timb196

There are two cameras I refuse to part with: (a) my Minolta 9 and (b) My Minolta XKs. Nuff said!

Tim

I've been pleased also. Some pics do lose the pop a bit but the colors are generally matching to what is sent

 

Tim

I don't think you will get a clear answer from Sony. I doubt that the Sigma is compatible with aSony SSM lens. It

possibly has something to do with the notion that the camera body must know that it has an SSM lens attached and

some how that information is denied. Otherwise the body is going to to try and drive it with the in ln camera motor.T

The A100 should sense that automatically. The Sigma has SSM on one side and body drive on the other and may

not have the smarts to pass this along to the body. How old is the sigma?

 

Sigma has rechipped their lens in the pat because of incompatibility problems with Minolta lenses. I really think the

answer lies in talking to Sigma.

 

The 300 SSM is very new comparatively and was introduced along with the a100 what a couple of years ago. I have

a 300/2.8 G HS which is a non SSM lens and has been around since the mid 90s

I would guess that the issue is incompatibility of the Sigma TC with the Sony lens. A 1.4x would give yu an equivalent aperture of F4 whihc is well within the limits for the AF to work. I presume your Sony 300mm is the oldstyle (i.e not SSM) lens. I use my with both the 1.4x and the 2 x converters but both of those are matched Minolta units and have no problems. You might try calling Sigma and see if there is an issue as Sigma have had past incompatibility issues with Minolts/Sony equipment

 

Cheers

Tim

According to David K over at Photoclub Alpha, the Sony A900 (whatever) will be annouced Sept 9th and go on sale Sept 30th

 

www.photoclubalpha.com

 

I suppose the angst level at Dpreview will pick up now :-)

Tim

The answer is going to come NLT Sept 9th because of Photokina

The answer is going to come NLT Sept 9th or because of Photokina

I suspect the aug 14 is a press only pre relese of the FF DLSR. They will get their hand son it , play with it etc but cannot release anything to the public until after the Sony Sept release. That said, I also expect that Sony will start the release process

Somehow I just don't see a 70-400mm. Maybe a 100-400mm which makes more sense to me. Milke is also right , it would be a Vario Sonnar. Personally I would like to see an updated 28-135 as opposed to a 24-105

 

Tim

I don't know about doing it yourself but I can recommend Essex Camera repair in NJ

Tim

I'd second the Bronica GS-1

Tim

Ah Peter!

First I used the word "may" in my statement. If you choose to find not to find it beneficial or of interest that is up to your judgment not mine. Lastly , I think you miss the point of the article, it is not about pixel size, light gathering ability and ganging chips. It is simply about resolution of an imaging system. It is not about a Grand Theory Of Everything

 

cheers

some of you may find the following link of interest:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/resolution.shtml

 

cheers

Tim

This brings up an nteresting question to me at least! How is the optical performance of the 70-300 G on a film camera? Mine should arrive next week.

 

Any observtions?

Tim

Richard:

I'd like to think this means the A900 is close but not exactly sure that is true. What I think David means is that the A900 will have it's own support infrastructure which hopefully means that Sony recognizes the need for such "silly" things as lens rentals, loaners etc

 

If they are working with exisiting Camera vendors that would be great. Life is getting interesting

 

cheers and a happy/safe weekend

Tim

For those who might be interesetd in the 1900 or whatever it will be called, see

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=28019712

 

 

Interesting, if it comes to pass

 

Tim

Hi:

I have a new NEC2690 with the Spectraview system and was wondering about the

ambient light tool.

 

I understand that it is measuring the ambient but it seems to go on until I tell

it to stop so I wonder whether or not it provides the ambient light data to the

main calibration program. Or does it simply take a long time to complete the

ambient light measurement and calculations? All I ever see is the lux and color

temperature and a "measuring" flicking on again and off.

 

Any insights would be appreciated?

Tim

Richard: I take it you would have to remove the glass in the adapter! If so you would lose infinity focusing or so I think. Is there a link on this mod?

 

I might just give it shot

Thanks

Tim

The Pop Photo tests of 2007 show that only one lens achieved a 4 stop difference and that was a Nikon (I believe the 70-200 VR) and it ranged in stops from 3-4. So in that sense, you are correct Mark. The test showed with the exception of the Pentax system that the in body IS was more consistent than the lens stabilization systems. However, the in body systems were the 2nd generation systems and did not include the Oly e-3 or the the latest Sonys both of which, as I recall had improved stabilization systems (i.e 3rd generation). If you include those , the average between the two system is likely to be much closer. This, I think, is important as the Lenses include the latest generation of In-lens systems. The recall the german mag Foto somthing found no difference and they usually do excellent testing.

 

I've used them both and I cannot see a difference especially since it depends on how good my hands and breathing is on any given day >;-]

 

Tim

Ralph:

All the measurement experiments across the board come in with 2-3 stops. Depending on how stable your hands are ,you might get 4stops. But if you get 4 stops with in lens you would get 4 stops with in body..

All systems are highly dependent on that factor. YMMV

Tim

Juergen:

Pop Photo and other magazines have done side by side comparsions and generally speaking there is no difference between the two systems. Also like the in-body stblization, there are are finite limits to how much movement the lens system can handle. It is a matter of choice

 

Tim

I have both the 58 and the 50/1.2. They are to say the extremely fine lenses but I have never had them converted for use with my A mount stuff or digital. I use them with my XK and SRT 202.

 

They are, like many lenses that fast, a little soft when wide open but around f2 they come into their own. And quite good Bokeh as I recall. I have a 16 x 20 B&W hanging on my wall taken with the 50mm from one of the NY bridges looking down towards the tip of Manhattan on the east side. Very nice contrast! I wouldn't say that I'd give thme up but the price would be very high >:-)

 

Tim

Just to chip in! I think you will find that any comments regarding SSS and the full frame are just speculation and have no foundation in fact..

 

The ex Minolta engineers now at Sony have had over 10 years to figure it out and the actual movement is actually very small. I think it is reasonable to assume that Sony introducing FF SSS will have spent considerable time working out any bugs and testing it. I especially say this since SSS is going in the Flagship camera and clearly you would not want to introduce that camera with a specific reliability/or failure mode.

 

Cheers

Tim

To me the discussion of what constitutes a pro camera gets tedious. It seems to me that by and large the categorization is largely dependent on two things:(a) ads that feature some well known photog using a cano or a nikon and (b) see ing all of those Canons on the sidelines at at NFL game and/or the photojournalist crowd.

 

I recently saw an exhibition where the artist had used exclusively a pinhole camera. At the price he was asking, he ought to be considered a pro and it looked lik he was selling quite a bit.

 

Like it or not the digital age has brought the "gear heads" into the picture and they get enamoured with every bell, gong and whistle there is. Look at the complexity of the IdsIII versus the EOS1v and it is significantly more complicated when you view the technology. The wedding guys are driven by a much more reponsive workflow than with film and cost reduction. That is what digital essentially gives them.

 

The discussion about whether Sony can capture 25% of the DLSR marketplace is indicative of the gearhead versus artist discussion.

 

I was in southeast asia recently on a trip and I was surrounded by digital of all shapes and sizes but when I used my Hassie,I had several people come up and say "what a nice camera" or words to that effect.

 

In my view it simply doesn't matter, what matters is the best image I can produce. I really don't care. I like Sony and until the glass dies or the old Minolta engineers fade away, I suspect I'll stick around. I think that Sony has a committment to producing top flight equipment and unless proven otherwise, I'll stick around

 

Tim

At least in the states, I expect the price to be $3000-$3500, primarily because I think the price/performance standpoint to be at that range. In short, the immediate competor will be the Canon 5d (eithe 1 or II).

 

I would expect to be 6 FPS in ful frame mode and ~10 fps at the ~13 Mp mode with the ability to use APS-C lenses in the cropped mode. I expect also that it will will have improved weather sealing, more cross sendors at the AF frame edges. With regard to multi channel control, that may be embedded in the new flash unit of which little is known.

 

I also suspect that Sony may have improved QC or even "cherry pick" the sensor based on low noise characteristics. It would be interesting to know what type of yield they project they will get. I base this on Sony ads for PMA which stated "stunning image quality". I do not expect Sony to change the parallel A/D circuitry of the basic chip design from the A700. I'm sure they are aware of the inherent interest in "low noise charactistics". I would not be surpised to see an advanced version of the DRO chip embedded in the camera. It may also have increased number of AF points but I don't expect to see 45+. I expect that it will have improved Dynamic Range to the point of maybe handling 10 stops of range.

 

With regard to pro versus "flagship", I'm not sure that the definitions are not in the eye of the beholder. If you define pro as being the requirements set by the photojournalist, then maybe it is not a pro level, If you define flagship as a camera suited for several styles such as portrait, nature, and action etc then maybe it can be defined as a "pro" level.I'm not interested in a camera designed specifically for photojournalism. Hassie has been considered a "pro" level camera even though it really is limted in drive speed options. ( at least in the circles I travel in).

 

Lastly I'm not clear on what Ellis is referring to as which of the options David postulates is a certainty. I suspect they will not develop their own design but certainly may have Sony make some changes to suit their interfaces within the camera architecture.

 

I think that Sony is going down the path of designing the "flagship" and all subsequent variations of having the capability to eliminate Post processing as a necessity and placing all control in the hands of the photog at the point of the image capture

 

I would like to see multi-point spot metering metering capability aka my Canon EOS-1v.

 

For all I know at this point, the sensor itself may incorporate on board processing which Nikon will not have access to. Based on volume, the factory may have the capability to produce two seperate production lines.

 

Only time will tell! About the only things we know for certain are: 24.6 MP and full frame SSS.

 

Tim