Hardware

Cameras

Minolta Dynax 7D

One of the main camera that I use is the Minolta Dynax 7D dslr pictured right.  Minolta have recently been absorbed yet again into Sony this time and I only hope that this will be a much better partnership than with Konica . The new cameras from Sony will be named Alpha, the first being the Alpha 100 which should be available in the shops mid July(ish) 2006. This seems to be a replacement for the Minolta 5D so it appears that we will have to wait (again!) to see if a 7D replacement is forthcoming.

So why the Dynax 7D you may ask?. Well I suppose that having been a Minolta user for 40 years or so may have had something to do with it but I will only admit to the fact that it seemed the right camera for me and the way I like to work. It has the right buttons in the right places and although to some it may appear complicated at first It can be simple to use day in and day out without ever having to resort to the menu system like many others. It is well made and designed fitting my own hands perfectly and the weight, while not light, makes this camera confidently useable.

The a nti-shake system built into the camera works very well indeed and is a huge budget factor when considering new lenses because the 7D makes every lens anti-shake without having to pay an additional premium for the privilege with each individual new lens.

However, the 7D has not, regrettably, been my most reliable camera to date. That privilege must remain with my old Minolta XD7’s which have lasted faultlessly for well over 20 years. The 7D failed on two occasions with complete failure, the second time just a week before our annual holiday. It took Sony over 4 weeks to return it the first time so when I sent it back a second time I immediately purchased the Sony Alpha 100 to see me through. Once again, the 7D has worked well since it’s return but it does now have one or two little quirks with exposure and flash settings that were not existent before so more care is needed. It is a masterpiece of photographic technology, pity about the reliability !!

Minolta A1

Although discontinued some time ago this is still one of the cameras that I use quite a bit for various reasons. It’s light, compact and has a usable zoom range on the lens yet can still be used just like a SLR. It is particularly suited to landscapes and close-up photography and mates well with the Olympus B300 or Tcon17 1.7x tele convertor lenses to increase the zoom range. The biggest close-up advantage is the increased depth of field (dof) that is obtained from this sensor/lens set up. Much greater than SLR format.

Better known as ‘ prosumer ’ or ‘bridge’ cameras they are worth serious consideration if you want to improve your photography from a digital compact but have no desire to take the (d)SLR route. There are many excellent models to choose from but the current ‘beast’ is probably the Panasonic FZxx. With it’s super zoom range, Leica lens and excellent electronic circuitry from Panasonic make it a really hard camera to overlook when upgrading. In some ways I wish I had waited!. The A1 is still a great second camera for the 7D

SONY Alpha 100

A camera purchased purely to see me through a holiday when the 7D died a second time. It is certainly no 7D but at least it works and does much of what it says on the tin but the 10mp sensor, while a good sensor for detail is somewhat disappointing in noise content over ISO 200. Lose the noise, you lose the detail. Bummer!

In its own right and the sector of the market place to which it is targeted this phenomenon is not unusual. Some manufacturers using the same sensor take different routes. Some build noise removal into the cameras but in such a way that you cannot adjust out completely and the end result are slightly soft photographs. Sony took a different tack I think and set the camera for detail and the noise could be dialled out in camera or with external noise reduction programs such as Noise Ninja etc...

It is an easy unit to handle and adjust and an ideal body weight to suit many people but most importantly takes all the Minolta lenses and accessories, has shake reduction built into the body as per the 7D and is a good buy at the price. Photographs from this camera are very good if a little noisy and require a little more work but do produce excellent 10x8 prints. A3’s are also quite acceptable especially those taken at ISO 100. The kit lens (18-70) is a bit naff though with soft corners and some colour fringing if you look closely. I almost never use mine.

Current main camera:

Sony Alpha α700

Such was my dislike of the α100 that I eventually bit the bullet and purchased the α700. Chalk and cheese would be a reasonable comparison here as the 700 is a different beast altogether being a delight to hold and use and there is  nothing I would have any serious criticism of. In late 2009 this is an “old” camera, in digital terms, and is still one of the best around IMHO. If you fancy one, or can even find one now and read the test reports from various web sites, bear in mind that they were tested when introduced and with version 1 of the firmware. This has now gone through various configurations and is currently on v4. In January 2010 this camera had still not been superseded in the Sony line-up for reasons best known to Sony. Maybe it’s just a hard act to follow.

Genuinely a keen photographers/semi pro camera any upgrade will surely have all the digital bells and whistles like live view, HD video etc. etc., which is fine but not for me. This one certainly has everything I personally want.