I recently purchased a new camera, and I’m experiencing a little bit of camera buyer’s remorse. I purchased a Sony a6000. Don’t get me wrong. It is a great camera. It takes awesome pictures. But, I did not pay attention to one thing, the availability of lenses in my budget range. I’m on a tight biudget, and I can’t afford to spend a ton of money on lenses. With Sony mirrorless cameras, this leaves you with limited options. Sony lenses are just more expensive. Here are some examples:

A cheap 50mm f1.8 prime camera lens

A fast and cheap 50mm prime lens is something most photographers have and use all of the time. You can buy a Canon or Nikon one for about $100. Sony just announced there version. It is supposed to retail for about $250.

A camera lens for a day spent walking around

A lens for walking around is a lens that gives you a nice wide view and a telephoto zoom. Let’s say 18-200mm. It doesn’t need to be that fast if you are walking around in daylight. Sony gives us a couple of options, a 55-210mm and a 18-200mm lens. These lenses cost $350 and $750. Canon, Nikon, and Pentax all have the option of lenses from Tamron and Sigma for under $200 (not Sony’s fault). Also, Pentax has a 18-270mm lens for $430. The closest Sony has to this lens (24-240mm) is almost a $1000. The Sony 18-200mm and 24-240mm lenses are higher quality lenses. But, they are not in my budget.

Sony repeats this pattern in all E mount lens ranges. They just don’t have that many middle to low price lenses in. You can adapt lenses and buy cheaper manual focus lenses. But, you are then looking at also buying adapters (which do not work as well as native lenses for the camera) or manually focusing (sometimes both).

So, I’m going to rent some more cameras and possibly get a Pentax or Canon camera. If I do this, I will probably sell the Sony. Or, I may stick with it and hope that they start releasing cheaper E mount lenses. The next camera I am renting is the Pentax K-S2 with the Pentax 18-270mm lens. I will be using it as part of a day at Scarborough Renaissance Festival. Let’s hope I don’t end up with camera renter’s remorse.

When you make a decision about camera purchases, please consider your lens budget. I wish I had done so.

Sony A6000 with Sony 24-240mm lens.