My Sony A850, 4 months later

[kevin_b.2]

<p>I have had my A850 for about 4 months now. My initial concerns were<br>

1. no live view<br>

2. no auto bracketing with HDR<br>

3. mirror lockup a seperate drive function instead of an option available for all drive modes.<br>

4. lack of lenses, or lack of medium priced lenses to be more specific. (i own 90mm tamron and 50mm 1.4

sigma)<br>

well so far, i have had no issue losing live view. I am not sure why, i was very addicted to it on my Canon 40D.

But i have managed quite fine. It could be because I love the in camera stabilization so much that I never take my

tripod out. So therefore this makes live view not as important.<br>

in camera stabilization is great. really! i am noticing about 2x more in focus shots than on the 40d. the

bracketing is still something i miss, however because the wind is so great around my region and the dynamic range

of the a850 is so high, i can fake an hdr using a single exposure and some raw adjustments.<br>

as for the mirror lockup feature, not really necessary once again because i shoot 90% handheld. this might be

an issue if i will upgrade my tripod to a gitzo.<br>

the lack of lenses still sometimes gets to me. i would probably have 2 or 3 more lenses than i do now but

instead i have to save up around $1200 for a zeiss lens. AF is accurate but really slow.<br>

but otherwise i am really happy with the a850. no regrets, i have the battery grip and i am already keeping an

eye out on the a950, should that be released this year. i also think a zeiss 85mm or 135mm will make my photos

really pop. on the matter of IQ i am very happy with the results.</p>�

[andylynn]

<p>Aren't there any Minolta branded lenses that meet your needs? Those prices are quite reasonable and they're first rate glass.</p>

[kevin_b.2]

<p>i am not a used lens guy. its tough to find even like new items on KEH. let alone decent priced ones. all the good minolta glass is overinflated because of its rarity.</p>

[gregory_king1]

<p>Kevin,</p>

<p>What do you mean? Your lenses have to look pretty on the outside? That's about the same as saying you only buy new cars because you like the new-car smell. You pay a LOT for the privilege. ;-)</p>

<p>All my lenses have been used....and by buying and selling them, I've been able to get them all for free. That's the benefit of Minolta. For example, I bought a 35 1.4 for $400, and sold it for $600 after getting a Sony 35mm for $800 like new with filter. Net cost out of pocket was less than half of buying new. <br /><br />All it takes is a little time and perseverance, but you get to try out more glass that way.</p>

[paul_de_ley]

<blockquote>

<p>however because the wind is so great around my region and the dynamic range of the a850 is so high, i can fake an hdr using a single exposure and some raw adjustments.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Hi Kevin, I'm wondering (not being into HDR myself) what is the connection between wind and bracketing for HDR purposes?</p>

<p>Not to encourage lens buying addiction, but personally I almost never buy lenses new. An EX rated lens from KEH is usally the equivalent of an LN elsewhere, and their BGN is usually as good as everyone's EX rating. Plus they do offer a 14 day return and I think you can add a 2 year warranty for 30 bucks on their lenses. (and no I don't work for them!).</p>

<p>I haven't seen any Zeiss offerings in their catalog, but another good place to watch is the sell & buy forum in dyxum.com and that often has a few Zeiss offerings, sometimes people sell lenses there before they're out of warranty.</p>

[parv]

KEH had Sony 135 mm f/1.8 for a while (under Sony Digital section) before it was gone sometime in last 2-3 weeks; at least until last week, Sony 85 mm f/1.4 was also available. And, Sony 16-80 mm lens, if you count it to be worthy of the Z label, then it had appeared there off & on.

[irusan]

<p>Kevin,</p>

<p>You seem to put a lot of value into the equipment but I am not sensing a true understanding of the underlying principles.</p>

<p>Why is mirror lockup an issue if you upgrade your tripod to a Gitzo? Gitzo, or Benbo, or Manfrotto, or... are brand names and have nothing to do with using the mirror lockup on the camera body. Perhaps you mean if you upgrade your tripod, you might find yourself using mirror lockup (or wanting to) but it is too inconvenient because of the way Sony engineered it? If that's the case, it's not really a problem; if you are shooting on a tripod, you're not really looking to shoot rapidly and the extra couple of seconds to switch sholdn't be a gig deal.</p>

<p>Also, I (like many who have posted here) buy used lenses and have gotten some amazing glass for a lot less than a new lens that is inferior. Too bad we're not close to each other: I'd show you the four lenses in my bag and ask you to pick out the two that I bought used.</p>

<p>Finally, I do understand that some people just like to buy new and that's certainly your choice. But don't think for a second that you are limited in your lens options. There are a lot of lenses available with a Minolta/Sony mount from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Sony... As for price, lenses have far more to do with the quality of your shot than your camera body yet you are willing to spend a few thousand on the A950 (when released) but not half of that on a new Zeiss lens?</p>

<p>Your A850 will be an excellent camera for several years to come. Invest in your glass instead of a new body unless you have a real need to jump from 24.6 MP to 32 MP</p>

[brettdeacon]

<p>Hi guys. Paul, you asked "I'm wondering (not being into HDR myself) what is the connection between wind and bracketing for HDR purposes?" I also live in a high wind area, and the problem is that there can be significant subject movement that makes it different to combine multiple exposures. The a900 has an auto bracket mode which I use all the time at the +/- 2.0 EV setting, and it cranks off 3 images very quickly. However, when the subject is moving noticeably, as in a telephoto shot of a field of wildflowers blowing in the wind, combining multiple exposures is often not possible. Even when subject movement is less of a problem in a scene, the fact that the a900 does not allow the possibility of auto bracketing with mirror lock-up means that combined images can be somewhat soft. This is my main beef with the a900. Now that I think about it, the fact that something this minor is my biggest problem says a lot about the quality of the a900!</p>

[ricardovaste]

<p>I think we will push you towards used glass eventually Kevin :). Make the jump!</p>

<p>The MLU thing is annoying, but I've long accepted that it's just made like that at the moment & that there are other ways around it. As Brett mentions, one was is a slight softness, which I think can happily be accepted at times in search for the perfect exposure and tonality.</p>

[kevin_b.2]

<p>there isn't a lot of used glass that interests me. i mean there isn't a legendary lens that i am aware of. ala canon 50mm 1.0, 200mm 1.8.</p>

 

[gregory_king1]

<p>Hmm. Well, there aren't those lens options NEW either. If you wanted Canon glass, why didn't you get a Canon body?</p>

[ricardovaste]

<p>35/1.4m, 58/1.2, 85/1.4, 200/2.8, 200/4, 300/4, 400/4.5, 600/4. 'Legendary' doesn't mean exceptionally fast and expensive. It either means it has a really nice character and performance, or that it's difficult to find and gets too much hype :P</p>

[kevin_b.2]

<p>the 58mm 1.2 has me somewhat interested. but doing the conversion doesn't</p>

[ricardovaste]

<p>You can usually find them pre-converted - just be aware that some of them are not done well at all. I do sell simply conversion kits myself for that lens. If you like speed in that range, I would sooner recommend the 35/1.4 or 85/1.4 personally.</p>

<p>I think you would be easy to catch in the wild. Just set a small trap with some large, shiny front elements peaking out!</p>

[mark_k3]

<p>I have 850 for ten months. I will say this is the best camera I have for the past few years. I hate to say I have had so many dSLRs but this one is the best in terms of optical quality it can and size and weight.<br>

It deserves the best optics so I have newly bought a 24-70/2.8 SSM. Yes I can use 24-50/4, 24-105/3.5-4.5 but there is this difference in optical quality. <br>

Less expensive will be a 28-7-70/2.8 SAM<br>

I have 30D which might have a shutter problem so mostly I use EOS 5D instead.</p>

[parv]

On Sony A700, Minolta 24-50 mm f/4 does not sharpen and horrendous chromatic aberrations are not reduced at least until f/8. By then, the lens becomes too slow for most of my use. It could improve at f/11, I have not tried.

 

Mark, what kind of lens "28-7-70/2.8 SAM" is?

[john_mcmillin]

<p>What are some "legendary" Minolta lenses? Based on specs alone, there's a few:<br>

- the 135 STF (Smooth Transition Focus)- a unique portrait lens that has a second diaphragm that controls and enhances out-of-focus rendering (aka Bokeh)<br>

- the 500mm mirror lens, the world's only AF mirror lens<br>

Then there's the more conventional lenses renowned for image quality. The Minolta AF 200/2.8 and macro 100/2.8 fall in that category. The 28-135/4.5 has its flaws (it's big and has a long minimum focus), but it's tack-sharp across the range. <br>

Finally, the bargains. You can get a 35-70 zoom with a constant F4 that's as sharp as any lens I've ever used and as small as a fast fifty. If you spend more than $50 for it, you got taken.<br>

I haven't even mentioned Zeiss AF lenses. <br>

Over at Dysum.com, they list and review almost 150 lenses for the Alpha mount. The Sony/Minolta system has its limitations, but I haven't found lack of lenses to be a problem. Just lack of money to buy more!</p>