The 6 Best Lenses for the Sony A350
The Sony A350 is a great DSLR camera. If you do not own a lens for your camera or are looking for a different lens, this will cover the best 6 lenses for the Sony DSLR-A350.
More specifics are in this article, but if you are in a hurry, here are the best selections:
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- Standard Lens - Sony 50mm f/1.8 SAM DT
- Portrait Lens - Sony 85mm f/1.4 ZA CZ
- Zoom Lens - Sony 28-75mm f/2.8
- Wide Angle Lens - Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6
- Fisheye Lens - Sony 16mm f/2.8
- Macro Lens - Sony 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Below are the best Sony lenses separated by type of photography. Also included are different selections ranging in cost.
Standard Primes
Sony 50mm f/1.8 SAM DT
- Outstanding optics.
- Small and light weight.
- Can be difficult to find new.
- Smooth Autofocus Motor (SAM)
- Circular aperture.
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A wonderful combination of lightweight and compact size. Quiet and fast autofocus is supplied from a built-in autofocus motor..
The rounded aperture blades allow you to stop down to f/4 and still have close to a completely circular aperture. This provides beautiful bokeh and greater flexibility in controlling depth of field.
Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm f/1.7
- Built-in lens hood.
- Amazing value.
- Light and compact.
- Widely available used.
- Coupled autofocus.
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This is one of the first lenses from the intro of the A-mount. Because of the age of the lens, the autofocus is controlled by a motor built into the A350 camera body.
Coupled autofocus can be a bit noisy and slow. If that’s not an issue for you the picture quality is excellent. {The bokeh is eye-catching and you’ll end up with a classic rendering|You’ll get attractive bokeh and a classic look to your images.
A further significant benefit of this lens is the price. It’s drastically cheaper than the Sony 50mm f/1.8 and additionally might be the cheapest lens listed.
Sony 50mm f/1.4
- Outstanding optics.
- Optical multi-coatings.
- Circular aperture.
- 55mm filter threads.
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A bit faster than the f/1.8, however that can definitely be important when you are taking pictures in low light. That without a doubt comes at an additional expense.
It is still a small and lightweight lens that handles comfortably on the A350 and will fit into just about every camera bag.
A somewhat less expensive alternative is the Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4. Take into account that copies can be difficult to purchase in good usable condition. It also was built with physically coupled autofocus, which is slower and louder than lenses featuring built-in autofocus motors}.
Portrait & Telephoto Lens
Sony 85mm f/1.4 ZA
- Incredible bokeh.
- Excellent value used.
- T* coating to reduce flare and increase contrast.
- Astonishingly sharp wide open.
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Sony showed off with this lens. Zeiss manufactured this lens. The ZA (Zeiss Alpha) indicates that Zeiss developed the lens only for the A-mount.
This is an amazing lens. Corner-to-corner sharpness with vivid color that produces astonishing portrait photos.
A potential downside is that it’s a tad on the heavy side thanks to being built like a tank and it can seem slow to autofocus. Be aware, that you will come across those same problems with any f/1.4 85mm.
Minolta Maxxum AF 85mm f/1.4
- Possible to find a good used deal.
- Superb image quality.
- Uses autofocus coupler.
- Double-Gauss design.
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In terms of price, the lens sits between the other two. Getting a used lens in usable condition will be challenging due to a limited supply available.
The lens does have autofocus, but it uses a mechanical coupler and is driven by an in-camera body motor. This makes the lens sluggish to autofocus and a bit loud.
The lens is an older 6 lens element Double-Gauss design. A benefit to this is that images have a classic look that are not able to be made by cutting-edge lenses that contain far more lens elements.
Sony A350 Zoom Lenses
Sony 28-75mm f/2.8
- Very usable zoom range.
- Great value used.
- Constant aperture.
- Smooth Autofocus Motor (SAM).
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A fast zoom lens that is excellent for indoor shooting, night events, travel, and family photos. The autofocus is quiet and the lens is well made.
The lens is often compared to the excellent Zeiss 24-70mm lens, but it is around 1/2 the weight and has a lower price. Both produce pro results.
Sony 55-200mm f/4-5.6 SAM DT
- Telephoto zoom range.
- Great for portrait or wildlife photography.
- Smooth Autofocus Motor (SAM).
- Inexpensive.
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A cheaper solution that still produces great results. It’s not a professional lens, therefore so long as you don’t require high end technology, it is a great lens.
As a mid-range telephoto zoom, it gives you a very good range for shooting images of sports, children outdoors, and wildlife.
The autofocus is fast and it creates tack sharp images. It’s constructed out of plastic, which helps cut down on weight.
Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6
- Super telephoto zoom lens.
- Great for portrait or wildlife photography.
- 2.81 inches in diameter and 4.81 inches long.
- 55mm filter threads.
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A borderline super-telephoto lens. It is a great low-cost option for any time you need a lots of reach.
It’s only 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) in diameter, 4.8 inches (12.2 cm) long, and weighs in at 1 pound 2 ounces (510g). While not light, many professional zooms are multiple times heavier.
For just a little improved capabilities try to find the Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 SSM ED G-Series, however count on paying approximately twice as much.
Wide Angle Lens
Sony DT 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6
- Has a aspherical lens elements.
- Optical multi-coatings.
- Great value when purchased used.
- Circular aperture.
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Great value for the price if you want to be able to take excellent wide images that kit zooms cannot take. Distortion, especially of straight vertical lines is minor or non-apparent unless you are intentionally trying to get an distorted perspective.
In addition to being awesome at taking stunning landscapes, it is an excellent lens to travel with. The angle of view is wide enough so that when you come across something you’ll be able to get everything you see into the Sony A350’s frame.
Sony 20mm f/2.8
- Great for landscapes and architecture.
- Coated optics for clarity and definition.
- Rear focusing system for fast autofocus response.
- 72mm filter threads.
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It is a well engineered lens that does an amazing job of minimizing lens distortion. In addition, a large amount of work has been done to reduce flane and internal reflections.
The result is an excellent lens that is suitable for landscape, architecture, and astrophotography. The lens uses rear focusing which means the front element is not going to rotate meaning you won’t have any troubles using a circular polarizer or another filter.
Tokina AT-X 11-16mm f/2.8 DX II
- Wide angle zoom lens.
- Hardened Alumite finish.
- Advanced optical coatings.
- All metallic moving parts.
- Designed for APS-C Sensors.
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It does not have blazingly fast autofocus, but the focus clutch makes it an excellent selection for manual focusing. A pull or push of the focus ring switches the lens from auto to manual focus or vice versa.
The Tokina is faster than the Sony 11-18mm, which is definitely not a big issue for architecture or landscape images. Where you’ll find something different is during astrophotography. That’s a scenario where you will want to take advantage of the 1-2 stop advantage the Tokina offers you.
Fisheye
Sony 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye
- Sharp corner-to-corner.
- 4 built-in filters: Normal, 056, B12, A12.
- 8 inch minimum focus distance.
- Aspherical and Extra-low Dispersion elements.
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Built-in filters are a terrific addition because the lens has a petal-style hood which means a lens filter can not be put on the front of the lens.
- 056 - Accented contrast for black and white photos.
- B12 - Correct color by eliminating red tones.
- A12 - Correct color by eliminating blue tones.
This lens has just about everything you could need from a fisheye. You will get corner-to-corner sharpness without seeing vignetting while still achieving exaggerated distortion.
Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye
- Internal focus.
- 180 degree angle of view.
- Manual focus.
- Minimum focusing distance of 12 inches (0.3m).
- Designed for APS-C sensors.
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The lens features a curved front which means filters cannot be used. It comes with a removable petal-type lens hood that you will want to make sure that it is included if you get a used copy.
Construction quality can be a little hit or miss on account of the affordable price. The majority of buyers are really pleased with the images they get. You’ll nevertheless want to fully check the lens when you receive it to ensure it is not a defective copy.
Macro Lens
Sony 100mm f/2.8 Macro
- 9 aperture blades.
- Focus range limiter.
- High contrast and resolution.
- 55mm filter threads.
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The right balance of weight, working distance, and cost for the Sony A350. The autofocus is a bit loud, but for taking macro pictures, manual focus is ideal.
For ideal images at 1:1 magnification the lens really needs to be stopped down. By stopping down you will get a greater depth of field, which is always important for macro.
Sony 50mm f/2.8 Macro
- 10.4 ounces (295g).
- Focus range limiter.
- Focus Hold button for full creative control.
- 55mm filter threads.
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A 50mm is not that good for 1x magnification as a result of how little working distance you will have. At 1x magnification, the front lens element will be around 2 inches (5 cm) far from the subject.
This lens performs well at tabletop, copy work, and close-up photography. It allows you to get closer to a subject than a standard 50mm lens, and is ideal for nature photography whenever you need to fill the frame with a tiny subject, like a flower.
Tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 Di SP A/M 1:1 Macro
- Available in a variety of camera mounts.
- Improved resolution, chromatic correction, and optical coatings.
- Super Performance (SP)
- Focus clutch to switch between AF & MF.
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The focus ring feels great when manually focusing, and it also has autofocus. Closed down a couple of stops and you will get razor-sharp shots.
In additon, be careful when purchasing this lens as it’s manufactured for a variety of camera lens mounts.
Used A-Mount Camera Lens Prices
Prices change on a regular basis. During the previous couple of years, participation in film photography has been going up. Due to the fact that there are 35mm Minolta film cameras that use the A-mount, some upward pressure is added to the price of lenses.
The A-mount also doesn’t hold a significant share of the market. That’s why, there are fewer third party options available and the lenses manufactured by Sony are routinely on backorder.
To obtain the lowest price, check prices on a few sites. For used lenses, be ready to buy when you come across a great deal as they usually do not be available for very long.
What Lens Mount Does the A350 Use?
The Sony A350 uses the Sony A-mount. It is also the same as the Minolta A-mount. This is due to Sony buying Konica Minolta’s camera division in 2006.
The A-mount was engineered by Minolta for the introduction of interchangeable lens autofocus cameras in 1985. It is still Supported by Sony.
Standard Lens Cap Size
55mm filter threads are the most common, but honestly the filter sizes are sporadic. Older Minolta lenses have 49mm filter threads.
You can also find numerous lenses that have filter threads larger than 55mm. It isn’t rare to see 77m or 72mm filter threads. It would have been nice if Sony tried to stick to only 2 or 3 different filter sizes.