natamambo

Look at the Minolta 100mm f4 macro lens as well - I always used the Minolta 135mm lens for potraits until one day, while out macro shooting, I came across a bevy of beautiful girls doina a photo shoot. Got some great shots of the girls off to one side (acting far more naturally), almost never used the 135mm after that day. Only catch is, slower speed means you need to step up one film speed or down in shutter speed for same effects.

Maybe I missed something in the verbal wars, but Bob it seemed to me that your original question was to find an equivalent at 1.5x for the 7D to a "standard" full frame 28-200, which of course becomes a 42-300 when attached to the 7D.

 

Firstly, since others digressed into the 7D vs 5D. let me also. I love the feel of the 7D in my hands, it is great to work with and work quickly with (I do some bird photography) and the anti-shake is amazing, I have photos hand held at 1/8 second with no camera shake at all - I suspect the smaller, lighter 5D would be harder to hold steady with less body to grip firmly - but each to their own of course.

 

I had a myriad of MF Minolta primes and zooms to go with my X-700 and X-500 bodies, the primes for when quality counted and I was taking "photos" and the zooms for "snapshots" on family day outs when moving kids and jumping dolphins meant quality was unlikely anyway. I bought a Dynax 7000i already 15+ years old and a 35-80mm and a Tokina 100-300mm (which is Ok but not that sharp really) for those family days but I was always unhappy with the 7000i's light metering - it frequently over exposed. Thus, unlike those who told you to check your kit bag, I couldn't really do that when I bit the bullet and bought my 7D a few weeks back.

 

I bought, second hand to get the golden oldie metal lenses at an affordable price, a Minolta 24-50 and a Minolta 28-135, effectively a 36-70 and a 42-203. I kept the X-700 to use with my f4 100mm macro (can't afford to replace that right now) and will keep my 24mm MF as well for the occasions when 36mm is just a bit limiting.

 

I have found the 28-135 almost never leaves my camera. It is the perfect focal length for most situations, with plenty of variety in between the ends. This lens is crystal clear, super sharp and the colour renditions for this lens/body combination have the local photo shop in awe every time I leave files for processing - they are the most natural skin tones, reds, greens and blues of any lens / film combination I have ever used. The colours are so good the guy who owns the store is considering offloading his Nikon D100 in favour of the Minolta.

 

I guess my point is - don't be afraid to find a second hand gem rather than simply looking at what is the current model - you might just surprise yourself and discover that your choice of lenses this time around is different to last when it comes to the number one lens on your camera.

 

PS I have bought a 100-200mm as well, just because the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next year have a lens length limit of 200mm, it's a good lense but I expect I'll rarely use it before or after the Games (I got it cheap and may even sell it again after the Games) and the Tokina 100-300 has been test driven on the new camera but I don't expect it will get that much use either.

I am going to be holdaying in Western Austrlia during the wildflower

season and want to take a macro lens with me to (obviously!) record

what I see. I am a "reasonably good" amateur but have no pretense

about my work being saleable, it is to have "good" photos of the

flowers with the hope that a select few may be suitable for enlarging

and framing for my own house. I would like a macro focusing lens that

provides more flexibility than the 1:3 Makinon 300mm mirror lens

(fixed at f5.6) that I currently use, and two lenses that have come

to the top in my reasearch are the Minolta 50mm f3.5 macro + 1:1 tube

and the Vivitar Series 1 90mm f 2.8 + 1:1 tube. What are the benefits

of the shorter / longer focal length in this type of photography and

who has experience with either or both lenses who can offer advice. I

use a Minolta X-570 and a Minolta X-700. Thanks in advance.

My father has just bought a Makina 670 on ebay after having his 67

stolen and is looking for both an owner's guide and a technical

repair type guide. Ideally a pdf or similar but would be happy with a

photocopy if you can help out. Thanks in advance. Also he is having

problems getting the light meter to function, any hints would be

appreciated.