Alphatracks

Sony displayed some very exciting concepts at the 2010 PMA show.

Sony teased Alpha photographers with several interesting “concepts” at the latest PMA show. As these are concepts, there is no definite word on when or if these cameras will appear. Still, the concepts Sony has shown at previous PMA shows have come to fruition, and Sony has already hinted about the new lenses they showed off at Anaheim.

Sony’s new concepts include:

• Concept model of an ultra-compact interchangeable lens digital camera system that packs the quality of a DSLR camera in an extraordinarily small body, along with interchangeable lenses
• Mid-range concept camera for advanced users (a successor to the α700) as well as concept mainstream models
• Prototype of a Super Telephoto Lens (500mm F4 G) with class-leading optical performance
• Prototype of a Distagon T 24mm F2 ZA SSM, new Carl Zeiss wide angle lens for superior shots of landscapes and sweeping vistas

The new “mirrorless” concept is NOT a 4/3 type camera, but appears to be Sony’s own design. It will offer interchangeable lenses on a tiny body similar to a larger point and shoot. It will carry the Alpha name, but I can’t be sure it uses A-Mount lenses. I hope Sony will not attempt to produce two separate lens lines.

New mirrorless interchangeable lens Alpha cameras are coming; will they use A-Mount lenses?

The other two dSLRs are look more conventional. Neither model has a model name engraved on it, and it is difficult to see where Sony could actually add a model name, as there doesn’t appear to be any room between the grip and the prism.

The A700 successor appears smaller and more rounded than the original A700. I don’t see a PC sync port, but there is a top mounted LCD panel. No word if the new model will have video, but it does appear to have a pop-up flash.

Also on display, the successor to the A700 and a new very compact ALpha model.

The other dSLR is much smaller. Based on the comparison between it and the A700 replacement, it is possibly the smallest dSLR on the market. Sony hasn’t provided an indication of the sensor size or megapixels, but I think it might create a lot of interest for those who want a compact dSLR that still has an optical mirror.

Tweet This Post

Bar Camp Charlotte returned to Area 15 in Charlotte’s NoDa district last weekend. Last January I wrote about my experiences shooting the first Charlotte Bar Camp with a M42 telephoto lens. This time around, I hauled along a wide selection of lenses, including the 70-210mm Minolta “Beer Can,”  the Minolta 50mm f/1.7 prime lens, 16mm Rokkor and of course, the old Vivitar 135mm M42 telephoto.

Forty years young, the Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 is a delightful lens to shoot under available light. It is manual-focus only and requires a adapter to fit it to the Sony Alpha.

For a lark, I tossed my old Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 lens into my bag. My idea was to determine if the small increase in aperture opening (f/1.4 vs f/1.7) would offer any real advantage.

Of course, using the old Rokkor on the Sony Alpha requires a MD to MA (A-Mount) adapter, which has the same limitations as the M42 lens adapter. The MD to MA adapter also includes a glass element that is required  for any Rokkor to focus at infinity on an A-Mount camera.

Rokkor lenses require an adapter to mount on the Sony Alpha

This is the first time I had actually mounted the 58mm f/1.4 lens on an Alpha A-mount dSLR. Typically I use my MD to MA adapter to allow me to use my Rokkor 16mm or the Rokkor 500mm f/8 mirror lens. Since I have the excellent auto-focus Minolta 50mm f/1.7, I have never felt the need to play with the f/1.4 on the Alpha.

Still, when shooting under available light conditions, even a partial increase in f/stop openng can make a huge difference. Shooting at f/1.4 also reduces the depth of field, allowing the subject to pop out of the background.

The f/1.4 stayed in the camera bag for the morning, as I used the other lenses to record the AM Bar Camp sessions.  I used a flash to capture most of these images. In the afternoon, I finally dug out the Rokkor adapter and clicked the f/1.4 in place for a little available light shooting.

Lens is older than the subject matter…

My copy of the f/1.4 lens is used, so I don’t  know it’s early history. I know it is an early model, because the focusing ring is a star shaped metal grip. The later models of this lens use a rubber grip surface, rather than metal. The kit lens on my first Minolta, purchased in 1973, had the rubber grip, which tells me the f/1.4 version I own is older than that. I’m guessing the lens dates from the late 1960s.

Minolta Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 lens mounted on the Sony Alpha A350. You can see the adapter inserted between the silver aperture ring and the orange marking on the Alpha lens mount.

Bar Camps attract all ages, and I was by no means the oldest person in attendance. That said,  most of the attendees looked to be in their twenties and early thirties. That means that when the Minolta assembly technicians screwed together my old Rokkor,  most of the people I photographed were yet to be born.

So how well did the old warrior work on the Alpha? I loved it! Originally I thought I would snag a few images with the Rokkor, then shift back to one of my other lenses. Instead, I left the 1.4 glass on the camera for the entire afternoon. It felt comfortable and well balanced. This is a manual focus lens — there are no auto-focus Rokkor  lenses — but the focusing grip is smooth and precise.

You can check out my Bar Camp Charlotte 2 gallery here. You can compare images from the 50mm f1.7  A-mount lens to the Rokkor 58mm f/1.4.

Which lens is better: Maxxum 50mm f/1.7 or Rokkor 58mm f/1.4?

I can’t really say the 58mm f1.4 lens is really superior to my 50mm f1.7, either in sharpness or light transmission. On other hand, it was a joy to shoot with, and looking through the viewfinder really made me appreciate that big f/1.4 aperture.

One thing that surprised me was that the bokkeh (the appearance of out-of-focus elements in an  image) on the Rokkor was slightly harsher than I am used to with the Maxxum 50mm f/1.7. There isn’t a huge  difference, but it is noticeable. It may be the lens, on the other hand it could be the adapter. I intend  to investigate and will publish some tests  in the near future.

Of course, I have no attention of giving up my Minolta Maxxum 50 f/1.7. It has a number of advantages…auto-focus and fully automatic exposure to name two. So I will continue to use the f/1.7 lens in the future.

The Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 has no auto-focus capabilities and until I get around  to buying a chipped adapter, it can only be used in the manual exposure mode on Alpha dSLR’s like the A350.

Despite the obvious drawbacks, I have a feeling that the old Rokkor f/1.4 hasn’t seen the last of the Sony Alpha. When the lighting conditions are right, that big aperture opening trumps the A-mount len’s better features.

Tweet This Post

This aluminum adapter converts a M42 screw mount lens into a A-mount lens.

May 4, 2009 A few weeks ago, I discussed using an M42 lens with the Sony Alpha. The way you pull this off is with a M42 to A-mount adapter.

The adapter is nothing more than a thin piece of metal with a Sony/Minolta A-mount bayonet fitting and a threaded opening for a M42 lens. The term M42 represents 42mm — the diameter of the threaded lens mount. There are other similar lenses, including M39 and M40 diameter lenses. The M42 mount is the most popular of the”M” mounts, especially when it comes to lenses designed to fit a 35mm SLR.

M42 adapter has an A-mount bayonet on one side and a threaded opening that accepts a 42mm screw in the center.

There is one other screw-mount lens you need to be aware of: the T-Mount. I’m not sure why there was a need for the T-mount, because the screw threads on the T-Mount are also 42mm in diameter. The difference is the thread pitch: the M42 lens uses 1 thread per mm, while the T-Mount uses a slightly coarser 0.75 thread per mm. This is important, because the M42 and T-mount look extremely similar. but they are not interchangeable. You can screw either lens into a M42 adapter, but only the M42 lens will thread fully home. If you try to thread a T-mount lens into an M42 adapter, it will seize up before the lens flange seats properly. The same is true if you try to install a M42 lens on a T-mount adapter.

I’m spending a lot of time on the M42 and T-mount lenses, because most lenses of this type do not have any markings indicating the mount type. You really need to use caution when buying a used screw mount lens. In many cases you will find T-mount lenses advertised as M42, and M42 lens sold as T-mount. There are both M42 and T-mount adapters available for the Sony Alpha, but it is important to know what type of 42mm diameter screw lens you are buying. If your screw mount lens doesn’t thread into the adapter smoothly, do not force it. Mixing lenses and adapters can result in damage to either the lens or the adapter.

Now that we’ve established what an M42 adapter is, lets look at why you would want to use an adapter in the first place.

You can see the 42mm thread on this Vivitar lens. Note the switch next to the red M. Not all M42 lens have this switch. This Vivitar can be switched into a auto mode when used on auto diaphragm cameras like the pre-bayonet Pentax film SLRs. To use the lens on a Sony Alpha adapter, it needs to be switched into the manual (M) mode.

The fact is there are millions of optically excellent M42 lenses available, many at ridiculously low prices. Carl Zeiss actually produced the first M42 lenses in 1938. The mount was used by Practica and became the standard Pentax 35mm lens mount until Pentax switched to a bayonet mount the mid ’70s. Today, Carl Zeiss continues to produce new M42 lenses under the ZS model name. These are manual focus lenses and other than Zeiss quality, have little in common with the AF Zeiss lenses sold by Sony.

The Russian Zenit line produced M42 lenses quite recently. They may or may not be still manufacturing M42 lenses and cameras. In addition, there are countless used M42 mount lens available on ebay, pawn shops, used camera dealers, garage sales and the like.

While M42 lenses are plentiful, there are good reasons you can buy them so inexpensively. As a universal style lens, initially designed over seventy years ago, these lenses are devoid of may of the innovations modern photographers take for granted.

Here is a partial list:

• No Autofocus
• No Automatic diaphragm
• You need to use manual exposure on the A200, A300 and A350
• Image stabilization does not work

M42 lenses don’t offer auto focus

The lack of auto focusing doesn’t bother me very much. After years of shooting action sports with manual focus cameras, I am somewhat uncomfortable turning over the focusing duties to a silicon chip. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate auto focus; but its absence isn’t a deal beaker to me.

Adapters cannot provide automatic diaphragm connections

Not having an automatic diaphragm is more troubling. On the other hand, I am using my M42 lens when I want a fast telephoto. This means when I use this lens, I am nearly always shooting wide open. This negates any concern about the auto diaphragm, since the lens is usually open to the maximum aperture.

The result is the M42 lens becomes a special purpose lens to be used only in low light. If conditions are such that I can shoot at f/4 or higher, I switch to one of my A-mount, auto focus telephotos.

Manual exposure is required with M42 adapters on the A200, A300 and A350

The Alpha A200, A300 and A350 cannot use a lens adapter in the automatic mode. The camera will not not recognize that there is a lens attached, and will not fire the shutter in the auto mode. The only way to use an ordinary adapter on these cameras in the manual mode.

Most of the Minolta Maxxums and other models of the Sony Alpha can use adapters in the aperture priority mode. Different cameras use different methods to allow you to use an adapter in the auto mode. Consult the owners manual if you are unsure of the procedure for your camera.

Shooting with manual exposure outdoors can be a pain, especially if the light is shifty. Since I am using the M42 lens to shoot under fairly constant indoor lighting conditions, this isn’t a real problem either. I shoot a couple of frames and use the LCD to make sure the exposure looks good. Since I’m shooting in a sports arena, the light is not likely to change during a game. So once I have a good exposure on the LCD, I can shoot the rest of the day without changing anything.

Hey I thought in-body stabilization works with all lenses…

Some of you might be wondering about the lack of image stabilization. The whole premise of the Sony in-camera anti-shake system is that it works with any lens right? Well not exactly.

Because the system is built into the camera, technically it should work on any lens you attach to the camera. However, in order to maximize effectiveness, the Steady Shot system needs to know the focal length of the lens. Without this knowledge, the camera doesn’t know how much IS to apply. This isn’t a problem with Sony, Minolta and aftermarket A-mount lenses. These lenses have electrical contacts that let the camera know the focal length of the lens.

There is no way for the Sony Alpha to “read” the focal length of a M42 lens. Since the camera cannot identify the focal length of a M42 lens, SSS can’t operate.

Upgrade to a chipped adapter for SSS and aperture priority exposure

If you are willing to spend a little more money, you can have IS and aperture priority auto exposure. There are M42 adapters that include a “focus confirmation” chip. These adapters attempt to fool the camera into thinking there is a real Sony A-mount AF lens installed.

M42 lens (top) pictured with a T-Mount lens. You can see the threaded portions look very similar, but they are not the same. Make sure you know what type of mount your screw mount lens actually has.

Naturally, you won’t actually have AF, and you still won’t have an automatic diaphragm. Your camera will let you use Aperture Priority automatic exposure, so you can select the aperture and the camera will select an appropriate shutter speed. You cannot use shutter priority, since the Alpha series has no communication with a M42 lens, so it cannot adjust the aperture.

A focus confirmation chip will also return Super Steady Shot functionality, because the camera now knows the focal length of the lens…at least it thinks it does.

The confirmation chip works by convincing the camera that there is a real Sony lens attached. The camera reads the information from the chip and uses that data to determine how to react.

This means you can’t use just any chipped adapter with any particular lens. If the chip in the adapter tells the camera there is a 50mm f/1.7 lens attached and you actually are using a 400mm f/8 lens, Image Stabilization will be less then optimal. In short, you have to match the chipped adapter to the focal length and f/stop of the lens. You can use a plain, non-chipped adapter with any M42 lens, but if you want IS, you will need an adapter matched to your lens.

There are a couple of other things to watch out for. Although a well made Sony M42 adapter should be capable of focusing to infinity, some of the cheaper models are slightly too thick. Even a few thousands of an inch of extra thickness will move the lens too far away from the focal plane, so you cannot achieve infinity focus. I haven’t encountered that problem, but over on the Flickr forums Arkku has set up a nice demonstration of the problem. Arkku solved the thickness problem by sanding the adapter until it brought the lens close enough to the sensor to focus at infinity.

Here a T-Mount lens is threaded as far as it will go into a M42 adapter. Note how much space there is between the lens flange and the adapter. Attempting to thread the lens further onto the adapter would likely result in damage to the lens, the adapter or both. Because the lens doesn’t meet the adapter, this setup will not focus properly.

The second problem involves some poorly made adapters that can jam onto the camera’s lens mount. David Kilpatrick of Photoclub Alpha encountered this problem on an A700 and had to resort to a pipe wrench (gulp!) to remove the adapter. In one of the Sony Alpha foruns on Flickr, another reader reported his adapter had become jammed.

I have had no problem with my no-name aluminum adapter, which I originally bought from a Singapore vendor off ebay. I would use care using the adapter for the first time, until you are confident it won’t jam. If the adapter doesn’t attach the camera easily and smoothly, I wouldn’t use it. The older Amount dSLRs (Sony A100, Minolta 5d, 7D have slightly different lens mount. Sony beefed the mount up on the A700, A200 A300, A350 and the A900, so even if you have an adapter that works OK on the A100, you still need to ensure it works on later Sony dSLRs.

There are a world of inexpensive, high quality M42 optics available if you are willing to forgo auto-focus, auto diaphragm and other niceties.

There is one other thing to consider if you decide to go the M42 route. If you make a real effort to master using M42 glass on a dSLR, you will undoubtedly become a much better photographer. If you can wring out the best from a screw mount lens, you will find you are a better shooter no matter which lens is on your camera. Since you cannot simply put the camera on full automatic when dealing with a M42 lens, you are forced to think carefully about how to use the lens. The result is that you will be far more comfortable and knowledgeable about your camera and all your lenses

Technorati Tags
M42 lens adapter
screw mount lens
Sony Alpha dSLR
Tom Bonner
Alphatracks

Tweet This Post

March 4, 2009: Yesterday Sony has just announced six new optics to the Alpha dSLR lens lineup. They are:

• Super Telephoto Lens

• DT 50mm F1.8
• DT 30mm F2.8 Macro
• DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6
• DT 55-200mm F4-5.6
• 28-75mm F2.8

No word on pricing or when they will be available, but Sony says they are coming.

I find it interesting that four of the six lenses are DT lenses, intended for APS-C sensors. These lenses will not cover a full-frame sensor like the one in the A900. Sony hasn’t promised any further full-frame dSLRs, but as sensor technology evolves, full frame dSLR cameras are becoming more and more common.

I have to assume that Sony will offer more full-frame dSLRs, but based on these new lens offerings, it appears that at least some of the future Alpha lineup will feature APS-C sensors. Why introduce new DT lenses unless you intend to offer further APS-C cameras?

This is significant, when you consider that The A200, A300 and A350 were announced twelve months ago and the A700 is nearly 18 months old. On average, dSLR models are refreshed or replaced every 18 months. That means that at least some of the APS Alphas are due for replacement or a major update in the next year.

You don’t introduce four brand new DT lenses unless you intend to continue selling APS dSLRs. So I expect that Sony has some more APS-C dSLRs up its sleeve.

At the same time, I wonder about the wisdom of buying into these new lenses. If you expect to move into a full-frame dSLR at some point, these aren’t the lenses to buy for the long haul. You can use DT lenses on the A900, but not at full resolution. Basically a DT lens will turn the full-frame camera back into a crop camera, at reduced resolution.

On the other hand, you can use a full frame lens on a crop camera without a hitch. I think I would prefer to buy full-frame lenses so they could be used with either format.

Of course Sony hasn’t given us an indication of the price of the new lenses. Possibly Sony will bring the DT lenses in at an attractive price level. We will need to wait and see.

I also wonder where the new 18-55mm lens fits into the lineup. The standard kit lens has been the 18-70mm zoom. Unless the 18-55 offers a significant improvement over the 18-70mm, I don’t see any reason to introduce a new lens in this focal range. When you already have a solid 18-70mm lens, why replace it with one that lacks 15mm in the telephoto range?

If it is not a replacement, who will buy this lens if the 18-70 is still in the catalog? If the new lens was significantly faster or offered macro capabilities, perhaps I could see its value. As it is, unless it offers superior sharpness or better auto focusing, I don’t understand this lens’ purpose at all.

Also somewhat puzzling is the announced DT 55-200mm F4-5.6 lens. Sony already offers a lens of this exact speed and focal length. Perhaps the new model will offer improvements not available in the current 55-200mm zoom. Still, you would think that Sony would concentrate on filling out its lens line with optics that are not available, rather than replacing one 55-200mm with another.

Sony is also offering a new 50mm f1.8 DT lens. It will obviously be priced lower than the existing f1.4 50mm, but it is a DT lens. I think the old Minolta f1.7 50mm, which will cover a full frame sensor, might offer a better value equation, unless the new Sony comes in at a very attractive price. It will be interesting to see how the new lens affects the pricing of used Minolta 50mm f1.7 lenses, which have steadily increased in value as the Sony Alpha line has expanded.

Some people are already wondering aloud about the 30mm f/2.8 macro, but to me this makes perfect sense. Remember it is a DT lens, so it isn’t really a wide angle macro, as some have suggested. On a APS-C sensor, it will offer the equivalent of a 45mm macro. Since Minolta sold truckloads of 50mm macro lenses, I would guess there is a place for this lens in the Alpha lineup.

That leaves the mystery “super telephoto.” I take the term “super” with a grain of salt. Not that I don’t expect it to be a good lens. It has the appearance of the highly regarded G lenses, so I expect this will be a G lens as well.

Sony has gotten into the habit of calling any lens greater than 300mm a super telephoto. If you look through the Sony lens catalog, most of the G lenses as well as the 500 mirror are listed as super teles. So super doesn’t indicate this is an extraordinary lens — it simply means the lens is probably greater than 300mm.

The mystery lens does have a tripod collar, so I assume it will be fairly heavy or fairly long; or both. The recently introduced 70-400 G lens does not have a collar, so I am banking to this lens being faster or heavier.

If looks are any indication, it will be a fast lens — but what focal length? There is no indication whether it is a zoom or a fixed focal length lens. It appears to be finished in silver, like the other recent Sony G lenses.

About the only thing we can say for sure, it that it will probably be excellent. And expensive!

Technorati Tags
Sony Alpha
Alpha dSLR lens
Tom Bonner
Alphatracks

Tweet This Post

Indoor basketball shot with a Vivitar M42 lens and Minolta 4000AF flash. Would a top-of-the-line lens/flash combination produce a better image?

Feb. 11, 2009

Sports photography is breed apart. In most forms of photography the photographer takes his or her time, carefully adjusting the lighting and arranging the scene to capture the perfect image.

It’s different for sport shooters. Covering action sports leaves little room for careful composition or lengthy setup. If the participants are constantly moving, the photographer needs to be on the move as well. Shooting fast action outdoors in daylight is difficult enough. Shooting sports indoors or after dark becomes more complex, because you are faced with the problem of finding enough light to stop the action. Dim light and fast shutter speeds are usually polar opposites. If you are going capture sharp action images indoors at a reasonable ISO setting, a fast lens becomes mandatory.

You gotta have fast glass

I was reminded of this when I set out to photograph my grandson’s youth basketball team. I realized that all of my zoom telephotos were too slow to capture indoor sports at ISO 400 or even ISO 800. My Minolta 70-210 Beercan is great for outdoor sports, but with a maximum aperture of f/4, you need to raise the ISO to 1600 to stop indoor action. The same for all my other telephotos. Although I have a nice selection of focal lengths, most of my lenses are too slow for indoor sports, with the exception of my Minolta 50mm f/1.7. While the nifty fifty is fast enough, the 50mm reach is too short to get in tight on the players.

Of course both the Sony and Minolta lens lines offer many excellent, fast optics. You can also obtain fast glass from third party lens makers such as Tamron, Sigma and others.

A fast telephoto is a joy to shoot with, but wide aperture optics involve consequences. First they are usually expensive, and secondly they are typically bulky and heavy. I don’t mind the weight when I am shooting, because it helps dampen vibration. However, carrying around a bag of heavy lenses gets old really fast.

This means that when I want to travel light (which is most of the time) the heavy, fast glass stays home. The most expensive lenses are the ones that get used the least.

That’s why I wasn’t too interested in laying out the cash for a fast AF zoom. I’m sure that a fast Carl Zeiss or a Sony G lens would be exciting to shoot with, but I can’t justify the price tag for a hunk of glass that I will only use on limited occasions.

Still, I needed something faster than a f/4 telephoto. In casting around for a solution, I stumbled across a long forgotten favorite — a second-hand, but little used Vivitar M42 screw mount 135mm f2.8 lens.

Enter the Vivitar 135 f/2.8 in a M42 mount

I was very familiar with this lens, because the the first axillary lens I ever owned was a near twin in the Minolta X mount. It was fast, light and very easy to handle. I bought it in the mid seventies, and used the lens extensively for more than a decade. I would probably still have it, but some low-life broke into our home and stole a bunch of camera equipment, including the 135.

Here’s the inexpensive Vivitar M42 lens and Minolta 4000AF flash mounted on the Sony A350. Note the Control Grip 1000 that serves as a flash bracket.

I wasn’t seeking this particular lens, but when I found a Vivitar 135 M42 mount on eBay, I realized this could be an excellent lens for indoor sports. With the APS-C crop sensor on the Sony A350, the 135 represents a 192mm equivalent. A 200mm f/2.8 lens, with good image quality and a price of less then $30? I didn’t see how I could go very far wrong with that deal. The fact that I already had a M42 to Minolta A mount adapter made it that much sweeter.

Of course, shooting with a M42 lens on a modern dSLR involves some compromises. Okay, a lot of compromises. I’m planning a full report on the Vivitar 135 M42 lens and I will outline the drawbacks of using a manual M42 lens. While there are some serious downsides to shooting with a M42 lens on the Sony Alpha, the fact is I am getting excellent results with the Vivitar 135.

My initial tests with the 135mm were good, but I decided I needed to add little kick by adding light from a flash. This immediately calls into question the whole idea of using the f/2.8 lens. If you are going to shoot with a flash, why not use the beercan or one of my other f/4 lenses. Surely it wouldn’t be difficult to find a flash that could fully light the players at f/4?

Do you really need a fast lens if you are going to use a flash?

The truth is that at f/4 and ISO 400, anything outside the flash range turns dark. It looks like the team is playing basketball inside a coal mine; or at least in a auditorium whose owners forgot to pay the electric bill. You can “drag the shutter” by shooting at a slower shutter speed, which will relieve the dark background. But if there is enough ambient light, motion steaks in the highlights becomes visible. With a fast lens, I can use a fast shutter speed to freeze the action while the f/2.8 aperture keeps the background nice and bright.

I could have used my Sony HLV-F42AM dedicated flash. Instead, I chose to go with another old relic — a Minolta 4000AF flash.

Common wisdom states that the older Minolta flashes don’t work well with the dSLRS from Sony or Minolta. In this case, common wisdom is way off base. The 4000AF can be made to work very well on the Sony Alpha. It is true the 4000AF won’t work as a dedicated flash on the Sony Alpha. You need to shoot with the flash in the manual mode and you have to tweak the power settings to match the conditions. But it works quite well if you know what you are doing.

I chose the 4000AF because I got a nice deal on a Minolta Control Grip CG-1000 Set and a 4000AF. This allowed me to mount the flash on the CG bracket and use the Sony FA-CC1AM Alpha Off-Camera sync cord to trigger the flash. This combination is far better balanced than shooting with the HLV-F42AM on the hot shoe.

The 4000AF is a powerful flash, so I bounce the flash off the ceiling, Somewhat surprisingly, even though the auditorium ceiling is at least 35 feet above the camera, at ISO 400 bounce lighting from the 4000AF is more than sufficient to fully light the players.

For indoor action, this combination is hard to beat

I intend to follow up the Vivitar 135 report with a second report exploring how to use the 4000AF with the Sony Alpha.

You may wonder just how well this primitive equipment works for shooting indoor sports with a dSLR. The answer is very well indeed. The images look awesome. The telephoto can isolate the emotion on the faces of individual players, and the bounce flash creates wonderful, shadow free lighting.

To shoot in a wide variety of lighting conditions, there is no doubt that a CZ or G lens would offer superior performance. Indoors, under constant lighting, an old M42 lens can easily hold its own against the much better AF lenses. With a little practice and effort, you can create images that look every bit as good at a fraction of the cost.

Stick around. This is going to be interesting.

Technorati Tags
M42 lens
Vivitar
Sony Alpha
4000AF flash
Tom Bonner
Alphatracks

Tweet This Post

F/9 at 28mm and extremely shallow depth of field? Only from the mind of Minolta

Nov. 25, 2008 A couple weeks ago my wife suggested we go apple picking. It has been a while since I last picked apples and as the last of the fall colors were still decorating the trees, I agreed immediately.

We chose the Apple Hill Orchard in Morganton, NC, about a hour and half drive.

Naturally I brought along a camera; the Sony Alpha A350 equipped with my trusty Minolta 28-85mm f3.5-4.5 zoom. Because this was an apple picking excursion, I didn’t want haul along a lot of extra equipment, and I wasn’t interested in changing lenses while traipsing around the groves. So I went with the 28-85mm because I expected it would provide sufficient versatility for the day’s shooting.

The aperture was a little slow for shooting inside the Apple Hill general store, but with a little care I got some excellent shots. Outside in the actual orchard, the 28-85 proved to be an excellent choice. On the A350’s APSC size sensor, the focal length is the equivalent to a 42 to 127.5mm zoom. I would have liked a little wider angle of view inside the cider mill, but otherwise the lens was perfect for my purposes.

The biggest surprise for me was how much I enjoyed using the macro mode of the 28-85mm. For reasons I don’t fully understand, Minolta designed the 28-85mm lens so that the macro mode can only be engaged at the 28mm focal length. This is directly opposite of most macro zoom lenses, which either provide their macro effect at the maximum telephoto focal length or else offer macro throughout the entire zoom range of the lens.

I have heard some photographers harshly criticize the lens because of its wide-angle only macro design.

It is a somewhat odd configuration, but I found it was great for creating the effect of very shallow depth of field. I could shift into the macro setting, focus on an apple or other subject and watch everything outside of my main subject turn soft and dreamy. I was shooting at f/9, which would normally cause nearly everything to be in focus with a 28mm focal length. Shooting in macro however, gave me a razor sharp subject against a soft background.

So maybe Minolta knew what they were doing when they created the 28-85 with a wide-angle macro. I guarantee you I will be shooting with this setting much more often in the future.

You can view the image gallery at Alphatracks visits the Apple Hill Orchard.

Technorati Tags
Sony Alpha
A350
Minolta 28-85mm
Tom Bonner
Alphatracks

Tweet This Post

“UGH!” (Smacks hand against forehead) “I should have used a lens hood!.”

Nov. 12, 2008 Spend time at any event where photography enthusiasts congregate and you will notice plenty of naked lenses…lenses without lens hoods. That’s rather strange, when you consider that nearly every quality lens ships with a custom designed lens shade made expressly for that lens. It isn’t a matter of being able to afford a hood; it is nearly impossible to buy a Sony Alpha lens without a matched shade. Most quality glass from other makers also include a hood with their lenses. So all those photographers already own lens shades; they simply don’t bother to use them. Too many photographers treat lens hoods as part of the lens packaging — something to be dropped back into the box and packed away into the closet.

There are certain situations where a lens shade is unnecessary, or even detrimental to making good images. I’ll discuss the specific conditions when you shouldn’t use a lens shade in a moment. First, however, I want to look at why you should attach a hood almost every time you take a lens out of your bag.

Kill the glare, stick a shade on it

Most photographers know that lens shades are intended to exclude glare and reduce hot spots. In addition, lens shades increase contrast, improve sharpness and retain color fidelity. Consider the fact that many photographers spend large sums on top-quality lenses because they know that excellent glass will produce better images. Yet many of these same photographers can’t be bothered to attach a hood, even though that hood is essential to getting the most from that expensive lens.

Lens shades come in a wide variety of shades and designs. The best hoods are designed expressly for the lens they are being used on.

Flare comes in two varieties

There are two kinds of lens flare. The first is obvious flare. It is often referred as ghosting because the appearance is akin to the images the paranormal investigators get excited about. It is characterized by distinct ghostly areas caused by light reflected off the interior of the lens. These reflections are usually visible in the viewfinder, although sometimes you won’t notice the flare until you process images on your computer. Most of the time this type of flare is deadly to your images, because it is nearly impossible to repair the effects of obvious flare.

The other type of flare is more subtle. Instead of a prominent ghostly area, the reflection occurs across all or most of the surface of the lens’ front element. The result is a subtle loss of contrast and color fidelity. You might not even realize that flare has affected your image, because the difference is so delicate. Yet, the difference exists. If you could eliminate the flare, the image would look sharper and richer.

Suppose a respected lab announced that a specific lens had five percent better contrast and sharpness than any other lens in it’s class. That lens would immediately become a highly lusted-after optic. Photographers would speak of it in hushed tones and be willing to spend huge sums of cash for the privilege of saying they shoot with that lens.

Yet, although we know that use of a lens shade can dramatically improve our photos, many photographers can’t be bothered to use one. Spend hundreds of dollars on a lens that provides sharper images with better color? Of course. Spend ten seconds to attach a lens hood to improve sharpness and color? Sorry, just can’t spare the time.

Hopefully, you already use a hood whenever applicable. What if your original hood is lost or broken? You have several options. If the lens is still in production, you can always order a new one from the manufacturer. This is often the best route, because you know the hood will be matched to the lens. Unfortunately, original replacement hoods don’t come cheap. In some cases, the list price of an original equipment hood might be twenty percent as much as a complete new lens — a fairly high sticker for a plastic cylinder or stamped piece of aluminum.

I lost my hood, now what?

You could look for a used hood on one of the online auction websites, but if the hood is for a popular lens, you may find it difficult to secure a second hand lens shade. That narrows your choice to one of the many aftermarket hoods available. Unfortunately, one size of hood definitely doesn’t fit all focal lengths. A longer shade will be more effective, but long hoods cannot be used with wide angle lenses because the hood will cause vignetting. Zoom lenses can be even more problematic, since it may be difficult to find a generic hood that offers sufficient sun protection without vignetting at all focal lengths.

Aftermarket hoods are available in metal, plastic and flexible rubber. A generic hood may not be as fully effective as one specially tailored to a specific lens, but the aftermarket shades are much more affordable.

One final source of replacement hoods are printable hoods that can be downloaded from the internet. Type “printable lens hoods” into your favorite search engine and you will find dozens of paper hoods designed expressly for a wide variety of lenses. Print them on stiff card stock, cut them out and attach them to your lens.

So when should you forgo a lens hood? There are times you might want to introduce lens flare as a creative element. Hollywood movies often go out of the way to show flare effects in establishing shots. You may want to include this technique in your own portfolio.

When shooting flash, use a hood with care

Finally, use care when using a lens shade with electronic flash. Lens hoods can block the light from a hot-shoe mounted flash unit or a built in popup flash. Generally this isn’t a problem with longer focal length lenses, but with a wide angle lenses, there is a real possibility that the shade will cause a dark shadow at the bottom of the frame. It is a good idea to check how your wide angle lens hoods perform with hot-shoe mounted flash units.

So do use your lens shade? Why or why not?

Technorati Tags:
lens hood
photography
digital SLR
camera
Alphatracks
Tom Bonner

Tweet This Post

What a difference a year makes. At the 2007 PMA show Sony Alpha dSLR line was shunned by most of the press. There were no great announcements, although Sony did show off two mockups of yet unnamed dSLRs. The “Advanced Amateur” model eventually came to pass as the A700, while the tantalizing “flagship” is still waiting to be released. Other than the concept cameras, which Sony refused to elaborate on, there wasn’t much to see. The press lavished tons of coverage to other major and minor dSLR offerings, but except for the few A-mount sites and forums, Sony was just a postscript at PMA 2007.

Sony was not about to let that happen again. The 2008 PMA show was packed with Sony and Sony Alpha dLSR news. Of course everyone is still talking about the incredible 24mp, full-frame sensor that Sony announced, and the introduction of not one but two new live view dSLR bodies caught a lot of people by surprise. The A300 and A350 are a huge shot in the arm to the Alpha line, and should go a long way to convince potential customers that Sony is serious about playing in the dSLR arena.

In the excitement of the huge sensor and live-view SLR announcements, many observers may have overlooked Sony’s release of several new dSLR accessories.

Sony will add a new flash unit to their existing Alpha flashes.

The first totally new Sony Alpha Flash unit, the HVL-F42AM, will be available in the near future. The other Flashes in Sony’s line up appear to be re-badged versions of Minolta flash units. That isn’t a bad thing, Minolta’s wireless flash system was considered by many to be excellent.

The new HVL-F42AM might appear to be a middle of the road unit, filling the gap between the the HVL-F36AM (GN 36) and the big HVL-F56AM (GN 56). While the new flash’s guide number of 42 does place between the current two Sony shoe mount flash units, the HVL-F42AM has an zoom range of 24-105mm. You can cover up to a 16mm lens with wide angle adapter. The current flashes in the Sony catalog offer a range of 24-85mm and the adapter covers 17mm.

As usual, Mike Hohner seems to have an inside track on Sony’s latest products. Here is Hohner’s “Flash tech data for Sony Alpha HVL-F42AM” page.

There is also a Sony Europe press release covering the PMA announcement floating about. Here’s what the release has to say:

With wireless, ADI and manual modes, plus a full range of tilt and swivel possibilities, the new flash unit sounds like it might be an excellent addition to any A-mount user’s camera bag.

Then there are the lenses. Although technically not a PMA announced product, Sony’s latest two lenses were introduced on the eve of the show, so they might as well be considered new PM products. Both of the new lenses use SSM technology for quicker auto focusing.

Say hello to the Carl Zeiss® 24-70mm f/2.8 lens

Coming this spring, the $1,700 Vario Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA is a very-fast, wide to mid range zoom lens. According to the Sony release:

The second new lens, also available this spring, is the $800 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G-series zoom.

The SAL70300G lens incorporates the optical performance of Sony’s G series in a compact and flexible telephoto zoom lens ideal for sports and portrait photography. Constructed of 16 elements in 11 groups, with one extra-low dispersion element, this lens offers superb contrast and sharpness across its wide focal length range.

The use of extra-low dispersion glass compensates for chromatic aberrations which challenge long telephoto zoom lens design, maintaining excellent optical characteristics from center to periphery. Internal focus construction not only realizes compact size, but also a close focusing capability of just 47 inches (1.2m), unusual for a lens of this focal length range.

New 70-300 G-series SSM Alpha mount lens

Like the SAL2470Z, focus drive is provided by Sony’s Super Sonic wave Motor (SSM) technology. Silent and highly accurate, the SSM system is ideal for providing larger lenses with the speed and rotational precision often required by telephoto shooting. To match auto focus operation to the situation, a focus range limiter can be set to a minimum distance of three meters. A lens barrel mounted focus hold button locks focus if desired.

These lenses are good ammunition to use against those who imply that Sony doesn’t offer sufficient quality glass to complete against the “established camera makers.” We will have to wait to see how these lenses perform in the real world, but it sounds like they could hold their own against anything similar from other manufacturers.

Next up, the new vertical grip. Again this isn’t technically a PMA product, as it was announced along with the A200. The grip is available now at a lest price of $249.00 (less batteries). The PM news is that it is compatible with the A300 and the A350, as well as the original A200. This provides a great deal of flexibility if you trade up or add second body in the A200-A350 family. It does not fit the A700, which has it’s own specific vertical grip, and will not fit the A100 style bodies.

With the PMA announcements, Sony has taken a major step forward in it’s quest to become a major player in the dSLR realm. Many observers have relegated the Sony Alpha as niche product, offering some nice features but unable to compete against the big name dSLR makers. Sony continues to add luster to its brand, unhurriedly creating a dSLR system that can compete against the best of the best. As these products begin to gain momentum in the marketplace, watch for Sony to assume a dominate role as a dSLR maker.

Read the complete Sony Alpha Europe Press release

Technorati Tags:
A300, Alphatracks, Photography, Sony Alpha, Tom Bonner

Tweet This Post

This will be the final post on the Sony Alpha full-frame sensor / anti-shake quandary. The first in the series outlined the full frame with anti-shake problem, while the second consisted principally of remarks by Bert Pasquale, a well-respected optical engineer.

Since several readers are sill somewhat confused, I have created some illustrations to help explain the situation.

Figure one shows the relative sizes of various sensors, They are drawn to the exact size, but since monitors and screen resolutions vary, the sizes may not be correct on your screen. The size of each sensor in relation to each other, however, is accurate.

Figure 1: Sensor sizes compared

The red rectangle represents a “full-frame” 24×36mm sensor. The green rectangle is a 17×2mm APSC sensor. The blue rectangle is 90% of a full frame.

Figure 2 shows the APS-C sensor overlaid on a circle that represents the minimum coverage of a 35mm full-frame lens. As you can see, there is plenty of “wasted coverage” as only the area inside the green rectangle will be captured. It is obvious that the sensor can move freely in any direction and still be covered by the lens.

Figure 2: Coverage of a APS-C sensor by a full-frame lens

Figure 3 is a full frame sensor contained inside the exact same coverage circle. There is no established size for the coverage area, as lenses will vary slightly. The designers only have to create a lens that will offer adequate coverage and sharpness of the 24×36mm film area, and still fit within the lens mount. Of course, the greater the lens coverage, the larger and heavier it will need to be. It will probably be more costly as well, so typically lens designers try to keep near the minimum dimension.

As Mr. Pasquale mentioned, the circle of coverage doesn’t immediately fall off to nothing. Rather, the edge of the circle gradually starts to provide lens light and become less sharp.The fall-off increases slowly until the image eventually fades away.

As you can see from Figure 3, there is little room for the sensor to move without clipping at least one of the corners. Again this will vary from lens to lens, as well as with different focal lengths of a zoom lens.

Figure 3: Coverage of a full-frame sensor by a full-frame lens

Figure 4 is an arbitrary 90% sensor. You can see that such a sensor is much larger than the APS-C size, yet still has room to float inside the coverage area. I chose this because several people “in the know” have suggested they believe this will be Sony’s answer to the problem. However, some other authorities have suggested that Sony may opt for a 1.25 crop sensor.

Figure 4: Coverage of a 1.1 crop sensor by a full-frame lens

On the other hand, Mr. Pasquale has suggested that the sensor may not actually move sufficiently enough to require a “crop” lens of any sort. That would be ideal, but until Sony announces the sensor, we really won’t know.

The final figure is one suggested by Alphatracks readers Warren Massey and LEdgars. In their comments, they suggest Sony could simply build an oversize sensor. As you can see by the rectangular outline in figure 5, such a sensor can move some distance in any direction without clipping. The idea is that the big sensor can move around and the camera can crop to a 24X36mm dimension at exposure. it’s a novel idea — but I not sure we will see it in the near future.

Figure 5: Coverage of a oversize sensor by a full-frame lens

First off, it would be expensive. As sensors increase in physical size, the manufacturing yield is less because typically there are more rejects. Even more significant however, is that an oversize sensor would most likely be confined to the Sony flagship. A full-frame sensor would be attractive to many other dSLR makers and in the past, Sony’s sensor division has profited by selling sensors to a wide range of camera makers. Would Nikon have any interest in an oversize sensor? It’s rather doubtful. Nikon uses a lens based image stabilization method, so there wouldn’t be a need for an oversize sensor.

So if Sony does produce an oversize sensor, their principal customer would be Sony — and for the time being only for the top-of-the -line, limited-production flagship. Would that justify designing and manufacturing an oversize sensor? Or would Sony prefer to invest their resources in a sensor they could sell by the truckload to other camera makers as well as their own dSLR division?

Time will tell, but I’m guessing Sony has a plan up their sleeves. It should be quite interesting!

Sony Alpha
dSLR
photography
full frame
camera

Tweet This Post

Hey! Need a user manual for your SRT101? Or maybe for an old XG-M? Your father in-law gave you his old Maxxum 800si, but you’re unsure how to use it? Look no further than the original source.

I get lots of questions from users asking about manuals. “Where can I get a manual for my Minolta (insert camera model here) ? Since almost any Minolta you acquire will be pre-owned, there is a good chance it will be missing that all important manual.

Many people don’t realize that Konica-Minolta still maintains an excellent collection of original user manuals at the KM support site. Even though KM has exited the camera manufacturing business, they haven’t taken their manuals and software offline. Thus, as this is written (August 2007), you can still find downloadable manuals for almost all of KM’s digital cameras, as well as the majority of AF models. If you are lucky, you will even find a manual for your forty year old manual-focus SLR at the site.

The downloads are free, so if you need a manual for any Minolta camera, scanner, printer, etc. this is the first place to look.

Of course there is always the chance this resource might disappear at some point, and not every Minolta model is represented. If you can’t locate what you need at the KM site, the following sites offer various collections of user manuals.

http://www.vikenk.com/minolta_manual.htm

A fairly comprehensive collection of user manuals covering the Maxxum A-mount and the earlier Minolta manual cameras. There are also some accessory manuals. Most of the manuals are available for free download, although to conserve bandwidth the site requires you to request some of the more obscure items. Viken also sells some Minolta service manuals

http://www.geocities.com/eskoufos/fmm.html

Another great Minolta manual collection. I have used this site in the past and found everything I was looking for. The site offers auto and manual SLR users guides, as well as rangefinders, individual lens manuals, even some free service manuals.,

http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/repairmanuals.html

Site offers free service materials, including four pages of SRT101 disassembly drawings.

http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Manuals.htm

In addition to tons of information about the Minolta manual focus cameras, the Rokkor Files also offers a large selection of scanned Minolta instructions and guides. You can download the PDFs for free, but Andy also has a number of original paper factory manuals for sale.

http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/manuals/Minolta/64

Lots of scanned manuals covering scanners, flash guns, lenses and of course, cameras.

http://www.photobooksonline.com/books/userbk12.html

The manuals on this site aren’t free, but you’ll find lots of stuff that you won’t see anywhere else. Instead of online PDFs, this site offers reprints of the original paper manuals. They have a large collection, some of it predating the Minolta SLRs, including Autocords and folding Minoltas.

http://www.camerabooks.com/category.aspx?categoryID=1187

Another site selling original instruction manuals. Obviously, the available manuals will vary.

http://www.micro-tools.com/pdf/Minolta/index.html

Great site for free parts manuals. It covers mostly the Konica-Minolta digital stuff, although I did see the Maxxum 5, 7 and 9 film SLRs listed. Sorry, the Maxxum 5D and 7D don’t appear to be available here.

http://www.retrevo.com/samples/Konica-Minolta-manuals.html

This site focuses on electronics, and as such offers lots of printer and scanner manuals. You will find most of the Dimage series camera manuals as well.

Maxxum Dynax AF Lens Repair Manual CD

Pete Ganzel is the original Minolta hacker — he is responsible for a number of incredible Minolta upgrades and mods. Ganzel sells a CD entitled the Minolta Maxxum Dynax AF Lens Service Repair Manual Mini CD, which covers most of the popular Minolta a-mount lenses. The $24.00 CD features 693 pages of information along with hi-res exploded parts diagrams. A must it you are into repairing or modding you Minolta AF lenses.

http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/830435

A site selling a download of a 190 page service manual for the X-700. I haven’t seen it, but if i had a sick X700, I would consider it.

This is only a sampling, but I hope it helps those looking for information on their old, out-of-production cameras. If you know of any other manual sites that shoul be listed here, leave a comment so I can add it to the list.

Tweet This Post