Lens for large res. cameras ?

[jim_schaeffer1]

<p >I have been considering buying the Sony A65 camera but have been having second thoughts now. There have been reviews and forms I've read that had made statement about that you would have to have a high grade (IE: G – Sony’s “Gold” series of lenses ) for any camera with large resolution like the A65 at 24MB to be able to utilize that full resolution. Do you loose that much IQ with say a normal SSM lens?</p>

<p >Thanks</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>The argument that newer cameras reveal problems in older lenses doesn't sound like a great reason in and of itself not to upgrade.</p>

<p>Basically everything between the actual original subject and the final image degrades image quality to some degree. Improving equipment is about reducing the degree of degradation one piece at a time. Just because a new 24mp sensor reveals issues in legacy glass that were less noticeable at 10mp doesn't make your old glass any worse than it was when you bought it. On the contrary your older camera wasn't making the most of your existing glass. If and when you actually do upgrade to more expensive glass you'll get that much more out of it.</p>

<p>Now whether the IQ from the new 24mp sensor is a net win over the excellent 16mp predecessor is another question open to debate. Of course the sensor is only one part of the camera--other attributes like speed/performance/handling/ergonomics/features should be considered as well.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>If you are upgrading and have the lenses you used with an older body, what Andrew says makes sense. But I'd like to ask why you worry that some lenses may not "utilize that full resolution". Do you propose to utilise it to make prints larger than can be made from cameras with lower resolution?</p>

[jim_schaeffer1]

<p>My concern was that my older Minolta and Sony lens might not be able to utilize the full resolution of the A65. Most of my enlargements are of the 8x10 with some a little larger, but I do use the crop tool a lot to pull an area from the image.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>If you have successfully done this with your old lenses on an old body, you can do it also with those lenses on a new body.</p>

[robert_paul1]

<p>Jim, I've made very good 8x10 prints from P&S cameras with only 5 megapixels. And if you consider that some of the 5 megapixels were lost to cropping, you see that you have nothing to fear.</p>

[wolf_weber]

<p>In my experience using older design lenses on hi-mp DSLR's can be problematic. When a still mint condition but, say, 10 year old 400mm suddenly becomes a 600, weakness at the long end, i.e. dispersion can become quite pronounced. The same goes for distortions and chromatic aberrations. Any design weakness or less than great glass will translate into results that might disappoint. So, a Minolta 50mm f/1.7 may not quite do the trick. While the 85mm f/1.4 certainly will.</p>

[alanbrowne]

<p>First off, don't worry. Your current lenses will likely serve you very well for most photographs. In the end, the lens resolution impacts only the largest enlargements. If you do a lot of large prints, then you would already have bought the better lenses. If you don't do a lot of large prints (or deep cropping) then it likely didn't matter before and won't matter much now.<br>

If you're intent on the camera, then get it and work with it to determine where, if any, weak areas in your lens collection appear. Then you'll know what to do.<br>

Offhand, I find several of my lenses showing limitations at 24.6 Mpix (a900) when printed large (16x24 inches). But generally they are acceptable. With the smaller sensor of the a65 at that many pixels, these limitations would show even more. But again - this is printing large - and from full frame where corner softness is more apparent - nothing to worry about in a portrait but can have some effect on a landscape printed large.</p>