Sony Alpha users check-in! KM users welcome, too :)

[AndrewR]

What's your lens stable? Looking forward to the next Sony DSLR coming very soon? Planning a Zeiss lens purchase?

I've had mine for about a month, having sent my 7D into Precision Camera for a warranty repair of the AS and shutter (and it's still not back! 6 weeks and counting). I miss the controls of the 7D, but I appreciate the better AS system on the A100 plus the extra resolution and the OUTSTANDING battery life.

My kit:
KM 17-35mm f/2.8-3.5
KM and Sony 18-70mm f.3.5-4.5 (at least until I sell these)
KM 28-75mm f/2.8
Minolta 28mm f/2.0 (awesome prime!)
Minolta 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5 (x2, anyone want one?)
Minolta 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 (scratched front element )
Minolta 50mm f/1.7 (just rediscovered it -- sharp!)
Minolta 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Minolta 70-210mm f/4 "beercan"

Sony HVL-F56AM
Minolta 3600HS(D)

Manfrotto 3021PRO legs with 486RC2 ballhead (not the greatest head, legs rock)

Anyone have a good recommendation for a shoulder bag that would hold the body, two small zooms, the 50mm, and the beercan? I have an Adorama Slinger (large version) which is big enough for most of my gear but too big to carry around much. I have a smaller bag which can carry the body and three lenses, but I need something in between.

[edit] Updated my kit to include my most recent purchase, which added the 28mm and 100mm primes. I also sold the big beercan and now only have 210mm as my maximum focal length.

 

[AmigaMan]

My setup: http://picasaweb.google.com/stuff4ben/CameraStuff

Minolta 28mm f2.8
Minolta 50mm f1.7
Sony 18-70mm
Sigma 28-80mm
Sigma 70-300mm

I got the primes for free from my mother-in-law (of course nothing is EVER for free with her ) and the Sigmas I got when I had a Minolta STSi 35mm. The Sony 18-70 obviously is the kit.

I'm looking for a good flash, but man are they expensive! I'm still learning how to take pictures with this thing, but it sure is fun.

 

[dev0lution]

I just have:

Sony 18-70mm Kit lens
KM - 50mm 1.7
Extra Battery
Reversing Ring for the kit lens for Macros
Cokin A Mount Filter Kit w/blue gradient and star effect filter
Prinz No. 1, 2 and 4 Closeup Lens/filters
Lowepro Slingshot 100

I may also have a KM 35-70 f4 macro, a KM 70-210 f3.5-4.5 (non-beer can) and one other lens from back in the Maxxum 7000 days. Reason I say "may have" is my Mom got her body and one of my lenses stolen but can't remember which one and whatever is left is in their storage until they move. I def. want a fast wide prime lens.

Hoping to get the HVL-F56AM soon.

Lots of KM/Sony fans and amazing photographers over at dyxum.com

 

[Zenmervolt]

I used to shoot Contax, but when I started having my 20+ year old Contax bodies fail on me I started looking at other systems, then when my Olympus C-8080WZ was stolen, I knew it was time.

I'd loved the Zeiss glass for my old Contax bodies and decided upon the Alpha partially because of that, but mostly because it felt the best in my hands. I plan to pick up the Zeiss 85mm one of these days, but it's not urgent. A good flash would come first.

Current setup is:

KM 28-75 f/2.8
Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX
Tamron 70-300 f/4-5.6 LD Di (only for when I absolutely need the reach)
Minolta Maxxum 7 (film)

It's sufficient for what I need to do right now.

I don't really care one way or another about the new Sony camera, I don't intend to upgrade any time soon; by the time I am looking to replace the A100, there will be newer options.

ZV

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
My setup: http://picasaweb.google.com/stuff4ben/CameraStuff

Minolta 28mm f2.8
Minolta 50mm f1.7
Sony 18-70mm
Sigma 28-80mm
Sigma 70-300mm

I got the primes for free from my mother-in-law (of course nothing is EVER for free with her ) and the Sigmas I got when I had a Minolta STSi 35mm. The Sony 18-70 obviously is the kit.

I'm looking for a good flash, but man are they expensive! I'm still learning how to take pictures with this thing, but it sure is fun.

What do you think of that 28mm f/2.8? I've been thinking of getting one at an auction, but I'm not sure that it's worth much effort. I have the focal length thoroughly covered already (by 4 different zooms, no less!), but I would like to get some primes because of the fantastic performance of the 50/1.7. It might be a good lens for some landscape work even though it's not that wide on a 1.5x.

 

[AndrewR]

Oh, on the flash units, since two of you mentioned them: If you are going to spend the money, I'd recommend getting the Metz flash (54MZ4) for the Sony (or Minolta) and not the HVL-F56AM. The Metz is about $50 more ($25 more right now after a $25 rebate -- check Adorama), but the performance is superior from what I've read. Plus, the resale value is higher because it will work on all cameras with the proper adapter, not just Sony/Minolta.

The F56 performance is good but not perfect, and the reason I bought it is because I had Sony Rewards points from my credit card so it was essentially free (though I paid plenty to the credit card to get those points!). I'm still learning how to do bounce flash photography, and it's slow going. When the shots work, they look great, but I'm having a tough time getting consistency, which is somewhat my fault and apparently somewhat the camera/flash's combination fault.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: AndrewR

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
My setup: http://picasaweb.google.com/stuff4ben/CameraStuff

Minolta 28mm f2.8
Minolta 50mm f1.7
Sony 18-70mm
Sigma 28-80mm
Sigma 70-300mm

I got the primes for free from my mother-in-law (of course nothing is EVER for free with her ) and the Sigmas I got when I had a Minolta STSi 35mm. The Sony 18-70 obviously is the kit.

I'm looking for a good flash, but man are they expensive! I'm still learning how to take pictures with this thing, but it sure is fun.

What do you think of that 28mm f/2.8? I've been thinking of getting one at an auction, but I'm not sure that it's worth much effort. I have the focal length thoroughly covered already (by 4 different zooms, no less!), but I would like to get some primes because of the fantastic performance of the 50/1.7. It might be a good lens for some landscape work even though it's not that wide on a 1.5x.

It's not bad, but honestly, I don't use it much. It's a little too wide to get a shallow DoF for the bokeh effect (at least I think I'm using the terminology correct). I use it mainly in low light situations when my 50 is too long and the kit lens isn't doing it for me.

edit: BTW, regarding your post on flashes, where can I find some reviews of some good ones? I've seen some on ebay that look tempting since they're around $100 like this one..

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: AndrewR
Oh, on the flash units, since two of you mentioned them: If you are going to spend the money, I'd recommend getting the Metz flash (54MZ4) for the Sony (or Minolta) and not the HVL-F56AM. The Metz is about $50 more ($25 more right now after a $25 rebate -- check Adorama), but the performance is superior from what I've read. Plus, the resale value is higher because it will work on all cameras with the proper adapter, not just Sony/Minolta.

The F56 performance is good but not perfect, and the reason I bought it is because I had Sony Rewards points from my credit card so it was essentially free (though I paid plenty to the credit card to get those points!). I'm still learning how to do bounce flash photography, and it's slow going. When the shots work, they look great, but I'm having a tough time getting consistency, which is somewhat my fault and apparently somewhat the camera/flash's combination fault.

Honestly, I'd rather spend the $50 on a Lightsphere II for the Sony flash than get the Metz. Resale value doesn't worry me since I don't plan on selling any time soon. Plus, the MZ-4 requires an adapter (Metz part number SCA 3302 M7) to mount on the A100.

I think anyway. I may well change my mind before I pull the trigger. The Metz is definitely the better flash.

ZV

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: AndrewR
Oh, on the flash units, since two of you mentioned them: If you are going to spend the money, I'd recommend getting the Metz flash (54MZ4) for the Sony (or Minolta) and not the HVL-F56AM. The Metz is about $50 more ($25 more right now after a $25 rebate -- check Adorama), but the performance is superior from what I've read. Plus, the resale value is higher because it will work on all cameras with the proper adapter, not just Sony/Minolta.

The F56 performance is good but not perfect, and the reason I bought it is because I had Sony Rewards points from my credit card so it was essentially free (though I paid plenty to the credit card to get those points!). I'm still learning how to do bounce flash photography, and it's slow going. When the shots work, they look great, but I'm having a tough time getting consistency, which is somewhat my fault and apparently somewhat the camera/flash's combination fault.

Honestly, I'd rather spend the $50 on a Lightsphere II for the Sony flash than get the Metz. Resale value doesn't worry me since I don't plan on selling any time soon. Plus, the MZ-4 requires an adapter (Metz part number SCA 3302 M7) to mount on the A100.

I think anyway. I may well change my mind before I pull the trigger. The Metz is definitely the better flash.

ZV

I wrote resale value, but what I was really thinking about was transferability if you decide to switch camera systems. If you move to Canon, take the flash and get a new adapter. The price I saw includes the adapter, incidentally (nearly positive, at least).

One other item is that the Metz also has a secondary flash that can add front fill when doing bounce flash, which I thought was pretty handy. The Metz also doesn't do a pre-flash for metering so there's no "lazy eye". I haven't seen that problem yet since I've been doing mostly bounce, but others find it very annoying from what I understand. Last thing about the Metz is that it has a full automatic mode which the KM/Sony ones do not. May or may not be an issue for some people.

I have to wait until tomorrow for my 3600HS(D) to arrive now. Really interested to try two flashes wirelessly.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: AndrewR

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
My setup: http://picasaweb.google.com/stuff4ben/CameraStuff

Minolta 28mm f2.8
Minolta 50mm f1.7
Sony 18-70mm
Sigma 28-80mm
Sigma 70-300mm

I got the primes for free from my mother-in-law (of course nothing is EVER for free with her ) and the Sigmas I got when I had a Minolta STSi 35mm. The Sony 18-70 obviously is the kit.

I'm looking for a good flash, but man are they expensive! I'm still learning how to take pictures with this thing, but it sure is fun.

What do you think of that 28mm f/2.8? I've been thinking of getting one at an auction, but I'm not sure that it's worth much effort. I have the focal length thoroughly covered already (by 4 different zooms, no less!), but I would like to get some primes because of the fantastic performance of the 50/1.7. It might be a good lens for some landscape work even though it's not that wide on a 1.5x.

It's not bad, but honestly, I don't use it much. It's a little too wide to get a shallow DoF for the bokeh effect (at least I think I'm using the terminology correct). I use it mainly in low light situations when my 50 is too long and the kit lens isn't doing it for me.

edit: BTW, regarding your post on flashes, where can I find some reviews of some good ones? I've seen some on ebay that look tempting since they're around $100 like this one..

You could look at either dpreview.com (KM or Sony DSLR forums) or the forums and reviews at Dyxum.com for some more info on flashes. I would be VERY leery about a flash like the one you linked, since you'll notice that it also requires the FS-1100 adapter. It might not work at anything but full power, which would be just a tad short of useless. If you get an off brand, you'd also be eliminating wireless flash use, which is arguably the biggest benefit of the KM/Sony flash system.

If you want to look at a cheaper flash with a decent reputation, consider the Sigmas. You might want to hold off though because Sigma is releasing a new version, the EF-530 DG, which is going to correct some of the exposure problems with the previous version. Check photoclubalpha.com for more information (also a great resource site for info -- David Kilpatrick is a knowledgeable guy).

Unfortunately, a good flashgun is expensive. However, I'm gradually coming to the conclusion that a good flashgun is a necessity, at least if you intend to do flash photography (landscapes obviously don't require one!). I feel like I've done a good job learning photography basics over the last year+, but now I am starting to delve into creative lighting and feeling completely lost again!

 

[dug777]

I was almost an Alpha owner

Ended up getting a D80 instead

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: dug777
I was almost an Alpha owner

Ended up getting a D80 instead

git outta here you nikon fanboi. yur kind ain't welcome here.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: dug777
I was almost an Alpha owner

Ended up getting a D80 instead

It's ok -- you can always upgrade later to the new Sony when it's out.

And, hey, you're using a Sony sensor anyway.

 

[GrJohnso]

One more in the club... Longtime low end Minolta user, just recently grabbed an Alpha..

Keeping one of my old 35mm's... 600si for occasional slide use, outdoors, etc..

Sony Alpha with Sony Kit lens 18-70mm

Lens Collection

Zooms
KM 17-35mm f2.8-3.5
M 35-70 f4
M 70-210 f4 "beercan"
Tamron 28-80mm f3.5-5.6?
Quantaray 70-300mm f3.5-5.6

Primes
M 28mm f2.8
M 50mm f1.7

TC
Sigma 1.4x EX APO (useless with most of my current lenses though)

Basic filters including:

CPL's for 49 through 58mm lenses.. Need to pick one up for my 77mm KM wide angle yet..
Softening for 49 through 58mm
Cokin kit for up to 58mm with Graduated Neutral Density
And Skylight/UV filters for most lenses..

Currently missing a flash, been a while since my last one died...
Crappy fullsize tripod with basic 3-way pan..
Nifty tiny tripod that probably can't support more than the A100 with a short prime or kit lens..

Pack is a lowepro offtrail..... can't fit everything i have in there, but keeps me down to what I need..

 

[AndrewR]

How does that Cokin kit work? I keep seeing Cokin filters, but I'm a little confused how they work (not filters, just the Cokin system). I've not seen them in a store or handled them at all.

I have CPLs for my 55mms (Cokin 58mm with a step down ring), my 28-75mm (67mm Sunpak), and my 17-35mm (77mm Quantaray). I am considering getting a really nice 77mm (Hoya, B+W) with a 77-67mm step down ring, but I haven't wanted to spend the money yet. I hate putting $20 CPLs on $300 lenses. Just tonight ordered a filter holder since I currently have them in separate hard plastic cases, which takes up too much room.

 

[GrJohnso]

Well, the Cokin square filter setup give you a little flexibility, but it comes in two size ranges generally... I think the cutoff is around the 60-65mm range... I just have the smaller kit... You may be able to get the larger one and use stepdown rings for smaller lenses, but then you are moving the filter further away from the lens. Dunno, just go check them out at a camera store to see what works...

It's just nice having the option of using the better square filters that slide in and out and stack easily for multiple filters without causing vignetting.

 

[spacejamz]

just picked up A100 kit from OfficeMax today for $649...guess the prices are gonna drop because of the new one coming out...

Office Max Ad

in reading all of the stuff on SLR's, I want to try my hand at it...what kind of differences can I expect between the Alpha and my ol' trusty Sony R1? (had an 828 and 707 before that)

I have experimented a little using some of the manual settings on the R1, but most of my shots use the AUTO settings...I just started a photography class to learn more about the settings and how to take better pictures...

any advice is appreciated...TIA..

 

[Heidfirst]

D7D & grip.
I've got a pile of lenses that I've acquired from over 25 years of Minolta SLR usage so there's quite a bit of duplication.
Keep meaning to sell some but never got around to it.
I'll post the ones that I can remember off the top of my head & edit the others in later.
50mm f1.7
17-35mm f/2.8-4
24-85mm f/3.5-4.5
28-75mm f2.8
100-300mm APO
100-400mm APO

Sigma 90mm f2.8 Macro
Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro
Sigma 100-300mm f4 EX IF
Sigma 1.4x EX TC to match the EX above

Variuos tripods/monopods

Yes, I'm looking forward to a body upgrade but I'll probably wait to Spring to see the semi-pro & in the meantime the A700 price should drop a bit & stabilise.
I don't particularly care what label is on the lens as long as it does the job & Sony's lens strategy still isn't clear e.g. the new 16-105mm seems to clash/override the 16-80mm Zeiss.
The 1 that particularly interests me if it exists is the rumoured 80-400mm.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
D7D & grip.
I've got a pile of lenses that I've acquired from over 25 years of Minolta SLR usage so there's quite a bit of duplication.
Keep meaning to sell some but never got around to it.
I'll post the ones that I can remember off the top of my head & edit the others in later.
50mm f1.7
17-35mm f/2.8-4
24-85mm f/3.5-4.5
28-75mm f2.8
100-300mm APO
100-400mm APO

Sigma 90mm f2.8 Macro
Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro
Sigma 100-300mm f4 EX IF
Sigma 1.4x EX TC to match the EX above

Variuos tripods/monopods

Yes, I'm looking forward to a body upgrade but I'll probably wait to Spring to see the semi-pro & in the meantime the A700 price should drop a bit & stabilise.
I don't particularly care what label is on the lens as long as it does the job & Sony's lens strategy still isn't clear e.g. the new 16-105mm seems to clash/override the 16-80mm Zeiss.
The 1 that particularly interests me if it exists is the rumoured 80-400mm.

If you want to unload the 100-300 APO for a great price, let me know!

 

[Heidfirst]

I'm in the UK so carriage to you would be a killer (plus US prices tend to be cheaper than UK).
I'll never understand why Sony dropped that lens without a replacement for 2 years

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
I'm in the UK so carriage to you would be a killer (plus US prices tend to be cheaper than UK).
I'll never understand why Sony dropped that lens without a replacement for 2 years

I am in the process of selling my only 300mm -- the Minolta 75-300 "big beercan". It's a good lens, and I took some really nice pictures at the beach this summer, but I don't like the weight. Given the choice in my bag to carry around, I'll take the 70-210/4 instead. Carrying both is just weight-prohibitive.

Ideally, I'd like to pick up the 300/2.8G, but if weight's a concern, that doesn't really fit the bill. Plus, there's that nagging cost... Sony is about to introduce a new 75-300G, but I suspect the price will be out of my range as well.

Just curious, but why both the 100-300APO and the 100-400APO? 100-400 too large for normal use?

 

[Heidfirst]

No, I had the 100-300 APO first & later went on to buy the (considerably dearer) 100-400mm for more range as I do predominantly aviation photography.
The 100-300mm is a terrific travel lens though because of it's size/performance so it's never been sold.
The 100-400 is also a great package for it's size/performance but it's a bit larger, heavier & slower.

 

[Frode222]

Just bought my A100 last night Got the kit lens(18-70), free memory card and all for $649. VERY happy with it so far. ^^ Tried the Nikon and Canon out as well, but for the price I liked the Sony a lot better. Body has a much better feel to it. Only one real question I have so far, which lenses should I be looking at adding first? Basic 50mm? Probably end up doing some portrait shots soon... any must have lenses out there?

 

[Heidfirst]

The Minolta 50mm f1.7 is a pretty good lens (in 35mm film terms give 75mm with the 1.5x digital crop) for not a lot s/h - again it's one of those "why did Sony drop it" lenses.
I would just start with the kit lens though & you'll soon get an idea of what (if anything) you are missing be it a range or wider aperture etc.

 

[Keitero]

I got my KM 5D. Kit lens, a 50mm macro, and a 75-300mm toilet paper roll.