I just bought a sony a230 dslr, I was wondering if old Minolta lens will work on it?

Question

The camera is a dslr i heard that older lenses will work on it, I plan on buying a 80-200mm lens. My other question is sooner of later I do want to try to take pics to make side money, what type of lenses will I need

Answer 1

In 1985 Minolta introduced the Maxxum 7000 auto focus 35mm SLR with the "A" lens mount. Your Sony A230 uses that same lens mount. So any Maxxum AF lens made will be compatible with your A230.



I've no idea what 80-200mm zoom you're looking at but a far better choice would be the Maxxum AF 70-210mm f4 which is known as the "Beercan". I own the older manual focus version and its an excellent performer. I also have its "little brother", the 35-70mm f3.5 which is often called the "Baby Beercan". Note that both zooms are constant aperture so you lose nothing when zooming.

Answer 2

Minolta Maxxum lenses and third party lenses made for Minolta Maxxum will work. There are some Sigma lenses that have plastic gears which the Sony alphas can strip causing the AF not to work. If you are looking on craigslist, make sure you mount the lens on your camera first to check the AF and snap a few shots to check that the aperture seems to be working correctly. Also look for listings with film cameras because you can sometimes find a good deal on a camera and lens simply because someone doesn't want the camera.



As a Sony alpha owner, here is a site that you should definitely familiarize yourself with:

http://www.dyxum.com/



If you have a question about Minolta or Sony you will get the best answers on the forums there. And there is a database of most known lenses for Minolta Maxxum and Sony alpha, with reviews.



For now, I would start with the kit lens, and if you want the 80-200 for the reach. Learn how to use your camera and lenses that you have. The only other lens I would suggest for a beginner would be a 50mm f/1.8 which is about $150 I believe and is a nice portrait lens. As you learn more about photography you will start to figure out what lenses you need and which ones you want.



Another forum you might enjoy is the KM SLR forum at dpreview: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1035

Answer 3

Every Minolta Maxxum AF lens made since 1985 will work on the Sony A230 and any other Sony DSLR. What's really nice is those older legacy lenses will become, in effect, Image Stabilized lenses since Sony's IS is in the camera body.

Answer 4

Hi

As the author of the blog Alphatraks, I have writen extensively on using Minolta lenses on Sony Alpha dSLR cameras. Check out



http://alphatracks.com/archives/836



for a full information on which Minolta lenses will work.



Regards, Tom

Answer 5

i use a Sony A200 and have a Minolta 50mm f/1.7 lens that works just fine...



you might find that some of the Minolta lenses won't work with AutoFocusing...



so be careful...

Answer 6

the minolta auto focus lens will work the old manual focus ones will not work





the right lens depends on the photography you will do, for pretty nakid ladies photography you will need a pretty nakid ladies lens, et cetera,