Getting back to the point, you will find there is a respectable and growing range of A mount Sony (Minolta?) lens available. Check Ebay out, there are always deals to be had on used Sony and Minolta glass. Some of the budget models have attracted some criticism from the more anally retentive reviewers out there, (looks cheap, its plasticky, it's too light, It''ll soon break, (are you going to use it as a cricket ball or take pictures with it?)).
These are the sort of comments you will often find and they're not very helpful are they? I have a 50mm F1.8 prime (£110), an 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 zoom (the now superceded Sony kit lens)(Ebay £39) and a 55-300mm F4.5-5.6 zoom, my most expensive purchase at £299 and the results from all three lenses have exceeded my wildest expectations. Yes, I would love to indulge myself in some classy fast lenses, who wouldn't? But I expect they would boost my ego more than my image quality. Let me know how you get on and If I can help with anything, shoot!

Cheers Keith

Thanks Keith, very helpful, complex subject isn't it. I gather by your reference to the £ that you are here in England.
Yes I have encountered the comments you mention, particularly relating to the 55 - 200 plastic (nice and light in my opinion) Another comment that's favoured is, not very good in low light! neither is your average telescope or binoculars, hardly surprising if the poor thing can't see properly, and I imagine the longer the focal length, the harder it is to get light to the sensor. Begs the question why would any one be using a telephoto lens in the near dark anyway. Strange old world we live in isn't it.

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to answer me in such depth. I note your comments about looking out for really good quality Sony fitting lenses, perhaps second hand. A mount you say, that is a very useful piece of information,Thanks for that.
Also need to find a really good, very fast recycling, powerful exterior mounted flash gun, and I have no idea, as yet, where to start with that one!

As a separate matter and referring to your comment above, I would be right in assuming the Sony cameras to have a first class lens, wouldn't I? I am not that well up on my lenses but I do rather wish it boasted a Leica lens, as on panasonic cams, or my Binoculars. I know they are first class. Also I paid an absolute fortune to have Seiko variable lenses in my glasses, because you can't buy better, and the all round vision is perfect, whereas cheaper lenses definitely give a more restricted field of view. I am not sure if Seiko lenses are available for cams, or with the Sony fitting.
So which lens for your cam is obviously vastly important. I know nothing about the reputed quality of Sony camera lenses, as fittted to the A58, but review forums seem to rate image quality from it very highly, like around 9.5 out of ten from customer review ratings, so they must be fairly good.
Peter.

[KeithB]

Hi Peter,

Taking your points in order, yes currently my boss and I reside in North Shropshire until she retires in a few more years, then we're off! North Devon is looking good.
Secondly any lens, telephoto or otherwise with a maximum aperture around the F4.5-5.6 mark is going to struggle in low light due to the slow shutter speeds required to offset the small (relatively) aperture setting available. You have doubtless heard the expression 'fast lens' bandied about. This refers to the large aperture available eg. F1.4-1.8 which allows shooting in low light conditions often without a flash and even hand held due to the much faster shutter speeds available to you. A classic example is the Sony F1.8 50mm prime, a new one can be obtained for about £100. An absolute gem, pin sharp crystal clear images just fall out of it by default!
Flashguns...Ahh well, there's a can of worms. So much depends on what you intend to do with it. You've probably already discovered that the built in flash is limited by it's power and position so close to the focal axis of the lens (hence, lots of Red-Eye!). I have found it to be quite effective as a fill in for back lit subjects but quite restricted for anything more ambitious.
All I can tell you about Sony Flashguns is that like Canon and Nikon they are bl**dy expensive! My first ever external flashgun purchased more years ago than I care to admit was made by a German company called Metz, you must have seen the type, collapsible circular reflector disc and the old disposable flash bulbs? Anyway to cut a long story short I purchased a Metz Sony dedicated 44 AF-1 digital flash from WEX (Google for their website) for £129. Like the camera it can be used manually or fully automatic where it collects exposure and focal length settings from the camera and sets the flash accordingly. It has a swivel head for bouncing light around where you want it and a built in diffuser, much the same as the Sony outfit I imagine, at half the price!
Finally lenses. Like you, my last camera was a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ7 with a Leica Superzoom lens and very nice too. If you search the web and the WEX range (I can't recommend them highly enough. The service is outstanding) you will find that there are some Leica built lenses in the range but they will make your credit card scream for mercy! It's probably fair to say that whether you buy Sony, Sigma, Tamron or Minolta the more you pay? Well you know the old saying.
As I said in my earlier reply none of my lenses are going to bring a professional out in a fever of anticipation but I am very very happy with the image quality I'm getting. Any shortcomings are mine not the hardware.
I do know that the recently released Sony 16-50mm standard kit lens has received some very favourable reviews so that will get you off to a good start.
Cheers for now Keith

[Peter E]

Hi Peter,

Taking your points in order, yes currently my boss and I reside in North Shropshire until she retires in a few more years, then we're off! North Devon is looking good.
Secondly any lens, telephoto or otherwise with a maximum aperture around the F4.5-5.6 mark is going to struggle in low light due to the slow shutter speeds required to offset the small (relatively) aperture setting available. You have doubtless heard the expression 'fast lens' bandied about. This refers to the large aperture available eg. F1.4-1.8 which allows shooting in low light conditions often without a flash and even hand held due to the much faster shutter speeds available to you. A classic example is the Sony F1.8 50mm prime, a new one can be obtained for about £100. An absolute gem, pin sharp crystal clear images just fall out of it by default!
Flashguns...Ahh well, there's a can of worms. So much depends on what you intend to do with it. You've probably already discovered that the built in flash is limited by it's power and position so close to the focal axis of the lens (hence, lots of Red-Eye!). I have found it to be quite effective as a fill in for back lit subjects but quite restricted for anything more ambitious.
All I can tell you about Sony Flashguns is that like Canon and Nikon they are bl**dy expensive! My first ever external flashgun purchased more years ago than I care to admit was made by a German company called Metz, you must have seen the type, collapsible circular reflector disc and the old disposable flash bulbs? Anyway to cut a long story short I purchased a Metz Sony dedicated 44 AF-1 digital flash from WEX (Google for their website) for £129. Like the camera it can be used manually or fully automatic where it collects exposure and focal length settings from the camera and sets the flash accordingly. It has a swivel head for bouncing light around where you want it and a built in diffuser, much the same as the Sony outfit I imagine, at half the price!
Finally lenses. Like you, my last camera was a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ7 with a Leica Superzoom lens and very nice too. If you search the web and the WEX range (I can't recommend them highly enough. The service is outstanding) you will find that there are some Leica built lenses in the range but they will make your credit card scream for mercy! It's probably fair to say that whether you buy Sony, Sigma, Tamron or Minolta the more you pay? Well you know the old saying.
As I said in my earlier reply none of my lenses are going to bring a professional out in a fever of anticipation but I am very very happy with the image quality I'm getting. Any shortcomings are mine not the hardware.
I do know that the recently released Sony 16-50mm standard kit lens has received some very favourable reviews so that will get you off to a good start.
Cheers for now Keith

Hi keith,
Bit of a while to get back to you but it's been a hectic old day today!
Quite bit of info to take in there for a novice like me. I was very interested to hear what you had to say about the Sony F1.8 50mm prime, sounds great. Am I correct in thinking that would be a direct replacement for the 18-55 mm lens supplied with the A58 but not solve any longer zoom issues? If that £100 price is new from Sony, that's not too back. I will look into that one.

The thing I found a bit confusing in what you where saying, is that you say the faster lenses use the much faster shutter speeds to obtain low light results, but surely the range of shutter speeds on the A85 must be fixed no matter what 'fast' lenses you put with it? so the low light benefit would be lost anyway, as you still only have the lower shutter speeds available. Or is my thinking up the creek here!

My Fuji bridge cam with it's 26X zoom, seems to be able to shoot in incredibly low light, and yes often surprisingly without flash. The lens figures quoted on the front are: 26X ZOOM f=4.3-111.8 1:3.1-5.9 Most of this means very little to me, but presumably not so to you. Is the second set of figures equal to the figures you are quoting for F1.8 50mm prime, to produce the fast lens and if so how is the first set of figures applicable as well?

Thanks for all the info on flash guns. Lots of research and shopping around to do on that one but the Metz Sony dedicated 44 AF-1 from WEX does sound very promising if they are still available, presumably that would have the capability to automatically link in with the A58's settings, or is that yet another issue to resolve.

Thanks for your advice on lenses. lots to look into there. I picked up my new A85 today (or yesterday as it is now, looking at my watch) and am currently charging the battery and wading my way through the enormously complicated instruction manual. It's capabilities seem incredible! I hope to have it up and running later and can investigate over the weekend, before I start worrying if I need to change it's 18-55 just yet. After all it was the outstanding results my son in law got from his A58 with just that lens that drew me to the camera in the first place.

Peter.

[KeithB]

OK, where to start? The 50mm F1.8 is not necessarily a replacement for the kit lens at all. In my experience the 18-55mm kit lens supplied with your new beast is for a budget lens, pretty damn good. The only limitation I have found is the relatively small max aperture which is an issue if you're shooting in low light, not something most of us do every day. At the wide end, 18mm (27mm when cropped) landscapes look very nice. Unlike a lot of the on-line reviews, all I am interested in is results, not how plasticky or how light it is and as I mentioned before I am more than pleased with the results I am getting from it.
However it suffers from the same performance restrictions inherent in all variable focal length lens. to achieve acceptable performance at both wide and zoom focal lengths compromises have to be made in design and construction to attain this. eg. the aperture is not constant throughout the focal range hence f4.5-5.6 or on your Fuji f4.3-5.9. It can be, at a price!
The A77 has programmed in correction for distortion and chromatic aberration and it works sufficiently well with all my lens that I haven't noticed any issues at all. I don't know whether the A58 has this feature or even whether you'll miss it if it hasn't.
Where the fixed focal length lens score, is in that there is no compromise in construction, it is optimised for 50mm period. Taking into account the crop factor as described for you by Dean, it becomes in effect, a 75mm lens which is just about right for a good portrait lens and it does perform exceptionally well in that role. Pin sharp images with vibrant colour, auto focus is lightning fast and accurate. 'Bokeh' (the blurred background effect caused by large aperture settings) is very smooth indeed. A snip at the price.
However, is there any need to buy other lenses yet? Cast your mind back to your own words, 'After all it was the outstanding results my son in law got from his A58 with just that lens that drew me to the camera in the first place'. That sounds like a pretty good place to start to me.
The physical restrictions placed on you by a short lens will make you think more about composition and your feet become your long zoom! It is surprising what a little movement can do to improve your pictures. modern zoom lenses, even budget ones are generally pretty damned good and there will be times where they can give you the reach you can't get any other way. So, swings and roundabouts I suppose.
I found to my surprise that after I had used the Lumix 12x zoom for a while, how rarely I used long focal lengths. My 300mm is mainly for wildlife and air-shows where you need the reach, otherwise I use it for collecting dust in the bag! I think because reasonably good quality zooms are so affordable these days there is a tendency to get lazy and let the kit do all the work. I have certainly been guilty of it. Too many people these days are optical computer operators rather than photographers! (only my opinion!).
I'll try and clarify what I meant by fast lenses. Yes, you're absolutely correct, your camera body has a fixed range of shutter speeds usually from about 30seconds to 1/4000th I think on yours. Depending on the lens you are using ie aperture and focal length and available light, some of those speed settings may not be available to you without over or underexposing. A 'fast' lens because it has a much larger aperture (f1.4-1.8) available will allow you to use faster shutter speeds if needed and also in much lower lighting conditions than a lens with a max aperture of say f4.5-5.6. Hence the sobriquet 'Fast'. Hope that's a bit clearer.
Yes, the Metz like Sony's own flash has it's own processor which conflabs with your camera via the hot-shoe to arrive at the appropriate setting. Good luck with the new toy. Go out and have fun, remember digital film is soooo cheap!!

Cheers Keith

[Peter E]

OK, where to start? The 50mm F1.8 is not necessarily a replacement for the kit lens at all. In my experience the 18-55mm kit lens supplied with your new beast is for a budget lens, pretty damn good. The only limitation I have found is the relatively small max aperture which is an issue if you're shooting in low light, not something most of us do every day. At the wide end, 18mm (27mm when cropped) landscapes look very nice. Unlike a lot of the on-line reviews, all I am interested in is results, not how plasticky or how light it is and as I mentioned before I am more than pleased with the results I am getting from it.
However it suffers from the same performance restrictions inherent in all variable focal length lens. to achieve acceptable performance at both wide and zoom focal lengths compromises have to be made in design and construction to attain this. eg. the aperture is not constant throughout the focal range hence f4.5-5.6 or on your Fuji f4.3-5.9. It can be, at a price!
The A77 has programmed in correction for distortion and chromatic aberration and it works sufficiently well with all my lens that I haven't noticed any issues at all. I don't know whether the A58 has this feature or even whether you'll miss it if it hasn't.
Where the fixed focal length lens score, is in that there is no compromise in construction, it is optimised for 50mm period. Taking into account the crop factor as described for you by Dean, it becomes in effect, a 75mm lens which is just about right for a good portrait lens and it does perform exceptionally well in that role. Pin sharp images with vibrant colour, auto focus is lightning fast and accurate. 'Bokeh' (the blurred background effect caused by large aperture settings) is very smooth indeed. A snip at the price.
However, is there any need to buy other lenses yet? Cast your mind back to your own words, 'After all it was the outstanding results my son in law got from his A58 with just that lens that drew me to the camera in the first place'. That sounds like a pretty good place to start to me.
The physical restrictions placed on you by a short lens will make you think more about composition and your feet become your long zoom! It is surprising what a little movement can do to improve your pictures. modern zoom lenses, even budget ones are generally pretty damned good and there will be times where they can give you the reach you can't get any other way. So, swings and roundabouts I suppose.
I found to my surprise that after I had used the Lumix 12x zoom for a while, how rarely I used long focal lengths. My 300mm is mainly for wildlife and air-shows where you need the reach, otherwise I use it for collecting dust in the bag! I think because reasonably good quality zooms are so affordable these days there is a tendency to get lazy and let the kit do all the work. I have certainly been guilty of it. Too many people these days are optical computer operators rather than photographers! (only my opinion!).
I'll try and clarify what I meant by fast lenses. Yes, you're absolutely correct, your camera body has a fixed range of shutter speeds usually from about 30seconds to 1/4000th I think on yours. Depending on the lens you are using ie aperture and focal length and available light, some of those speed settings may not be available to you without over or underexposing. A 'fast' lens because it has a much larger aperture (f1.4-1.8) available will allow you to use faster shutter speeds if needed and also in much lower lighting conditions than a lens with a max aperture of say f4.5-5.6. Hence the sobriquet 'Fast'. Hope that's a bit clearer.
Yes, the Metz like Sony's own flash has it's own processor which conflabs with your camera via the hot-shoe to arrive at the appropriate setting. Good luck with the new toy. Go out and have fun, remember digital film is soooo cheap!!

Cheers Keith

Hi Keith,
Thanks for that fabulous in depth answer, it's really kind of you to go to that much trouble to clarify things for me. I certainly know a lot more about it all now than I did.
I picked up the A58 yesterday Took my time with reading the supplied paper booklet, and downloading the full manual. Charged the battery and put it together (although the box said a class 6 card inside, it was actually a class 10, to my delight.
Sorted out the necessary set up details, and attempted a few indoor flash shots. First tentative trials where absolutely amazing, quite stunning! The sharpness and skin tones and detail are quite superb. I am going to love this one. You don't seem to be able to better the auto focus by manual focusing, it's auto focus is absolutely spot on, and the ring Zoom is a very nice feature to compose the frame.
I shall play with it more over this weekend but there is a heck of a lot to learn about it, The settings and capabilities are quite staggering. It even has a viewing screen that pops out and flattens or tilts as you wish, amazing and I imagine very useful under some circumstances, like video work, or holding the cam up high over heads, for eg. at a sports event.

Lots to learn, lots to play with and some superb results to look forward to!!

Thanks for all your help. Keep in touch it's been really nice talking to you.

Pete.