The 6 Best Lenses for the Sony A380
The Sony A380 is an awesome camera. If you do not already have a lens or are shopping for a new lens, this will cover the best 6 lenses to use on your Sony SLT-A380.
More specifics are further down, however if you are pressed for time, here’s the list:
- 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
Beneath, the best Sony lenses are split up by focal length. Also mentioned are alternative choices spanning a range of costs.
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 blend of compact size and light weight. The built-in autofocus motor is smoother and quieter than earlier lenses that rely on the coupled autofocus.
A circular aperture allows you to close down to f/4 and keep an almost completely circular aperture. This results in beautiful bokeh and greater freedom in controlling 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 is among the first lenses from when Minolta initially released the A-mount for autofocus. As a consequence of how old the lens is, the autofocus is powered by the built-in motor in the A380’s body.
Coupled autofocus can be noticeably noisy and jerky. However, if that’s not a problem for you the output is great. {The bokeh is eye-catching and you will end up with a classic image rendering|You will get a classic image rendering and attractive bokeh.
An additional considerable advantage of the lens is the price. It’s considerably less expensive when compared with the Sony 50mm f/1.8 and on top of that might possibly be the lowest priced lens listed.
Sony 50mm f/1.4
- Outstanding optics.
- Optical multi-coatings.
- Circular aperture.
- 55mm filter threads.
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A little bit faster than the f/1.8, however that can definitely be important when you’re taking pictures without much light. That definitely comes at an additional cost.
It is still a relatively small and lightweight lens that handles well on the A380 and can fit into nearly any kind of camera bag.
A cheaper solution is the Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4. Be aware that they can be really difficult to purchase in good usable condition. The lens also was constructed with coupled autofocus, which is louder and slower than lenses that contain 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 pulled out all the stops with this lens. The lens was built by Zeiss. The ZA (Zeiss Alpha) signifies that Zeiss created the lens exclusively for the Sony A-mount.
The lens is the real deal. Tack sharp corner-to-corner with spectacular colors that produces outstanding portrait photos.
A potential downside is that it is a tad on the heavy side thanks to being built like a tank and the autofocus can feel slow. Keep in mind, that you’ll come across those same problems with any f/1.4 85mm lens.
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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This lens splits the range of prices for the other two lenses. Obtaining a used copy in acceptable condition may be tough because of 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 a bit loud and slow.
A Double-Gauss optical design is older and uses 6 lens elements. An upsiade to this is that images have a classic look that are unable to be produced by current lenses that are built with a lot more elements.
Sony A380 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 ideal for night events, indoor shooting, travel, and family photos. The autofocus is fairly quiet and the lens is well designed.
The lens is often compared to the excellent Zeiss 24-70mm, but it is approximately 1/2 the weight and less expensive. Both produce professional images.
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 option that can still produce excellent results. Even though it is not a professional lens, consequently as long as you do not need high end technology, it is an excellent lens.
As a telephoto zoom, it gives you a very good zoom range for getting images of wildlife, sports, and children outdoors.
The autofocus is snappy and it creates razor-sharp photos. The lens is constructed 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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This is a borderline super-telephoto lens. It’s an outstanding low-cost selection for any time you want a lots of reach.
The lens is only 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) in diameter, 4.8 inches (12.2 cm) long, and comes in at 1 pound 2 ounces (510g). While that’s not lightweight, many professional telephotos are several times heavier than that.
For a bit better results take a look at the Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 SSM ED G-Series, however count on having to spend close to 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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Amazing quality for the price if you want to be able to capture great wide pictures that kit zooms cannot get. Distortion, especially of straight vertical lines is minor or non-apparent unless you’re intentionally trying to get an exaggerated perspective.
As well as being awesome at taking breathtaking landscapes, it’s also an outstanding lens to travel with. The angle of view is wide enough so when you come across something you will be able to get everything you see into the Sony A380’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’s well engineered and does a terrific job of minimizing lens distortion. In addition, a tremendous amount of effort has been put into reducing flane and internal reflections.
The result is a terrific lens that is perfect for astrophotography, landscape, and architecture photography. The rear focusing system means the front does not rotate so you won’t have any problems using a polarizer or other 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 doesn’t have extraordinarily fast autofocus, but the AF/MF focus clutch helps make it a superb pick for manual focusing. A push or pull of the focus ring switches the lens from MF to AF.
The Tokina is faster when compared with the Sony 11-18mm, which isn’t a major issue for architecture or landscape photos. Where you will notice a difference is with astrophotography. That’s a circumstance where you will want to take advantage of the 1-2 stop advantage the Tokina offers.
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 an excellent addition because the lens has a petal-style hood which means a lens filter cannot be mounted 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 pretty much everything you could desire from a fisheye. You will obtain corner-to-corner sharpness without seeing vignetting while still taking advantage 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 has a large front element which means lens filters can not be used. It comes with a detachable petal-shaped lens hood that you will want to confirm that it is included if you get a pre-owned lens.
Quality is often some what hit or miss as a consequence of the very low price of the lens. A majority of buyers are quite pleased with the results they get. It’s still important to extensively test the lens when you get it to make sure the lens is not 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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An excellent balance of working distance, weight, and value for the Sony A380. The autofocus is rather loud, but for taking macro photos, manual focus is easier than using af.
For good output at 1:1 magnification the lens ought to be stopped down by a minimum of two stops. Doing that will also give you a larger depth of field, which is very useful 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 isn’t that great for 1:1 magnification due to how little working distance you will have. At that level of magnification, the front of the lens will be around 2 inches (5 cm) far from the subject.
This lens is perfect for tabletop, copy work, and close-up photography. It can be used to get closer to a subject than a standard 50mm, and that is perfect for nature photography when you need to fill the camera frame with a tiny subject, such as 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 the lens also has autofocus. Stopped down a couple of stops and you will get razor-sharp shots.
Also, be careful when purchasing the lens as it is produced in a variety of camera lens mounts.
Used A-Mount Camera Lens Prices
Prices are regularly in flux. Over the previous several years, participation in film photography has been soaring. Since there are 35mm Minolta cameras that use A-mount lenses, some upward pressure is put on the cost of lenses.
The A-mount also doesn’t have a sizeable market share. For that reason, there are a smaller amount of third party options available and the lenses built by Sony are quite often on backorder.
To get the best price on what you want to buy, look at different websites. For used lenses, be ready to make a purchase when you see a great deal as they do not last very long.
What Lens Mount Does the A380 Use?
The Sony A380 uses the Sony A-mount. It is also the same as the Minolta A-mount. This is due to the fact that Sony purchased Konica Minolta’s imaging division in 2006.
The A-mount was created by Minolta for the release of interchangeable lens cameras with autofocus in 1985. It is still in use to this day.
Standard Lens Cap Size
Generally 55mm, but in reality the filter sizes are sporadic. Minolta lenses mostly feature 49mm filter threads.
Additionally, there are numerous lenses that have filter threads much bigger than 55mm. It isn’t hard to find to see 77mm ro 72mm. It would’ve been helpful if Sony made use of only 2 or 3 different filter sizes.