ivo_stankus

The Alpha 100 is a very decent camera for it's price point.

 

The new Sony lenses are as good as Minolta's. The new Zeiss 85/1.4 built by Sony is even better than the G predecessor.

 

Sony has managed to sell some 300 thousand DSLRs between July and December a secure 6% of the market share in 6 months. I would say that that's positive news.

Nah, the vague statements caused quite a stir, and I know of a few people who decided to stay with the KM/Sony system just because of it. There is quite a few speculations going around, but more important than that is the fact that now we know Sony is going to take the SLR market seriously. Have you seen the pics of the new lenses? The way it's looking we can expect anything from superwide prime Zeiss lenses to a 400/2.8 lens. There is probably a new 17-35, and 24-70/2.8 coming up, a 200/4 Macro, a 300/4 and definetly an 18-250 zoom too. I hold my fingers crossed, but I believe that in a year or two, the Minolta system is going to be in a better shape than it was since the late 80s. :]

Jimmy Smith -> Watched the video. The camera in the center looks like the A100, the new models are on the flanks.

Despite the lack of any specific information on the models, I am very excited. My doubts that Sony is not taking the SLR market seriously, and that they have abandoned the Minolta legacy have (almost) evaporated. It may take a long time before we see the final product, but I like what I see so far. The pictures do seem a bit vague regarding the new lenses, and I wish someone had taken more detailed photos, but some photos look very interesting. Is that a 300/4 SSM lens I see? A Zeiss 24-70/2.8?

Well, finally some fuel for the rumour game :)

 

This was taken at PMA today:

 

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/gallery/4/2007/03/thumb800x800_414805997_

dc0adefd65_o.jpg

 

No specs, or info except that we should see both the "high amateur" model, and

the "flagship" model by the end of this year.

 

They both look beautiful to my eyes (though they are obviously non-working

prototypes). Especially the high end model with the huge, oldschool prism looks

sexy. Actually both cameras look very much Minolta.

 

 

Time to buy the piggy bank and star saving!

 

Other pics are at http://www.gizmodo.com

I guess it's the same sensor as the one in the D200 so IQ should be excellent. If you look at the lenses being made available now to go on sale with the A100, and at the lenses that will be available in September - Novemeber (the prime, G, and Zeiss lenses) I guess we could speculate that a semi-pro/pro camera is being prepared for an autumn release. Other than that, I think this will stir water in the consumer oriented market. Specification and feature-wise, this camera is a serious competitor in the most lucrative segment of the market, and that's Sony's primary aim.

I think all the lenses (including the Zeiss lenses) are made by Sony. They wouldn't list third party products on their site, the lenses carry the Sony and Zeiss labels, the Vario-Tessar zoom carries a DT designation - which indicate APS-C use and perhaps a hybrid Zeiss/Sony(Minolta) design. The Planar 85/1.4 looks specs-wise nothing like the existing versions of the lens, but instead looks more like the Minolta 85/1.4 G, but does have different construction. Is it the redesigned "G"?

<a href =

"http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?CategoryName=&ProductSKU=DSLRA100K&TabName=feature&var2=">

Click Here.

 

</a>

 

 

 

It lists the specs, price, and availability for the new cam, and lists the new

lenses too.

 

So, the Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135/1.8 was not a typo after all. This, the fact the

Zeiss lenses are AF (unlike the ZF series for Nikon), and the fact that a very

specialised lens like the 135 STF got ressurected is the biggest suprise (a good

one) regarding the lenses for me. Notable is also the lack of classics like a

fast zoom in the 28-75 range, and a few others, but Sony has stated they will be

releasing new lenses continually so we'll probably see them by next year.

There's a list and pictures of the new lenses over at dpreview too. Some classics -like the 135 STF, and 35/1.4 G make a comeback, while favourites like a 28-75/2.8, 200/2.8 or the 100-300 zoom have not (yet) made the list. The images look a little photoshoped in some cases, but I think that the info is still legitimate. Also, there's two Zeiss lenses mentioned - the 85/1.4 Planar, and a very interesting 135/1.8 Sonnar. The jury is still out as to whether the second lens designation is a typo, or is for real (and represents a new Zeiss design).

Sony owns both part of Tamron, and a minor part of KM's lens manufacturing capacities, so the new lenses will come from both of these sources. The Sakai plant that made the early AF lenses, then the G series lenses and also acted as an R&D center has moved to China, and is still partially owned by KM as well as the lens plant in Malaysia (that's the 51% Michael was speaking of). The transfer was also the reason why there was such a shortage of top glass from KM even before the January announcement, the new Chinese plant started making lenses only at the beginning of this year if I remember correctly. KM did make a majority of their own lenses. They bought raw optical glass from Zeiss (I think), but heavily modified it themselves - and were/are really good at it as they made a succesful business of making specialty glass for other manufacturers. Flashes - KM, Nikon, Canon, Sony etc (Metz is the most notable exception) are all made by the Matsushita (Panasonic) corporation so I don't think much will change in the near future, except maybe the hot-shoe. As for light meters, they were under photographic accessories on the KM site and as such are now marked as discontinued, just like film scanners - which is sad as both were top quality product lines.

A good, free, and mature bitmap editor is GIMP, and you can get it over at http://www.gimp.org

 

As for emulating film, well, I'm not sure. You may not like to hear it, but I think the best way is to just use both media - digital, and film. Each has it's own benefits. You can get a Minolta film body really cheap these days, and slide film has one huge advantage. Try projecting a Velvia or Provia on even a white wall using a cheap slide projector (I got my Braun for about $20), and you'll be amazed at the amount of detail, the 3D like appearence, and the beautiful saturated colors. And you can still go a few levels up in quality if you use a dedicated projection screen, and some really good lens for the projector. Digital projection has still a long way to go... That's one of the reasons (the other is fun with B&W photography) why I like film so much. The other thing is that since the late 80's the quality of film emulsions has gone way up, so I strongly suggest that you pick up a roll of film today instead of spending time infront of the computer screen trying to emulate it :)

Chad, if you want a brand new 17-35/3.5 G let me know, I know of a one for meagre $2500 :)

Except for strong barrel distortion at the short end and some CA I really liked the Sigma 15-30 zoom, it's very sharp for an ultrawide. If 20mm would have been sufficient, I would recommend looking for the older Tokina 20-35. But overall, I found the KM/Tamron 17-35 a decent lens on both fullframe, and cropped digital.

It's a bit odd. Try playing with the custom settings (though I don't know how that works on the 700si with it's expansion cards). On the 800si there are several settings connected to the eye-start function, so maybe the problem is there. On the 800si I'm thinking of the custom function 7 that activates the Eye start via either the handgrip, or automatically when the camera is turned on - perhaps that's the culprit? I think you can still download the 700si manual from the US KM site (if you don't have one).

I'm not exactly a "birder", but for birding (or wildlife in general) I have never heard of anyone complaining to have a lens too long. I think a 300mm lens on a APS-C camera, or maybe a 400mm lens on a 35mm cam would be the minimum. So from the maxxum lineup that would make it the 300/4, 300/2.8, 400/4.5, 600/4.5, or one of the longer zooms (the first version of the 70-300, the 100-300 APO, or the 100-400 APO). As for third party lenses, the Tamron 200-500 for example has good reputation, and I've seen some stunning images taken with it (and it's quite cheap too). I'm sure there's many other options as well.

As far as I know Sony is not participating at CeBit this year, so for any news, I guess we're going to have to wait till April or maybe even summer...

I remember seeing a 600/4 for sale at KEH.com and on ebay a few weeks back, but they disappeared rather quickly. They went for around $4000 each if I'm correct. I think there exists a previous version (non-DG) of the 500/4.5 Sigma lens in KM mount, and the new version should be available in KM mount too - or at least it says so on the Sigma site.

Chad - I asked the same question a while back, and still have no idea. Both flash meters and film scanners were areas where Minolta excelled and had a large part of the market, and I still think there is a profitable market for these items. Think of all the negatives and slides that people will want to digitaly archive - that's decades worth of work. And flasmeters are needed tools as well...

 

Personally, I'm getting more confused about the current situation, and somehow I think that KM has not quit the camera business completely, though they'll definetly quit marketing any cameras. They may lay this burden on others (Sony), share part of the profit, not get any credit for it, but still somehow continue to make excellent photographic tools. Remember the Minolta/Leitz "cooperation"? KM has sold only parts of it's photo business, not the whole thing, they still hold on to such strategic assets as optical glass manufacture, they still own a major share of the lens manufacturing plant, and I don't think they sold any of their important patents on AS, auto focus, etc. (though I have no idea if this is true or not). Maybe they'll become an OEM manufacturer for others? Panasonic makes most of the external flashes for all the major camera makers, Tamron and Sigma make a large number of lenses for others too, so why not KM? They could still make lots of money this way...

Regarding the Tokinas, the older F2.6-2.8 version of the zoom lens has slightly better reputation than the newer F2.8 version. Both are great, and their only fault is that they are a bit flare prone. They're also typical Tokinas - built like a tank, and heavy, but I always considered that to be an advantage.

Panic? I have never seen such demand for new Minolta gear. Thanks to the clearing prices, the 5D, 7D and even the film 7 are quickly selling out in most places where I live - even people who previously owned the Canon 300D are switching over :) I'm pretty sure the demand for lenses will go up too. I just hope Sony is quick to pick up the torch...

 

On another note, the presentation of the latest KM financial results shows one interesting thing - thanks to the sale of DSLRs the photoimaging division became profitable once again! A bit too late though...

I think the latest CZ announcement mentioned that the lenses will be made available in the M42 screw mount as well later on, so there's no reason to make them in the A mount too.

That's hard to say! For what purpose? For portraiture for example there's the awesome, and extremely rare 135/2, the more common 85/1.7 (both the MC or the MD version), or the 58/1.2. But the truth is there's a lot of excellent Rokkor lenses out there, it's quite hard to pick "the best".

No, I meant new. Though I see that thanks to the KM cleareance, the D50 dropped in price as well, so now the D50 is slightly ($600 for the D50, $670 for the 7D) cheaper - and I think this is taking place pretty much all over Europe.

No question about image quality. I don't know if this is happening elsewhere too, but where I live the 5D and 7D are basically the cheapest DSLR's on the market right now (the 7D costs less than the Nikon D50), so I wouldn't hesitate.

The one I used didn't exhibit any problem for the period of about 12 weeks I had it - be it backfocus, flash exposure problems etc. It was a new camera, and probably from one of the earliest batches to have appeared on the European market. I'm not the owner, but as far as I know there has been no problem with the camera since day one, and I have not heard of anyone from close vicinity having such problems either...