Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have absolutely no camera skills, but I am great at pressing buttons Ha!

My question is what type of lens would be recommended for me to take quality pic's of animals at a distance?

Thanks for your time.
Joel

I don't know if it matters but I have a sony alpha 350

It depends on several variables:

1. What do you mean by a long distance? 10 feet? 100 feet?
2. How big an object are you trying to photograph? An alligator or a cricket frog?
3. How much money are you prepared to spend? Good lenses cost more than crappy lenses and crappy lenses take inferior photos.

I suspect you want a lens in the 200-300mm range. A fixed length lens is better than a zoom, but a zoom gives you more flexibility. Something in the 70-200 or 70-300 range might suit you.

If you are willing to shell out the money, the Sony 70-300 SSM G is a great lens (around $800). You can get cheaper 70-300 zooms but they aren't as sharp and don't focus as well.
A 300 f/4 is a great lens, but to Sony doesn't make one yet so you would have to find an older Minolta 300 f/4 G and they aren't cheap either ($1K ).

So it depends on what you are looking to do exactly. Try looking at some of the lens reviews on dyxum.com. It is a great sight dedicated to the Minolta/Sony Alpha mount system.

Chris
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Thanks, I would like to have a lens that lets me shoot a broader range of wildlife from frogs to birds.

I will check out the 70-300 lens and read reveiws on the link you posted, I appreciate your time.

Joel