Why Sony / Minolta at all?

[spence]

At the end of the day, it has nothing to do with the equipment in your hand. If you know how to take a good photograph, you can do it with X brand, along with decisions about lighting, film, speed, lens and creativity. I also believe the more control you take in the processing, i.e. develop your own film, print your own prints, the more satisfied you will be with your result.
It will be interesting to reflect on the conversations about Minolta coming out with a DSLR once it has come out. I bet the conversations will be about the next product. There are many good products out there now, just have to use your skills. Great photographers have produced some awesome work with what is available on the market today, actually most use equipment that is pretty old. I just rather focus on getting a great shot that tells a great story, invokes feeling, inspires the viewer, than to worry about getting something that isn't even out. While you watch and wait, go take some pictures. It will get here and then you can spend your money.
Snow is my current challenge, which I will be working on this weekend in Yosemite. And keeping warm. Happy shooting!

 

[Uksnapper]

Ive just posted some good quality darkroom gear on ebay if anyone in the UK is interested ,Devere enlargers and a Colex 32" paper processor with no reserve ! Sad to say that Digital means film is for me a very minor part of my requirements now.Ive also got couple of Colenta film processors,a 30 and a 90 for which im open to offers. I just want to clear it all out so almost any offers accepted.best thing is to talk direct through the link on ebay rather than on this forum thanks folks. Michael

 

[samn]

Hi Mike. My local lab offers superior quality and service to the supermarket labs. I can have one hour service to CD (if I desire) as well as being able to specify format and being able to tell the tech. anything I want to about the processing that I desire. For 2/3rd's the price of the supermarket. As far as using expensive films that add saturation, I am going to process everything I use through Photoshop anyway, so why spend the extra. Other than the time and expense of going to the camera store I can see little justification for spending + $2000 for a dslr camera, flash and lenses to replace my slr's. My camera store owner agrees, he will continue to shoot slr's for the next couple of years. And he can buy Cannon and Minolta at cost. So I agree with you completely. Sam http://www.risp.biz/~samn

 

[peterblaise]

Well, I agree that we disagree. I think the decks are clean and clear, we can stop hosing them down now. ;-)



I mention "Herb Kepler as the world's most influential MINOLTA photographer (know any others?), and maybe even the world's most influential photographer, period, STATISTICALY" ... because he edits/publishes/writes Popular Photography magazine - the world's largest and most read photography peridocal information resource. I said STATISTICALY because he influences more people than any other - millions every month.

Salgado, Ritts, Webber, Bailey, Lantin, Woolf, Waite are cute, but they don't measure up, statistically, regardless of the volumes of web pages mentioning their names. Popular Photography hits millions of readers every month, times 12 months a year, times how many years now? And Herb published via other gargantuan magazines before Pop Photo. Statistically, influence wise, he's huge! If Salgado, Ritts, Webber, Bailey, Lantin, Woolf, Waite influence 1,000 so called "serious" photographers, Herb influences 1,000,000 photographers, serious and casual alike. YOU may pay attention to one arena, I'm looking worldwide, nook and cranny, not just meseums and art schools.

Heck, if you want to do an Internet search and base "statistical influence" on that, type my name in! ;-)

But, I don't talk with Minolta Japan (much, lately), and I don't publish to millions of people every month. Probably less than 1,000 people really read me stuff and review my photography each month, if that.

No one's arguing that a NEW Minolta DSLR is purchasable today, but that's also true of anyone's future DSLR, even Nikon's so-called "announced" but unavailable ones. ... as if Nikon would NEVER pre-announce a product just to ward of Canon sales at christmas - oh no! Oh, my! Why are people bashing Minolta for what looks like the same "leak" to ward off Canon sales before christmas?

Ansel Adams is probably is the most influential photographer ever, numbers wise, referred to by other photograhers and the general public alike.

Daguerre, Talbot, Land, Eastman, and so on - all have a claim to fame, photographically. (Nice history at http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/ ). We've been going at this photography thing forever, and with lenses for 436 years, and with any size hole before that.

But our point?

Our point is to go out and shoot something, and quit grousing about "poor me, Minolta left me in the dirt, they abandoned me and my manual focus lenses, or my non-digital camera," or whatever.

Grab what Minolta you've got and take some pictures!

And SHARE some pictures. And share some Minolta Photography experiences, PLEASE, soon!

Click!

Love and hugs,

Peter Blaise

Minolta Photographer

http://www.peterblaisephotography.com

Gotta love my ~US$12 NEW Minolta AF 24mm lens AND camera - and free film! ;-)

 

[spence]

I agree Peter...now could we really talk why Minolta...technically speaking?
I have read as much information as I could find why Minolta lenses verses the leading others, i.e. Tamron, Sigma etc. But for us that don't do comparisons to that extent, and just compare results, do you think it is worth the $$$$ dollars. I use a Minolta 85mm 2.8, which I really like and a Tamron 28-300 which I also really like.
I have more purchases I would really like to make, i.e. 50mm 1.4 and 100mm macro 2.8 and of course the lovely 300 APO 2.8. Saving my allowance.
Thoughts...

 

[peterblaise]

Hi Janis,

I shop

http://www.cameta.com/

http://www.adorama.com/

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

http://www.porters.com/

http://www.keh.com/

and a few other places on the Internet (I also buy books and manuals),

plus 4 or more BIG used camera stores here in the Washington, DC USA area

DAILY!

Yes, daily!

Your levers to move your photographic world await you!

.

Click!

Love and hugs,

Peter Blaise

Minolta Vivitar Tamron Fujifilm Ilford Kodak Adobe Hewlett Packard et cetera Photographer

peterblaise@yahoo.com

http://www.peterblaisephotography.com/

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PS - I get so much film FREE when I take seminars and chat with manufacturer's reps that I haven't bought the high priced spread in ages! And when I do buy, I buy in bricks from least expensive sources and refrigerate in lead bags, and that keeps the price down to as much as 50% savings when I do have to pay (darn!).

We CAN figure out ways to make things happen.

And Minolta being under priced on the used market is all in my favor - I'm glad there's no new Minolta DSLR available today - people dumping Minolta for Canon or Nikon are selling their Minolta stuff CHEAP for you and I to enjoy!

Hey, Tamron 28-200mm are ~US$79 used in Minolta mount! Minolta 507si 600si 650si are ~US$150. Beat that!

The savings go one and on and on ...

And don't forget those NEW in the box Minolta AF 24mm WITH CAMERA for ~US$12 - one left, then one for ~US$24 ... keep looking folks, bargains are awaiting your enjoyment!

And money, to me, is only worth it's weight in joy!

Go out and shoot something - and bring it back alive! (A challenge for "sport" hunters to put down their weapons and pick up a camera!)

 

[pvelz]

Hi Janis and others,

I have an extensive set of Minolta lenses.
You are interested in the 100/2.8 Macro. Get it! It is an amazing piece of optics and very very good in sharpness and contrast. So is the 400APO/4.5, which I have as well. The best of the telelenses that I know (I haven't tried the new 300 mm).
I have the 600APO/4. Good, but not as good as the 400APO.
I have had the older 300mm, this is really less in optical quality than the 400mm and the 600 mm. Again I don't know about the new 300mm myself, but I saw an elaborate test in ColorFoto (German Magazine) in the last weeks. The final conclusion was that at full opening (f/2.8-4) it was quite a lot better than the old 300mm, but from f/4 onwards very comparable.
If you have trouble to get a copy of this magazine I can try to make a pdf and send it to you. If you want a test picture from either of the lenses send your e mail address and I will send it to you as a large jpg (uploading small jpg's doesn't make sense I believe).
If I would have to make the choice: 100/2.8 macro (the older models are as good as the new ones and a lot cheaper in second, I actually sold one a few weeks ago for just 200 Euro) and the 400APO (which second hand goes for about 1000 Euro).
Hope this helps.

 

[Travis]

Let's make one thing clear. Hardly anybody in the UK and Europe knows who Herb Kepler is. I had look him up. Ansel Adams of course is very influential, but I thought you were referring to people who have worked recently. I think most Europeans would say Cartier-Bresson was more important.

I don't really know what a Minolta photographer is, as I don't care what cameras people use to take their shots, except in terms of image quality.

ISalgado, Ritts, Webber, Bailey, Lantin, Woolf, Waite are cute,

Um, cute? They are far more important as image makers, and their images are well known. We all know who Herb Ritts is. None of us here know about Kepler.



Why are people bashing Minolta for what looks like the same "leak" to ward off Canon sales before christmas?

Because Nikon says it will produce a camera. Minolta says, and so far does, nothing.

>>Ansel Adams is probably is the most >>influential photographer ever, numbers wise, >>referred to by other photograhers and the >>general public alike.

Yes. See above.


>>Our point is to go out and shoot something, >>and quit grousing about "poor me, Minolta left >>me in the dirt, they abandoned me and my >>manual focus lenses, or my non-digital >>camera," or whatever.

In reply to this rather patronising "point". I do take pictures. They are published. Did anybody here say they were not taking pictures? It was just an assumption made by you - and it seems - Janis. We are saying that digital photography is now part of the professional phographic process. For news photographers it is de rigour as they file pictures digitally. For travel photography the new airport scanners will shortly make all of us make the change as we can't risk film being ruined.

I don't use the dark room any more. I can achieve the B/W levels I could in the dark room on a computer and a bubble jet printer. I can replicate many of the legacy priting processes. I don't want to use the dark room, because many of the chemicals are toxic.

For colour I can adjust the pictures myself, rather than spending a fortune on cibachrome.

LIke others I have invested $4,000 in Minolta lenses and accesories. Many of these with a "professional" tag. That is our "gripe", that we have bought into a pro system, only to find that we can't make the most important upgrade in photographic history since the advent of colour and the SLR. Go into a camera store and see how they no downgrade Minolta cameras because of this.


And I wonder why you feel the need to defend a camera brand.

 

[peterblaise]

> marc venton (Travis) wrote: "... I don't really know what a Minolta photographer is, as I don't care what cameras people use to take their shots ..."

You are really taking the title of the thread "Why Minolta at all" to heart?

Why are you HERE?

 

[spence]

I would prefer for this forum to remain a Minolta technical discussion. I would prefer for it not to become a forum for personal attacks.
There are so many great photographers out there and we all have our preferences, as we all have preferences to equipment. I would hope to gain some shared knowledge on Minolta equipment here. I think that there are many other forums to talk about digital topics. I think it is clear some are anxiously awaiting a Minolta DSLR. I just can't imagine getting so tight about there not being one. I guess if I really wanted one that bad right now I would consider other options.
Anyway...off on a tangent and would really like to say on task.
Peter - I shop all those same places and watch regularly. I have bought some items off eBay but only after careful consideration and contact with the seller as you can get some junk there. I made a good contact with Columbus Camera Group in Ohio. Good guys but not a big Minolta selection. KEH is good and has a good selection. I would very much like to get my hands on a 100 macro, so if anyone has or knows of a good deal for a lens in good shape, I would be most interested. As well as a 300/400 APO.
I am working on my website and will have some postings soon and look forward to some feedback, constructive please.
And I would love to get some Free film - go through that like water.
Happy shooting,
Janis