Just spent £260 on a Sony a700! Lens needed.

[MG-FIDO]

Hi guys, apologies for the long post but I feel like Christmas has just come early!

I'm a poor student who had been looking into getting a nice DSLR for some time. I've only ever had compacts in the past, my last purchase being a lovely, mint 3.2MP Sony Cybershot for £1 in a garage sale.

Anyway, I'd been considering something along the lines of a Nikon D40/60 or Sony a200 sometime next year by combining various birthday and chritmas presents. Whilst I was sat here at my dining room table yesterday, avoiding revision for my January exams, I thought I'd have a look to see what was happening price wise when I came across this thread- (hope nobody objects to me posting the link!)

http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/557961/sony-a700-se...

I was blown away to see a700s being sold for less than I'd been looking at paying for an a200/a230 but at the same time gutted to see that every last one seemed to have been sold. Anyway, thinking I had nothing to lose and seeing as someone had been told the last one in the country was in Bournemouth I thought I may as well make a trip into Currys and have a look.

Got there this morning (having muchly enjoyed the icy trip in my Eunos!), first person through the door and one of the assistants trawled the store's computer but found nothing for me. I was then helped by another chap who typed a few different combinations of Sony, Alpha, a and 700 in and low and behold there was possibly one left in PCWorld Castlepoint which was just down the road from me!

Anyway, I'm now the proud and excited, but slightly worried owner of a Sony a700, which I knocked them down a further £15 to £260 due to the fact it didn't have a box etc.

I'm worried a) that my parents will kill me for spending so much on a camera and b) that I have no kit with it.

I've just ordered a charger and battery from ebay, I'm guessing I'll need a cable of some sort, possibly some software and of course a lens.

I was thinking of going for something from Minolta seeing as it's all mostly compatible and fairly cheap on ebay (I'm now a VERY poor student) but was wondering if anyone could suggest a good all round lens to pick up the basics on?

Many thanks,

Steve

[rasputin]

Sony 24-105mm f/3.5-4.5 for £129 at Jessops at the moment.

Nowhere near professional quality, but better than the kit lens in many ways.

[clonmult]

rasputin said:

Sony 24-105mm f/3.5-4.5 for £129 at Jessops at the moment.

Nowhere near professional quality, but better than the kit lens in many ways.

Maybe its marginally better than the 18-70 kit lens, but barely.

Save the cash, and maybe put it towards a bigger zoom, something like a 70-300 (haven't had any problems with my sigma yet), or maybe the Sony 18-250?

[rasputin]

Image quality not a huge amount better. But longer range, bigger aperture, non-rotating front element and focus ring, decent hood, metal mount... Gives much more "creative range" than the kit lens. 105mm at f/4.5 gives nice portraits with background blur

70-300 far too long for an only lens! And the 18-250mm is more than double the price of the 24-105mm.

[onomatopoeia]

MG-FIDO said:

I'm worried a) that my parents will kill me for spending so much on a camera and b) that I have no kit with it.

I wouldn't worry, it's a hell of a lot of camera, even at £500 which a few places were selling it at. The next step up in the range is to go full frame.

[The Tea Boy]

If your very skint! As i was this time last year when i brought my A200 buy an m42 adaptor ring and then buy some m42 mount lenses for pennies on ebay or whereever fair enough no auto focus but you cant have everything. If you want i can send you my copy of the disc the sony alphas come with and copy/use at will (aslong as you post it back soonish) email me at [e-mail] with you address details and ill try to send asap

regards
matt

[MG-FIDO]

Matt, that's very generous of you! I think I'll have a look and see if I can download the software before borrowing your CD- if not I'll be in touch soon!

Thanks very much for the suggestions so far guys (and for the support on the parents front onomatopoeia ) , for the time being I've found a Minolta AF 35-70mm F3.5-4.5 on ebay for £20 which will hopefully keep me going until I can work out what would suit me longer term.