Confession

[Brownie]

I have a confession to make.

Since February 7, none of the images I've posted are from an E-Mount Sony.

They are from an A-Mount camera.

But....

Not a Sony.

They are from my newly acquired Minolta Maxxum 5D, with 6...count 'em, 6 whole megapixels of fantastic CCD sensor. Lenses were all Minolta and varied from day to day.

The recent bird images were all taken with the 500mm f/8 Reflex AF.

Birds - Birds Non-BIF Thread - Post Your Shots Here

Yes it's always painful listening to someone justify their herd mentality. Could just say 'I seen five birds I haven't seen before', and all parties would know exactly what it means. The other week we were searching through these shrubs for wrens when a lady walked past and said 'oh you must be...

www.alphashooters.com

Light was a challenge so some were at ISO 400. Even at that I couldn't get the shutter speed fast enough. Think about that in context: A 20 year-old sensor with a 30+ year old lens, and a reflex at that. If you've never shot a reflex you should try one. The older/experienced guys know what they're like.

So 750mm equivalence on a camera body sporting the world's first IBIS. Supposedly 3 stops, I think closer to 1/2 or 1 stop, shooting at shutter speeds below the focal length. Yeah, some were soft. Not surprising. One thing 6MP will do is make you think. There's not a lot of room to crop so you compose in the viewfinder instead of depending on pixels. Any cropping on these shots was for minor adjustments. Large crops don't hold up well and pixelating happens early. I have to say though I was pleasantly surprised at how well the old sensor handled ISO 400.

The view from the office shots and sunrise shot was with the fantastic 28-135, as were the majority of shots from Took a Walk.

A view from the office

This is part of what I see through my office window. Could be a lot worse!

www.alphashooters.com

Took a walk

Beautiful day here especially for this time of the year. Went for a walk with no particular subject in mind. A little window art, some landscapes, etc.

www.alphashooters.com

The two exceptions were the helicopter, which was the 100-400 APO, a lens that I struggle with. Sometimes it's fantastic and sometimes it's not. A real conundrum. The military monument is the other, made with the 85/1.4.

The boxcar shots were made with the most expensive of my A-Mounts, the venerable 80-200/2.8 APO HS G.

Trains - Saw this old boxcar

This car had been on a siding in another town for years. I kept meaning to stop and take some shots, but it disappeared. Next thing I know it shows up on a siding in my town, figured it must mean something, so I made the effort.

www.alphashooters.com

All of these lenses are excellent examples of Minolta's beautiful color rendering. Most will suffer from some CA due to the coatings, but that's expected.

I've had a lot of fun with the challenges of the old technology. We tend to forget what it was like and just how much things have improved in what's really a very short period. I suspect in 20 years someone will be saying the same thing about the current crop of cameras. This is a nice inexpensive diversion, and even less costly if you already own some lenses. Interesting to note, the combination of the camera and 28-135 cost less than $200 in today's market. A lot of fun for low dollars.

There were times when I wish I had been better armed. This shot would've been a beauty with one of the Sonys and the 200-600. Certainly would've withstood a crop to make the hawk appear closer. I was astonished though at how much detail I was able to recover in the feathers, the camera had metered for the bright sky and the hawk was quite a ways off.

PICT0016 by telecast, on Flickr

The camera is capable of 3 frames per second in burst mode. I didn't use it much, but I did try it out on a kid going by on a moped. All of the shots were surprisingly in focus.

This is my new EDC. I'll swap out for the Sonys once in a while and use them for more critical stuff, of course, but I'll be using this camera to take when going to work or just for some walk around fun.

Oh, and the best part? It's a camera. NO VIDEO!

 

[Deleted Member 5045]

We need to do a 2023 version of this...

Usher - Confessions, Pt. II

Watch the official music video for "Confessions, Pt. II" by Usher Listen to Usher: https://Usher.lnk.to/listenYDSubscribe to the official Usher YouTube chann...

m.youtube.com

 

[spudhead]

I have a confession to make.

Since February 7, none of the images I've posted are from an E-Mount Sony.

They are from an A-Mount camera.

But....

Not a Sony.

They are from my newly acquired Minolta Maxxum 5D, with 6...count 'em, 6 whole megapixels of fantastic CCD sensor. Lenses were all Minolta and varied from day to day.

The recent bird images were all taken with the 500mm f/8 Reflex AF.

Birds - Birds Non-BIF Thread - Post Your Shots Here

Yes it's always painful listening to someone justify their herd mentality. Could just say 'I seen five birds I haven't seen before', and all parties would know exactly what it means. The other week we were searching through these shrubs for wrens when a lady walked past and said 'oh you must be...

www.alphashooters.com

Light was a challenge so some were at ISO 400. Even at that I couldn't get the shutter speed fast enough. Think about that in context: A 20 year-old sensor with a 30+ year old lens, and a reflex at that. If you've never shot a reflex you should try one. The older/experienced guys know what they're like.

So 750mm equivalence on a camera body sporting the world's first IBIS. Supposedly 3 stops, I think closer to 1/2 or 1 stop, shooting at shutter speeds below the focal length. Yeah, some were soft. Not surprising. One thing 6MP will do is make you think. There's not a lot of room to crop so you compose in the viewfinder instead of depending on pixels. Any cropping on these shots was for minor adjustments. Large crops don't hold up well and pixelating happens early. I have to say though I was pleasantly surprised at how well the old sensor handled ISO 400.

The view from the office shots and sunrise shot was with the fantastic 28-135, as were the majority of shots from Took a Walk.

A view from the office

This is part of what I see through my office window. Could be a lot worse!

www.alphashooters.com

Took a walk

Beautiful day here especially for this time of the year. Went for a walk with no particular subject in mind. A little window art, some landscapes, etc.

www.alphashooters.com

The two exceptions were the helicopter, which was the 100-400 APO, a lens that I struggle with. Sometimes it's fantastic and sometimes it's not. A real conundrum. The military monument is the other, made with the 85/1.4.

The boxcar shots were made with the most expensive of my A-Mounts, the venerable 80-200/2.8 APO HS G.

Trains - Saw this old boxcar

This car had been on a siding in another town for years. I kept meaning to stop and take some shots, but it disappeared. Next thing I know it shows up on a siding in my town, figured it must mean something, so I made the effort.

www.alphashooters.com

All of these lenses are excellent examples of Minolta's beautiful color rendering. Most will suffer from some CA due to the coatings, but that's expected.

I've had a lot of fun with the challenges of the old technology. We tend to forget what it was like and just how much things have improved in what's really a very short period. I suspect in 20 years someone will be saying the same thing about the current crop of cameras. This is a nice inexpensive diversion, and even less costly if you already own some lenses. Interesting to note, the combination of the camera and 28-135 cost less than $200 in today's market. A lot of fun for low dollars.

There were times when I wish I had been better armed. This shot would've been a beauty with one of the Sonys and the 200-600. Certainly would've withstood a crop to make the hawk appear closer. I was astonished though at how much detail I was able to recover in the feathers, the camera had metered for the bright sky and the hawk was quite a ways off.

PICT0016 by telecast, on Flickr

The camera is capable of 3 frames per second in burst mode. I didn't use it much, but I did try it out on a kid going by on a moped. All of the shots were surprisingly in focus.

This is my new EDC. I'll swap out for the Sonys once in a while and use them for more critical stuff, of course, but I'll be using this camera to take when going to work or just for some walk around fun.

Oh, and the best part? It's a camera. NO VIDEO!

Hi Tim you have some good shots here and have proved that some of the old gear is still viable and while most on here will not give this post a second thought or look, I think its good to see that many of the Minolta a-mount lens still give up great images and colours even on a 6 mp sensor, stand out is the 80-200 and the 28-135 and 85 all show well.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Bloody charlatan

 

[BryLogan]

I have a confession to make.

Since February 7, none of the images I've posted are from an E-Mount Sony.

They are from an A-Mount camera.

But...

Not a Sony.

[….]

Oh, and the best part? It's a camera. NO VIDEO!

Haha! I guess this makes the best entry point to introduce myself.

I just recently bought a Sony a7Riv; coming from several decades as a studio photographer primarily using Minolta and Sony DSLRs. My first “real” digital camera capable of serious studio work was the Minolta Maxxum 7D. I loved that camera! I would still use it today if the broken shutter could be repaired. Since the 7D, I’ve used a succession of Sony bodies, up to the SLT-99v, in order to maintain compatibility with my A-mount lenses.

Then, in 2016, I had a stroke. The subsequent hospitalization and rehab forced me to close my studio and, even worse, seemed to end any hope of regaining the ability to lifting my cameras and to manipulate their controls. After a couple of years of determined work I got to the point where I began to believe that with the “right” lightweight system I could enjoy serious* photography again. (* “Serious photography” = anything other than family snapshots with a cellphone. )

What I really REALLY wanted was one of the Sony a7R cameras, but the cost of it and replicating my A-mount glass with new E-mount lenses would have been prohibitive. So after much investigation I elected to try the Olympus micro four-thirds system. Very lightweight and affordable. The only negative being the rather cramped ergonomics—I have fairly big hands. But, while the M4/3 worked well for me, and as I gained more strength and coordination, I still lusted — yeah, that’s the proper word! — for a a7R in some of Roman ordinal.

Then came the LA-EA5! I could get it and a brand new a7Riva and be back with my real system of choice.

So that’s what I did and now I’m here.

I won’t get to used my new tools in my preferred genre of work (fashion and beauty) until next week but, keeping in the spirit of the theme of the OP, here is a sampling of older work with that magnificent 6MP Minolta Maxxum 7D.

 

[Brownie]

[….]

Haha! I guess this makes the best entry point to introduce myself.

I just recently bought a Sony a7Riv; coming from several decades as a studio photographer primarily using Minolta and Sony DSLRs. My first “real” digital camera capable of serious studio work was the Minolta Maxxum 7D. I loved that camera! I would still use it today if the broken shutter could be repaired. Since the 7D, I’ve used a succession of Sony bodies, up to the SLT-99v, in order to maintain compatibility with my A-mount lenses.

Then, in 2016, I had a stroke. The subsequent hospitalization and rehab forced me to close my studio and, even worse, seemed to end any hope of regaining the ability to lifting my cameras and to manipulate their controls. After a couple of years of determined work I got to the point where I began to believe that with the “right” lightweight system I could enjoy serious* photography again. (* “Serious photography” = anything other than family snapshots with a cellphone. )

What I really REALLY wanted was one of the Sony a7R cameras, but the cost of it and replicating my A-mount glass with new E-mount lenses would have been prohibitive. So after much investigation I elected to try the Olympus micro four-thirds system. Very lightweight and affordable. The only negative being the rather cramped ergonomics—I have fairly big hands. But, while the M4/3 worked well for me, and as I gained more strength and coordination, I still lusted — yeah, that’s the proper word! — for a a7R in some of Roman ordinal.

Then came the LA-EA5! I could get it and a brand new a7Riva and be back with my real system of choice.

So that’s what I did and now I’m here.

I won’t get to used my new tools in my preferred genre of work (fashion and beauty) until next week but, keeping in the spirit of the theme of the OP, here is a sampling of older work with that magnificent 6MP Minolta Maxxum 7D.

A) Welcome aboard!
B) Damned nice shots!
C) So glad to have another A-Mount user in our midst
D) I found this 5D at KEH for $102 with a 6-month warranty. I mean...why the hell not?
E) The LA-EA5 is fantastic. It smokes the LA-EA4 in performance. I wish Sony would stop being stupid and write a firmware update so all of their cameras could use it with screw drives.
F) Check out @spudhead's posts for some really nice A-Mount long prime work.

 

[BryLogan]

A) Welcome aboard!
B) Damned nice shots!
C) So glad to have another A-Mount user in our midst
D) I found this 5D at KEH for $102 with a 6-month warranty. I mean...why the hell not?
E) The LA-EA5 is fantastic. It smokes the LA-EA4 in performance. I wish Sony would stop being stupid and write a firmware update so all of their cameras could use it with screw drives.
F) Check out @spudhead's posts for some really nice A-Mount long prime work.

Thank you. I love your photos and enjoy your posts!

In RE:
D) Who would have honored the warranty? KEH? As I understood at the time my 7D gave up the ghost, Minolta used a plastic fabrication in a critical part of the shutter assembly. Which meant that no repairs could be made after existing inventories had been exhausted.

F) Since joining I have seen a lot of @spudhead's work; wonderful stuff! I’m not much of a bird and wildlife photographer, but I had developed a persistent determination to capture images of the brown pelicans flying by our beach rental on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In fact, that’s where I was headed the day I had my stroke in 2016, armed with my Sony SLT-99v and brand new never-used Tamron 150-600. With the aid of the a7Riva and LA-EA5 I hope to finally see what I can get. I doubt if I can even lift it on the gimbal if I had to use the 99v.

 

[spudhead]

Thank you. I love your photos and enjoy your posts!

In RE:
D) Who would have honored the warranty? KEH? As I understood at the time my 7D gave up the ghost, Minolta used a plastic fabrication in a critical part of the shutter assembly. Which meant that no repairs could be made after existing inventories had been exhausted.

F) Since joining I have seen a lot of @spudhead's work; wonderful stuff! I’m not much of a bird and wildlife photographer, but I had developed a persistent determination to capture images of the brown pelicans flying by our beach rental on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In fact, that’s where I was headed the day I had my stroke in 2016, armed with my Sony SLT-99v and brand new never-used Tamron 150-600. With the aid of the a7Riva and LA-EA5 I hope to finally see what I can get. I doubt if I can even lift it on the gimbal if I had to use the 99v.

Happy to see another shooter join with an interest in some of the old a-mount on both e-mount and a-mount, I still have the a57 a58 a77ii and a99ii and lots of a-mount glass

 

[Brownie]

Thank you. I love your photos and enjoy your posts!

In RE:
D) Who would have honored the warranty? KEH? As I understood at the time my 7D gave up the ghost, Minolta used a plastic fabrication in a critical part of the shutter assembly. Which meant that no repairs could be made after existing inventories had been exhausted.

F) Since joining I have seen a lot of @spudhead's work; wonderful stuff! I’m not much of a bird and wildlife photographer, but I had developed a persistent determination to capture images of the brown pelicans flying by our beach rental on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In fact, that’s where I was headed the day I had my stroke in 2016, armed with my Sony SLT-99v and brand new never-used Tamron 150-600. With the aid of the a7Riva and LA-EA5 I hope to finally see what I can get. I doubt if I can even lift it on the gimbal if I had to use the 99v.

Thanks!

The way their warranty works, they agree to repair, replace with like and kind, or refund. In other words: another 5D in the same 'excellent condition'. The odds of them having one in stock are slim to none. I also added the 2 year full protection warranty for another $19. I figure for $121 total if I get two years out of it before failure I'd be happy with that. If it lasts a year and they return my money, even if prorated, that'd be fine too.

My biggest concern is the 'first frame black' issue, where the camera returns a black frame on the first shot after powering on. Cycling the power will usually clear it at first, but eventually that’s all it will do. There is a fix for it but no one works on them anymore. So, I’ll use ir while I can and employ one of the options above if I can.