unohuu

Carlin you have some reliable vintage Minolta SLR on your hands. Question is whether or not you want to make a mint or pass it on to someone who intends to use it.

thank you all for the wonderful responses. i look forward to exploring some of the venues and avenues. i will bring back at least one keeper from this trip. i will make time to find one.

I am going to be in San Diego for a week in early June. Besides Sea

World and the ocean, what are some other points of interest that

might be worth exploring while there? I want some remote quiet spot

and want to avoid crowds like the plague. I prefer scenics and

landscapes, some macro and some documentary style photo images. Any

assistance is greatly appreciated. Especially if you know of

festivals or events that might make the trip interesting for me and

the family. Thanks in advance.

I have heard good things about John Titterington as well. You can find more information about him here: <http://www.geocities.com/~titterington/camera-repair/> and I have also heard great reports but mixed reviews regarding timeliness about Mark Hama in Atlanta, GA area.

Carsten, you select the focus point that is most important in terms of the metering using the toggling switch on the back of the camera. it really is an amazing tool once you learn the controls.

Michael, I was sure you were right, but curiosity drove me to the basement and my 28-135mm is also 4-4.5. It is the old beast, the "secret handshake of Minolta owners".

Michael, I was sure you were right, but curiosity drove me to the basement and my 28-135mm is also 4-4.5. It is the old beast, the "secret handshake of Minolta owners.

My SR-7 has MLU and needs the battery only for the rudimentary meter it has. I was thinking of selling it one day when I looked at the beautifully designed pentaprism and fell in love with the camera all over again. I will keep it for long exposures and some macro work.

Jesse, as someone who is also comparing and looking at Minolta telephoto lenses, I strongly suggest you skip the zoom route and shoot for a prime. At long distances that would require a 300mm lens, you would most probably want to have a fast lens. At the 300mm range right now you can spend $2000 for the f/2.8 version Minolta, about 3/4 that for a third party lens. For about $600 you can get the Minolta f/4 and about 7/8 of that for a Sigma or Tokina lens. I am hoping for the 200mm HS APO version for about $400 and wisely considering the 1.4 teleconverter to make it an f/4 lens. I think you should shop around with the camera and think about what you are going to be shooting. Sports- faster lens the better; wildlife - faster lens would give you more range with quick moving animals and birds in shadows, etc. Just one Minolta lover's opinion.

Paul, there is a great wealth of resources from which to choose. eBay of course, Adorama, KEH, BHPhoto and Video to name a few. The Minolta manual focus cameras use a standard bayonet mount. There are lenses available for very reasonable prices. I have primes for my cameras from 24mm through 500mm mirror. Check out the ads here on this site as well.

Miguel, register my vote for the 135mm. I have all the primes in the MF range you describe, but only one in the AF range. I think that many think the 135mm is too long for portraits but I think they are wrong...of course I do not have a studio and that is an important factor.

Minolta Hi-Matic 7 and an Olympus C4000Z

Mike,

 

i will take one...

 

Lucius

 

and I will contact you with mailing address.

I just purchased this sigma lens. it has a botton on the barrel and

i am assuming this is a kind of focus limiter switch or perhaps a

manual to AF switch. Can you help me. using it with Minolta AF;

STsi, 650si, 800si and Maxxum 7.

I am searching for a long macro lens for Minolta Maxxum. I know

that Sigma makes a few 180mm lenses, but I want to avoid

compatibilitiy issues with Maxxum 78. Question simply put is are

there other 3rd party manufacturers that make a long macro lens?

I have a chance to buy a 180mm macro (Sigma). My question is

simple. If primary use is for macro, would the f5.6 or f3.5 work

since most of the images would need more DOF? I understand the f2.8

might give me a brighter focusing area, but is that advantage enough

for simple macro use? using Maxxum 7, 650si and 800si.

 

Pt 2- Anyone aware of the mythical and real Sigma compatibility

problems with a Maxxum (Dynax or Alpha) 7?