Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 and/or Sony 70-200 FE F/4 for street?

[mesmerized]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone here uses the 85mm focal length for street photography or to take pictures of people from afar so that they don't know you're photographing them.

And... I have exactly the same question about the 70-200. Would you ever use it to walk around your town?

Thanks

 

[JonathanF2]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone here uses the 85mm focal length for street photography or to take pictures of people from afar so that they don't know you're photographing them.

And... I have exactly the same question about the 70-200. Would you ever use it to walk around your town?

Thanks

The 70-200mm f/4 FE is one of my favorite lenses and it's small enough to haul around for street shooting without the hood. Just get a neoprene Lenscoat in black to make it more inconspicuous. The Sony 85mm 1.8 FE is okay, but I find it softer at infinity distances and would rather just use the 70-200mm which can also double as a portrait lens. On the used market the Sony 70-200mm f4 can be found in the $800-1000 USD price range nowadays.

 

[Richard Crowe]

I have both lenses and used them differently... I pretty much reserve my 85mm f/1.8 for portraits, most often shooting wide open for a blurred BG while I use the 70-200mm for general telephoto work shooting at all apertures. That does not mean that the 70-200mm lens is not good for portraits. It can be a very good portrait lens and one that I will most often use in a studio or other controlled environment in which I don't need to have the BG totally OOF.
I have carried the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens all over the world and used it for street shooting with both full frame and crop DSLR cameras. The 85mm f/1.8 and 70-200mm f/4 G OSS were the among the first lenses that I purchased for my Sony mirrorless cameras.

 

[Tipton]

My street photography kit. I use the Pentax Q because of it's portability. I use the Zeiss 300/f4 to look up peoples noses from a block away.

Apple    iPhone 7 back camera 3.99mm f/1.8    4mm    f/1.8    1/15s    ISO 64

Apple    iPhone 7 back camera 3.99mm f/1.8    4mm    f/1.8    1/15s    ISO 64

 

[mesmerized]

I wonder... how come the 70-200 f/4 can't be used with a teleconverter? Do you guys think Sony will ever update that lens? It's one of their oldest, isn't it?

 

[Tipton]

It's my understanding that it's an actually physical design problem (or feature, from Sony's perspective). The TC's can only be mounted on certain lenses.

I have wondered why the third party manu's haven't come out with a generic e mount teleconverter. There's certainly a market for it. It's be nice to be able to put a 2x TC on my FE 70-300.

 

[JonathanF2]

It's my understanding that it's an actually physical design problem (or feature, from Sony's perspective). The TC's can only be mounted on certain lenses.

I have wondered why the third party manu's haven't come out with a generic e mount teleconverter. There's certainly a market for it. It's be nice to be able to put a 2x TC on my FE 70-300.

I'm looking at my 70-200mm f/4 right now and it's probably physically impossible to mount a TC on there. My guess is Sony probably wasn't 100% if the A7 series would even gain popularity, hence they didn't even consider making a TC for the 70-200mm f/4 FE. Though that's one thing that bugs me about Sony, while they push innovation they don't think long term enough which does affect design decisions.

 

[Tipton]

Oh, I think Sony is thinking long term. Long term, they hope you'll upgrade from the 70-200/f4 to at least the 70-200/f2.8, so you can put a TC on it.

More seriously, I think they have a plan to introduce some sort of supersensor in the next few years. They may not have a strict timetable for it. They are bringing out the lenses they want people to use on the supersensor camera now.

 

[bdbits]

Sony has said they design G-Master lenses for future cameras. The most recent example I recall is this interview with the head of lens development. Multiple references to the lenses being designed for future cameras - intended to be used 10 years or longer.

'Future lenses for today': Sony's Yasuyuki Nagata talks high-end optics

 

[JonathanF2]

Oh, I think Sony is thinking long term. Long term, they hope you'll upgrade from the 70-200/f4 to at least the 70-200/f2.8, so you can put a TC on it.

More seriously, I think they have a plan to introduce some sort of supersensor in the next few years. They may not have a strict timetable for it. They are bringing out the lenses they want people to use on the supersensor camera now.

I'd rather get the poor man's TC and slap an APS-C body on instead!

 

[Richard Crowe]

I have a 1.4x TC for my Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS lens and it comes in handy to throw in my bag when I don't want to carry the 100-400mm lens.