The 6 Best Lenses for the Sony A37
The Sony A37 is an awesome SLT camera. If you don’t already have a lens for your camera or are wanting for another lens, this article will go over the best 6 lenses for your Sony SLT-A37.
More specifics are below, but if you’re in a rush, below is the list:
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- Standard Lens - Sony 50mm f/1.8 SAM DT
- Portrait Lens - Sony 85mm F1.4 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 categorised by type of photography. Also covered are additional selections varying in price.
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 great combo of lightweight and very compact size. Smooth and quiet autofocus is supplied from a built-in motor..
Rounded aperture blades allow you to stop down to f/4 and keep an almost perfectly circular aperture. This results in gorgeous bokeh and greater flexibility in managing the 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 design was initially released by Minolta along with the launch of the A-mount. On account of the age of the lens, the autofocus is done by the built-in motor in the A37’s body.
Autofocus that is mechanically coupled can be jerky and a bit noisy. However, if that’s not a concern for you the results are terrific. {The bokeh is attractive and you will end up getting a classic rendering|You’ll end up getting a classic look and pleasant bokeh.
Another great benefit of this lens is the cost. It’s substantially less expensive compared to the Sony 50mm f/1.8 and on top of that could be the least expensive lens listed.
Sony 50mm f/1.4
- Outstanding optics.
- Optical multi-coatings.
- Circular aperture.
- 55mm filter threads.
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A little faster than the Sony f/1.8, yet that can definitely be important when you are taking pictures without much light. That definitely comes at a larger expense.
It is still a lightweight and relatively compact lens that balances nicely on the A37 and fits into just about any kind of camera bag.
A potentially less expensive alternative is the Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4. Be aware that they can be challenging to track down in usable condition. The lens also as designed with coupled autofocus, which is worse than lenses with 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 sought to flaunt what the A-mount is capable of. Zeiss manufactured the lens. The ZA (Zeiss Alpha) indicates that Zeiss developed the lens only for the Sony A-mount.
The lens is the real deal. Tack sharp corner-to-corner with brilliant colors that creates astonishing portraits.
A potential downside is that it is a little on the heavy side because it’s built like a tank and the autofocus can seem slow at times. Be aware, that you’ll come across similar issues with any 85mm f/1.4.
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 fits between the other 2. Obtaining a used lens in acceptable condition could be a challenge as a result of a small available supply.
While the lens is capable of autofocus, it’s driven by the in-body motor that works by using a physical coupler. This means the lens will be slow to autofocus and somewhat loud.
A Double-Gauss optical design is older and only uses a total of 6 lens elements. The upside to this is images possess a classic look that are unable to be created by modern lenses that consist of many more lens elements.
Sony A37 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 terrific for night events, indoor shooting, travel, and family photos. The autofocus is fairly quiet and the lens is well built.
It is often compared to the excellent Zeiss 24-70mm lens, but it’s close to 1/2 the weight and less expensive. 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 lower cost alternative that still produces amazing results. Even though it is not a professional lens, accordingly as long as you don’t require all the bells and whistles, it is a great lens.
As a mid-range telephoto zoom, it has a great zoom range for getting photos of wildlife, sports, and children outdoors.
The autofocus is fast and it renders sharp photos. It’s made out of plastic, which helps trim 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 due to the zoom range. It is a great budget selection for any time you would like a a long focal length.
It’s only 4.8 inches (12.2 cm) long, 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) in diameter, and weighs 1 pound 2 ounces (510g). While not light by any means, many pro telephotos are several times that weight.
For just a little improved results you can look for the Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 SSM ED G-Series, but unfortunately plan on paying close to double the price.
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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Very good quality for the price if you want to capture beautiful wide pictures that a standard kit zoom can’t get. Distortion, especially of vertical lines is low or non-existent unless you are purposefully trying to get an exaggerated perspective.
As well as being great at shooting beautiful landscapes, it is a superb lens to travel with. The lens is wide enough so when you come across something you’ll be able to get everything you see into the Sony A37’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-corrected lens that does an excellent job of reducing distortion. Additionally, quite a lot of effort has been done to reduce internal reflections and flare.
The result is a good lens that is well suited for landscape, architecture, and astrophotography. The rear focusing system means the front element is not going to rotate meaning you won’t have any difficulties using a circular polarizer or different 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 extremely fast autofocus, but the manual/auto focus clutch helps make it a terrific option for manual focusing. A pull or push of the focus ring will switch the lens from AF to MF.
The Tokina is faster when compared with the Sony 11-18mm, which is definitely not a large issue for architecture or landscape photos. Where you will find a difference is with astrophotography. That’s a situation where you’ll 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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The built-in filters are a really good inclusion due to the fact the lens has a petal-style hood which prevents a lens filter from being attached to 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 almost everything you could want from a fisheye lens. You’ll get corner-to-corner sharpness without seeing vignetting while still getting 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 contains a spherical front which means filters can not be attached. It has a detachable petal-type hood that you’ll want to ensure is included if you get a used lens.
Build quality is often a little hit or miss because of the affordable price of the lens. The majority of people are very happy with the pictures they get. It’s still important to thoroughly test out the lens when you get it to know for sure that it isn’t a bad 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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A great balance of value, working distance, and size for the Sony A37. The autofocus can be a bit loud, but for taking macro photos, manual focus is the best.
For ideal photos at 1x magnification the lens really needs to be stopped down. Doing that will also give you a larger depth of field, which is always important for macro photography.
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 lens is not the best for 1x magnification as a result of how little working distance you’ll have. At that level of magnification, the front of the lens will be approximately 2 inches (5 cm) far from the subject.
This lens is good for close-up, copy work, and tabletop photography. It enables you to get closer to a subject than a standard 50mm, and that is ideal for nature photography whenever you want to fill the frame with a smaller sized subject, for example 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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Even though this lens does have autofocus, the focus ring feels great when manually focusing. Stopped down a couple of stops and you’ll get tack sharp images.
Additionally, be cautious when buying the lens as it’s built for a number of camera lens mounts.
Used A-Mount Camera Lens Prices
Prices are frequently in flux. Over the previous few years, participation in film photography has been growing. Due to the fact that there are 35mm Minolta film cameras that use A-mount lenses, some additional demand is placed on the cost of lenses.
The Sony A-mount also does not hold a huge share of the market. Due to this fact, there are a smaller amount of third party options and the lenses built by Sony are routinely on backorder.
To obtain the cheapest price, look at different websites. For pre-owned lenses, be ready to pay for when you come across a great deal as they do not last long.
What Lens Mount Does the A37 Use?
The Sony A37 uses the Sony A-mount. It is also the same as the Minolta A-mount. This is because Sony bought Konica Minolta’s camera division in 2006.
The A-mount was engineered by Minolta for the release of interchangeable lens autofocus cameras in 1985. It’s still supported to this day.
Standard Lens Cap Size
55mm filter threads are the most common, but really the filter sizes are all over the place. Earlier Minolta lenses have 49mm filter threads.
Additionally, there are a good number of lenses that have filter threads much bigger than 55mm. It is not uncommon to see 77mm ro 72mm. It would’ve been good if Sony used only 2 or 3 different filter sizes.