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November 28, 2014- By Steven E. Greer
If you want to get into video and make Hollywood-quality films with that out-of-focus-background effect (called “bokeh”), then you need a lens with a large opening for light (also known as aperture or F-stop). The only way to get the maximum aperture is to give up the ability to zoom. Those are called fixed focus, or “prime” lenses.
I have tried a few of these out and the Sony 35-mm prime lens, with a huge F1.8 aperture, is what I recommend. The (Sony 35 f/1.8 OSS Alpha E mount) costs $400. The 50mm lenses magnify images too much, making it hard to shoot anything close. The 35mm will fit in anything that your own eye can see. It is great for portraits and videos.
This lens fits on the Sony a5000 or Sony a6000 mirrorless cameras. I recommend these over the Sony a7 line because they are much cheaper, and offer all you need. The a7 line is still tweaking things, so just wait until they get it right.
For only $600, the Sony a6000 gives you the small compact body of a mirrorless, and a large 24mm CMOS chip (not quite the 35mm in the a7). The video quality is excellent, and the low-light photos you can take with the kit lens that comes with it are pretty good. The prime lens, described above, will give you even better low-light images.