greg_heil1

Buying an A100 is like buying a film camera that could only take ISO1600 film. Sure it shoots high resolution but that high resolution has the shadows of 1600 film, full of grainy unsaturated color. Buying a 7D is like buying a ISO 400 film camera which can be pushed to 3200. Sure the 3200 looks grainier than the A100 at normal ISO's but it is useable, and available. With the A100 you CANNOT change the sensor, as though you could not change the film on this hypothetical film camera. You are stuck with a grainy, insensitive, old style film. You can not on the 7D either, but at least the baseline was much more useable print wise and had much more extendability, pushability, into the shadows than the tiny grains of the new sensor: which are much more like on/off switches, grainy yes/no there is light or not, sensors.

 

If you want to uprez, it is far and away better to start with a clean image, even if low resolution, and then get a good interpolator: eg Qimage or Genuine Fractal, or even that built into the new CS2 version of Photoshop. If you start with an A100 image you have noise in the shadows which will not expand well and you have gone beyond what all but the most expensive glass will give you even in the good light, well exposed areas of your pic. The A100 is for someone who is not at all interested in latitude. No latitude for size expansion, color manipulation, DR push/pulling ... no latitude at all.

 

Someday, maybe when Sony has finished divvying up the market into the segments it wants, there may be a camera with the features in an A100, nice anti dust, better AS etc, but with a better color higher sensitivity sensor like the venerable 6MP. But i would hope by that time there were a better feature set available. And it won't be untill Sony has reached the saturation that allows it to find niche markets, like Canon can afford to now.

 

Sure the magazine comparisons all say it is OK. But what are they comparing it to? The whole current generation is 10MP ... because guess what, the major supplier is ... Sony! Canon followed along cause it easily can, just lay down extra MP on the same piece of sand, no big trick. Besides they got their share of the Megapixel ninnie market that way. Thanks for making the market Mr Sony.

 

You can go to Pentax though. The K100D is a really good option if you want a new warrantable camera. You just have to sell off your lenses to the Megapixel ninnies who stay with Sony. There will be plenty of those. Sony knows where they can create new markets, by refusing to give us what we need. Or you can scrounge for one of the very few remaining 5D/7D new cameras, and hope there is a future for your glass. And expect a refusal to maintain them by the monopolist, hey where is the profit in keeping old farts in their old cameras?

 

Puting my actions in line with my words i bought a 7D backup of one of the last new 5D's available, and got a 3 year warranty extension.You cannot get a 5D or 7D with warranty anymore, hardly. Kinda sad, but i do not see any new technology backup coming in those 4 years that i can start transitioning toward. i have to stay with 2005 technology if i do not want to go downhill from ISO 400 film.

 

The technology is there. Japan Inc could make the hypothetical EVIL camera anytime. Undoubtedly there are plenty of prototypes running around the mountain slopes of Japan. But marketing wise there are many more dollars to be squeezed this way. Besides who would want to mess up the nice, lucrative, high definition video market with cheap replaceable lens cameras? Replace a 6 figure market with a 4 figure market? Go figure. They will string this one out a long ways before they let someone break those ranks.

 

Proof? There is no video version of the R1. There is no follow on to the Ax series - from any manufacturer. No one will be serious and sell us an EVIL camera. It would break to many markets. They would have to be really independent of those markets and of suppliers who have dealings in those markets. They are all ready in case someone breaks ranks though. Make money even when it means destroying the old. That is the law. But do not destroy the old unless forced. That is why we mandate competition when the people can force the legislation. We just don't have enough now. No competition, the foxes own the hen house. The hens cannot get it together to make a competitor.

 

What you read this far? You should have stopped 10 paragraphs ago. Either you disagreed and were fine with what Japan Inc puts out, or you agreed and there is no point repeating the screed. One way or the other it is but the dodderings of an old fool. And you are young with new things to learn, and money to burn.

Pau Gowder wrote:<br/>

<i>> The KM 28-75 f2.8 D, Sigma 28-70 f2.8 EX, or the Minolta 28-70 G. Obviously the G is probably the best. But what about the other two? Which is better? Sharper?</i>

<p/> You can go to <a href="http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7365">Dyxum</a> for a review in pictures. Personally if i was not concerned about a fast aperture, the 28-135 is the winner all around. i had a Sigma of this designation and was not that much impressed. The G lens is well worth its G designation, but was too rich for my blood, so i had to sell it.

There is a certain frequency regime where mirror lockup becomes a real issue. Not sure where it is but you could be well into it. Perhaps the M7 with true lockup will help:) Another thing to get out of the regime is to throw more light on the subject so you can shoot faster:) Eg a <a href="http://fuzzcraft.fuzzphoto.eu/ringlight2.html">ring light</a>... Unless you have a very patient subject focusing rails and long exposures are a pain...

 

<p/>Hey, i got one of those neato lenses;) but it came with a Minolta "Focussing Rail" and Auto Bellows I set, as well as slide and platform attachments. It will do the job of focussing but there is nothing like the speed of light (flash) to get over the frequency and time issues:)

Jed Said<br/>

<i>>Has anyone used the Sigma 24mm f2.8? Hate going off-brand, but might be a better option. If I get a 24mm Minolta lens, I suppose I could just pick up a decent used on off Ebay and see if I like it. Always could just re-sell it if I don't.</i><p/>

If you want a really good lens go for the Sigma 24f1.8...

Interesting i have a <a href=

"http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4775&PID=37628#37628">400f5.6</a>

which may be of the oldest vintage, non APO ... but it works fine with my 7D and 9, but fails on my 7. i do believe the issue is mechanical, not electronic: the hole that accepts the focus drive screw is a teensy small and may well block some. By a little reaming it should work fine. Love it to bits:-) It is SO tidy and small - 72mm filter thread builtin hood & tripod mount. No focus hold button.

<i>> Hey, Sony/Minolta-folks, why don't WE do this?: <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00I5AR&unified_p=1">M8 discussion</a></i>

 

<br/><br/>i supppose if Konica, Minolta, Sony, or whoever else comes along to join the α club (please, Please PLEASE Someone else soon! Sony frightens the heck out of me.) ever puts out a camera named M8 ... they would deserve that kind of thread;-)

<i>> I have the Minolta DiMAge 7-A-series and love it and carry one everywhere all the time and shoot everything. I wish it had more than 28-200mm equivalent ... 300mm would be nice, especially with stabilization / anti shake in the A-series, and though it's small enough for me, the Panasonic / Leica DMC-TX1 "tizzy" is a marvel - using a COMBINATION of folded and direct optics to get 10x in a very thin camera -- very clever!</i>

 

<p/>my fannypack has my wallet, an A1, a .7X and a 1.7X giving me a 17X zoom range wherever i walk, drive, or bus to ... with AS, superb ergonomics, excellent raw support, fast and rapid fire repeat response, and good IQ with good light sensitivity and DR. Had it for 3 years now, don't know what everyone is complaining about. You can pick these up off eBay for maybe $300.

 

<p/>Plenty of room left in the fanny pack for diopters, small tripod, filters, even a reversed lens macro ... who could imagine carrying such a kit even with a loaded back pack? But i can carry it, and do, any and everywhere.

 

<p/>Sony could make the same exact thing again and everyone would gasp, "what a wonder, how did they dream that marvel up?".

Sony could easily bring out a FF competitor chip to Canons. The key is getting the volume up to keep one of the expensive imager machines busy with the single chip, so it does not need to be scrubbed down to alternate to another useage. Sony has the advantage of Nikon and Pentax as customers. Nikon being particularly valuable as a component supplier with expertise. Nikon could either lead as they did with the D2X and bring it out first, followed by Sony and Pentax (who is clearly interested in larger formats, witness the 645...) Or Sony could do the usual lead out. The key would be to follow up, when the ramp up was completed, with a 5D competitor: the same chip, perhaps dumbed down in SW, but pumped out in a declass consumerized commodity body. If all three did it they would have no trouble finding enough market to keep that fab line busy.

 

The problem is that such a chip scenario would not give the consumer much choice in the really important low light sensitivity/dynamic range functionality. It would be easy to build in functionality like multiple readout lines, caches etc which were turned (or selected for in reject lots) on or off giving the appearance of choice. Just getting enough market for keeping a single fab line busy would be hard enough in that rarified price range niche which so far only the Canon 5D has managed to occupy. So if Low light sensitivity is important to all you FF wannabes, now is the time to let Sony know - O/w you can be sure the marketers know that megapixel mania rules.

 

Cheap APS sized chips are relatively cheap to make alternate designs for, so low light shooters have at least some hope that some companies will continue to support their niche (as Pentax appears to be doing with its K10D).

Robert

 

Nice diagnostics, i'll get a film bag, extract the film and look into that!

Robert

 

Hmm may have made some difference, it now whirs when the grip is connected but quickly goes back to flashing the battery and not giving any other LCD feedback. While my Lithium 2CR5 lights up the LCD with HELP. Putting the 2CR5 in the grip is completely dead, though fine in the body. Different contacts there but cleaned everything that i can see. There is one gold contact deep in the grip that is hard to get at... might be a problem.

 

Any pointers on the mid roll jam issue?

Of course! There is the perfect matching place. How could i have missed it. Peter, you are a treasure of a resource.

 

Now i just have to figure out why it jams halfway through a roll. The newly fit grip does not seem to give it more power, in fact does not even hardly light it up, though i place the same battery in as drives the 650 straight up. With the grip in place i only get a low battery signal not the help message and accompanying whir of attempted rewind.

i picked up a vc-507/600 grip the other day fully expecting it to work fine on

my 650si. It mates perfectly except the battery door, there is no slot in the

grip for it to tuck into when open. Apparently one is supposed to remove the

door, but i don't see a place to tuck it away for keeping..? Are you supposed to

lose it and create a market for replacements?-)

 

Anyway the reason i picked up the grip is the camera is having trouble getting

more than half way through a roll. Right now it is on shot nine and is flashing

HELP on its LCD. New batteries, Alkalines didn't do the trick:( Inserting them

in makes a noise like it is trying to wind then that stops and the camera won't

focus etc.

 

Any repair manuals? There was a list of pointers to such at one point but with

Minoltas demise they all seem to be dead links:( i have a real need for this one

and also for a badly ailing 7D.

<i>> I won't mention LCD PREVIEW or MOVIES ... oops - I mentioned them! ;-)</i><p/>

Peter, That was evil, just plain EVIL.

Norrie

 

72 & 77 refer to the filter sizes. Likely the front lens for both is the same but i'd guess the 72mm version used less metal in the barrel with the smaller diameter. mine sure is light, almost like a mirror lens but way faster. This lens is old enough to be past warranty and was cheap enough (for me) not to worry too much about what happens if it breaks.

Robert

<br/>

<i>>If it's the old grey or green version - there is a very good chance that it will not work on the 7D (I don't have a film 7 so I can't comment).</i>

<br/>

i picked up an "old grey" version. And i love it on my 7D:-) It is a nice small tidy 72mm versus the newer versions which are 77mm's and heavier. Seems to work a charm on the 7D and my M9 as well. It does have a problem on my M7 however. The focussing just whirs and never focuses. i believe the problem is that the hole the AF screw needs to insert into is a tad small. i have seen this documented for other lenses. It is but a small amount of reaming that needs to be done to enlarge that hole and allow the drive shaft to insert and do its duty. No electronic issues. my 650si is away at the moment, check with me in a week and i can report on that ... but as i say it is only a small tolerance issue, nothing electronic.

<i>> I have a 7D, and will not get another one, not when a higher pixel version is coming out.</i>

 

<p/>Now that is what i like to hear! If everyone dumps their old, low megapixel, models i could scoop them up and form a whole school of apprentices shooting low light venues using the very best cameras yet made for the purpose! And i will have no competition as everyone else will be holding expensive new toys with a stop or two less low light performance. And by their buying patterns they will be convincing Japan Inc that there is no market for quality sensors, only for high megapixel counts. my school will be the only photogs competitive in flash free low light venues. No one else will only be able to get sharper images without buying G class glass, even in good light, while my students can choose from a raft of legacy lenses, now much cheaper. They will shoot faster and more efficiently into smaller storage and processing equipment suites. Now that's a plan!

 

<p/>i knew there had to be <b>some</b> upside to Sony's idiocy. Being the contrarian has such sweet payoffs. my only worry is Pentax/Samsung may succeed in creating competitors for my school and supply them with a continuing stream of new technology well suited to low light work, using even less expensive glass.

 

<p/>Well, by your kind donations the future may yet belong to Minoltians! Be happy to provide the mailers for your tired old machines, maybe tax write offs too.

How important is the lens? It looks like Pete Ganzel is gearing up to make it a lot easier to <a href="http://www.network54.com/Forum/259791/thread/1147671566">convert</a> the good uns!

<i>greg wrote:<p/>

> The MD/MC lenses are all pretty much useless as they all require a TC adaptor with at least 1.2X and some loss of light from the smallish lens in the adaptors</i><p/>

Looks like i may have spoken too soon. Seems Pete Ganzel has <a href="http://www.pbase.com/pganzel/58mm_f12_rokkor__on_maxxum_7d]gallery">made</a> a lenseless adapter with infinity focus!

Doug

 

Thanks. An informative survey. You did not mention Tamron Adaptalls ... are they good options? i have been collecting M42's for use on my 7D. The MD/MC lenses are all pretty much useless as they all require a TC adaptor with at least 1.2X and some loss of light from the smallish lens in the adaptors:( Eg my 58f1.4 becomes about a 70f2 with a 105mm FOV on APS. i am considering using a lensless adapter for indoor work where infinity is not needed. Looking around i see faster options available in M42 too, though at a somewhat higher price. Eg the Russian lenses.

i really "enjoyed" your D55 joke, made me cry all day wishing it were true!

 

The Oly mount is marvelous in out canoning Canon! i might even buy into it if someday they lose the mirror altogether. i picked up a Meteor 5-1 17-69f1.9 in M42 mount which unfortunately protrudes so far in that any mirror would clash with it. But its speed and image circle should be just about marvelous for a 4/3 non reflex camera.

Pete Ganzel was apparently interested in trying to decipher that, see this <a href="http://www.network54.com/Forum/151930/message/1129852599/">post on Bryans forum.</a> i doubt he got very far as i have not heard further about it, though i did send him some numbers on occasion.

Bill<br/>

Would indeed be interesting to know ... if Sony were willing to stand up and publically say they weren't going to say anything. Probably that same thread, asking David, would be the appropriate place. Sony seems to quite prefer the quiet approach though: apparently they gave Kiklop (dyxum.com) a lot of reassurance directly as well, a month or so ago. As i said <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00FXuU&tag=200603070903">before</a>

Chad Marek wrote:<br/>

<i>Three reasons why I believe this</i><br/><br/>

Sigh, i <b>WISH</b> i could believe this... but click on the distributors link at the bottom...

Rokkor Fan wrote:

<a href="http://www.rokkorfiles.com">Seagull D55</a><br/><br/>

A very elaborate an welcome April 1st posting! Would be nice if it were true. Note that one of the interesting lens lines that has a <b>Longer</b> registration distance than MF ... is MA! That would be a kick to have adapters to fit AF lenses.

Bill Thorlin wrote:<br/>

<i>the source for the comments.</i><br/>

David Kilpatrick pasted that direct from the in press Minolta Photoworld. He has about the best connections of anyone who regularly posts to DPReview, as editor of that UK mag. What is missing is the why of the delay...