Photoclub Alpha

It’s not going to be long before we see the Alpha 900, and some cameras are known to be out there on trial in the hands of Sony staff and pre-release testers. I am not one, so rest assured, this is not a leak! What can you expect from the Alpha 900’s full-frame prism finder?

At the end of September 2006, I set off for a quick visit to photokina in Cologne, having parted company with Icon’s am-pro magazine ƒ2 and not really needing to report on the whole show in detail. Here’s the report I wrote then, with photos, and some thoughts for the 2008 show.

SONY UK has notified us of a press conference to announce an ‘exciting digital camera’ on August 14th.

They have also said that full details will be provided soon. It is possible this will be embargoed - we may attend a meeting on the 14th, but have to agree not to publish until a date later on, perhaps in September.

Update: it seems there is an international Sony Alpha press trip on Sept 9/10th to Edinburgh. Members of the Euro technical press have been invited, as a two-dayer with a stack of nightlife (the Festival and Fringe have just kicked into action today) it is an ideal location for putting the Alpha 900 and new 16-35mm and 70-400mm into the hands of journos. But it’s one week after the Sept 2nd close of the Festival itself, with the fireworks display. The Fringe is still running.

It seems very unlikely that the Aug 14th conference would be the long-awaited Alpha 900 launch since it is only a single day, or part of a day, and would not take place so long before an apparent pre-photokina pan-European press event. Judging by previous launches - Alpha 100, 2-day event in Morocco June 5-7th 2006; Alpha 700 2-day event on Lake Como Italy end of 1st week in September 2007; my guess is that the Edinburgh event is the big hands-on opportunity for the flagship full frame DSLR almost one year to the day after the launch of the 700. A very busy year, too, during which Sony has launched three other DSLR bodies and several important lenses.

Well, Edinburgh’s 45 minutes from my door and even if I am surplus to the tightly controlled A-list of such events I may be able to drop in and join them for a drink, as there’s one or two folk going I would like to say hello to. But then, Edinburgh is an airport! Just because the press gets to land there does not mean the city is where they are headed. I’ve been to big press events at Gleneagles (Kodak) and even in the middle of the Berwickshire countryside (Canon) in the past. It could be anywhere in Scotland - and some places in Scotland are not on our doorstep!

It costs me over one working day and around £200 to get to a London event (I’d rather by invited to almost anywhere in Europe than London in summer…) but whatever goes, the September date is an essential launch I am sure, and not just another Cybershot across the bows of the enemy!

- DK

The latest release of Adobe Lightroom, v2, handles all Sony Alpha and earlier KM digital camera raw formats including the Alpha 700, 200, 300 and 350. It is also updated, along with the final release of Adobe Camera Raw 4.5, to handle Nikon D700. Because Canon appears to have left their filetype identical to the A400, their new 1000D was recognised immediately by ACR even in 4.5 beta version.

This article was originally published in Photoworld magazine April 2008. It discusses the reasons for choosing between the 18-70mm, 16-105mm, 16-80mm, 18-200mm and 18-250mm kit lens choices for the Sony Alpha DSLR system and has been updated from the original text.

One of the problems with the Alpha 350/300 is that the Live View is linked to the settings when you use Manual exposure. It provides a form of metering, a relatively accurate preview of under or over exposure. This makes it impossible to use Manual with studio flash (AC mains strobe) setups. Currently, there is no menu setting to turn off ‘exposure preview with manual’ and enable ‘auto LV gain with manual’. But there is a solution.

CLICKING on key mapping points of a face, then adjusting some simple overlaid Bezier curves using movable anchors, it takes only a minute to load a typical headshot portrait into Portrait Professional.

USERS of the Nikon D3 downloading the latest firmware update have found information strings referring to the D3X and listing the file sizes the forthcoming camera will produce. The sizes match the pixel count of the Sony full-frame CMOS sensor due to be used in the ‘Alpha 900′ Sony full-frame body.

London— April 2, 2008 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) today announced Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 beta, a public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the next major release. Lightroom is the professional photographer’s essential toolbox, providing one application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. Lightroom 2.0 beta will feature enhancements such as dual-monitor support, localised dodge and burn correction and will be the first Adobe application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Intel Macs and Microsoft Vista 64-bit operating systems.

Adobe has released updates to Photoshop Lightroom and the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in, both available immediately as free upgrades for existing users. The releases provide added raw file support for nine additional digital cameras, including the Sony Alpha 200 (already supported by 4.3.2 whether they knew it or not), Alpha 300 and Alpha 350. Lightroom 1.4 also provides updated printer driver compatibility for Apple Leopard Mac OS X 10.5.

The Sony Alpha 350 14.2 megapixel DSLR pioneers a new type of Live View, related to Olympus’s original Mode A of the E-330 where a beamsplitting arrangement allowed a video CCD to view the actual focusing screen of the SLR system.

Apple’s Aperture 2.0 is a tedious program to test, with all its creation of ‘projects’ and ‘libraries’, ‘albums’, ‘vaults’ and nonstandard GUI, and it isn’t fast in processing files or passing them to Photoshop (which it does in 16-bit form, just another step to reverse before saving as far as I’m concerned). However, it’s handling Alpha 700 raw quite well. And it does things differently, with non-destructive raw editing, stacks of image versions, and so on.

The latest full release - no longer Beta, and accepting previous C1 Pro activation keys for unlimited access but otherwise now on 30-day trial - of Capture One v4 now handles Sony Alpha 700 raw files and transforms high ISO rendering in comparison to the industry standard Adobe Camera Raw.

Sony has released a firmware update for the Alpha 700, from version 1.00 (as supplied) to version 2.00, and an updater for Image Data Converter 2.0 SR.

Sony has released a firmware update for the Alpha 100 - version 1.04. This comes in four regional flavours and it is important to use the right one. Here are all the links you need plus instructions.

Adobe has posted updates to Photoshop, Lightroom, and the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in, both available immediately for download on Adobe.com. The updates provide raw file support for 14 additional camera models and camera backs within Lightroom and Camera Raw, including the Sony Alpha 700. Links here.

PRODUCT shots of the Sony Alpha 700 have been released, and are shown here to our standard web page size of 600 pixels or smaller.

TEMPORARY website pages on the afternoon (GMT) of September 5th managed to leak the entire specification sheet and several new PR images of the advanced amateur Alpha model, along with its name - the Alpha 700. You wouldn’t pick a wife or husband on the basis of their on-paper specification, so remember, the only way to partner up with a DSLR and be happy is to try it in your hands first.

Today, Sony introduced a new service to grow its digital photography business across Europe: www.printbysony.net/storelocator.

The new Multimap mapping service, which links customers to Sony’s digital photography services, launched today in the UK and Greece and will soon feature locations throughout Germany, Spain and Sweden.

To save a few dollars, whoever assembled a double page advert for Sony-sponsored photo workshops which (I gather) has just appeared in the US magazine Popular Photography went to cheap online stock library iStockphoto and downloaded this image:

This review from the Summer 2007 edition of Photoworld has been expanded here, and covers the Remote Release IR-1n kit along with third party remote triggers and flash synchronisation options for the Alpha system.

Electronic Flash EF-530 DG SUPER

Advanced features and high performance for the latest digital SLR cameras and 35mm film SLR cameras

NEWS RELEASE from Sigma UK

THE appearance of press-release resolution (14Mb) images of the new Alpha - un-named but thought to be the Alpha 200 or 300 because of the product code earlier assigned to shots of prototypes at PMA - combines with reports on various forums from European Sony executives visiting Japan to suggest that the launch announcement for the new model and a range of full-frame lenses is imminent.

THE FIRST QUESTION anyone asks about the Sony GPS-CS1 device is whether it will work with their non-Sony digital camera. The answer is ‘yes’ but you may need to buy some extra software, as it only comes with software to link up to Sony Picture Motion Browser. If you can ensure that you buy the product sold as GPS-CS1KA it should include a copy of this software in full. If you buy the product coded only as GPS-CS1, it may have nothing apart from a patch-updater program you are supposed to use with your existing Sony installation. So make sure you know exactly what you are buying (there appears to be no price difference, and very few retailers are making any distinction between the two bundles). There seems to be no reason to continue offering the kit with the updater only.

When Konica Minolta’s photographic division closed in April 2006, the Minolta Club of Great Britain (operated by Icon Publications Ltd) acquired a mix of older stock, some dating back as far as 40 years, but much from the late MD and early AF era. We have priced these competitively, after studying international prices and availability, and our stock levels. All prices include VAT (UK and Europe only) and postage (to anywhere in the world, by Airmail Small Packet post). You will receive full invoice documentation, which is attached to the outside of the package in case customs wish to confirm contents and value.

KMB-1 Backpack bag - reduced to £29.95 UK only (£23 + postage inc VAT - closeout bargain!). We still have three cartons of these bags remaining and they take up a lot of storage space. I’m keen to clear them out so we have cut the price in Photoworld magazine. Readers have now had a chance to respond if they want one, so we are extended the offer to this internet page as from Nov 28th. I have also added a single Europe/World price of £39.95 - zero VAT export tax-free covers the additional £7 postage cost for destinations outside Europe.

The KMB-1 backpack bag is a bit of a legend - it is small, intended for a mini outfit not a world trek, but extremely well designed with a clever spring-loaded, button operated retracting shoulder strap that acts as a grab handle when stowed.

The photographs should explain what this bag is all about. Price are £29.95 to the UK, £39.95 to Europe or worldwide.

The basic bag price is now only £19.57 net of VAT. It weighs just under 1,750g packed and postage varies from £12 to £19 for Europe and World purchases - non-trackable, non-signed for. If you want trackable and signed for, European postage can be as high as £32 (Spain, Italy, Greece etc - northern Europe is a bit cheaper) and world, £36.

This is the retractable shoulder/grab strap function shown in action. The reel-holding unit interferes with camera removal and you have to learn how to do this; the camera is turned 90 degrees so the handgrip end emerges over the flap, before you try to lift it out. If you try to pull a 7D out without first turning it like this it is difficult. But - for the same basic reason - the camera is extremely secure in this pack. It could fall out of a car with the bag unzipped and the contents would not be likely to spill out.

This is how the backpack strap stows. It can also be detached and hidden entirely in the laptop pocket. This bag is small enough to wear as a chest pack. Strap it on backwards when working, normal way when walking. The straps on this bag are very generous, and it may be loose on the smaller frame even with full tightening (alteration not too difficult). Main point - it’s not going to be difficult to wear even for the largest photographer.

And this shows the front flap pouch, and how it lowers to get to the main camera compartment without fully opening (your gear can not fall out with it on your back if you forget to do up the zip).

Finally, you can see that there is a back pocket for a laptop which is generous in size for a Powerbook 12 inch, and at each end, two small pockets ideal for batteries (or laptop AC adaptor). What will this bag hold: tested by me - Dynax 7D with 28-75mm lens - perfect fit in the centre space, lens down. 17-35mm or 11-18mm, with hood, laid sideways, right hand end. Clear space between camera grip and lens well maintained. Left hand divided compartment - lens up to 75-300mm D; 3600HS(D) flash. Would take 5600 with a smaller lens, or would take large lens alone with divider removed. 70-200mm SSM fits, with the divider placed above the one to the left of the camera, to ensure no rubbing. Tight fit but goes. You can’t get the camera out without removing the lens first if you try to fit a real monster like this in the bag. Side pockets will hold 6X NP400 batteries total, front pockets 8X AA, CF cards etc.

UK order - £29.95 including VAT and post:

Europe or Worldwide order - £39.95 (inc VAT Europe, tax free elsewhere, including post to any part of the world (click button BELOW not above):

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The soft case CS-5 is for the Dynax/Maxxum 5 film SLR (and also fit the Dynax 3 and 4, 40 and 60 but not earlier larger body SLRs like the 505). Please note this is NOT for the Dynax/Maxxum 5D and will not fit the digital body at all. It’s for the film model 5. Our price is only £15 ($30) shipped to anywhere in the world. If you would like a similar soft case for the 5D with certain lenses only, try the CS DG-8, officially made for the A1/A2 but a very neat fit on the 5D too.

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For Dimage 5, 7, 7i, 7Hi, A1, A2 and A200 owners we have the excellent leather-look (synthetic) camera pouch CS DG-8 which is strapless (you lock the camera’s own strap into a small press stud loop, which prevents the pouch from being lost).
It has a velcro closure, and inside the case lid is a pocket which accepts a spare NP400/NP800 battery or 4X AA. This a minimal, tasteful, practical protective ever-ready case for your 7/A series at £12 ($24). This case will also fit the Dynax 5D or Alpha 100 with 50mm f1.7, f1.4, 28mm f2 or 2.8, 35mm f2, 50mm f3.5 macro, 24mm f2.8 or similar size of wide-angle to standard lens. It will not fit the 5D/A100 with 18-70mm zoom or any similar lens.

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For X1 owners, we have two different cases. Both seem to be popular. The first one featured here has a lengthy model number CS-DG 104 BK which you read on the pack in the photo. It’s made of a kind of reinforced hitec synthetic, with an almost denim-like grey texture. To keep things simple, this is £10 ($20) posted anywhere - again, to anywhere in the world.

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The alternative doesn’t come packaged. It’s a real leather case, and my own favourite. Made for the X1 it will also fit the XG, XT, X31, X21, and X20. These are loose, maximum packaging is a polybag, but they are all identical real leather with the embossed logo. They have a belt loop which is sewn, not openable, so once on your belt, they can not easily be lost or filched. Again, our price is £10 ($20) including postage and packing to anywhere in the world. My mobile phone is living in one of these right now. They are also a good billfold or change wallet.

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This leather case is made for the Dimage G500, G600, G400, G530 and similar shaped cameras. It costs £10 ($20) including worldwide post.

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The CS-DG1000 case for the Z-series is actually a super, versatile all round case suitable for flashguns and lenses. This accepts all Z models from Z1 to Z6, and many other similar cameras.
It is also an excellent belt case for items like flashguns, or lenses such as the 24-105mm or 50mm macro; it will fit the 11-18mm or 17-35mm with lens hood attached and reversed. It is a perfect case the the 3600HS(D) flashgun - an exact fit, and the battery pocket inside even fits the shoe stand. In fact, as a lens or flash case, with belt loop or shoulder strap option, this is much better than many alternatives. It costs £10 ($20) including postage.

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Here is a vintage strap from the days of the Dynax/Maxxum xi models, with a sewn-on Creative Expansion Card case. Apart from having a European ‘Dynax’ name on the strap - rather spoils for US buyers, sorry - a little surgery with a craft knife quickly converts the velcro-closed holder to accept two CF Cards neatly, a little tightly, but safely and securely. Our price £8 (a mere $16) shipped anywhere, you do the surgery yourself. You can also cut through the threads attaching the card wallet, and have a perfectly good new Dynax wide strap - it takes seconds, and the strap is unaffected except for pinhole marks where the sewing used to be. NEWS UPDATE… THIS STRAP’S WALLET IS AN ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, EXACT FIT for Sony Memorystick Pro Duo cards - compatible with the new Alpha, using Sony’s affordable CF adaptor, and probably with your existing DSLR. This strap/case will hold, perfectly, six Memorystick Pro Duo cards. It will not hold SD cards, they are too large.

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You can view the contents of your shopping basket and check out with Paypal payment (credit cards can be used) or continue shopping. There’s a basket check button on all pages, don’t panic, nothing will be lost if you leave this page and go to another.

DxO OPTICS PRO 4.1 is the latest version of a clever raw file processor which includes lens lookup tables to auto-correct distortion, vignetting and chromatic aberration. It also lets you alter the look of Dynax or Alpha images so they match popular films - or other DSLRs by Canon and Nikon!

A DEDICATED helpline is available for Konica Minolta Dynax and Dimage digital system owners, and also for film camera owners. The helpline phone number is 0870 0104107.

All repairs for Konica, Minolta and Konica Minolta branded photographic products are handled by;
JP Service Solutions
Johnsons Photopia Ltd
Hempstalls Lane
Newcastle under Lyme
Staffordshire ST5 0SW
Tel: 01782 753366 – Fax: 01782 753340
Email: kmsupport@jpss.co.uk

SONY may announce further firmware upgrades or indeed products. Your first step should be to check Sony’s website regularly:
www.sony.co.uk
Their general helpline, which will have information on any other numbers, addresses, departments or offices which Konica Minolta owners may need to reach in future, is: 08705 111 999
Our website www.photoclubalpha.com has a full directory of useful links for downloading software or obtaining help, on its LINKS page. For downloadable printable manuals, legacy firmware and software updates, visit:
http://ca.konicaminolta.com/support/americas/
For the Sony European user service – there is still no UK user club:
www.sony.co.uk/nextlevel
To order KM/Sony parts, accessories, and new Sony flash components etc, contact Adrian Paul at:
www.photostore-uk.com
Adrian joined the Minolta Club in 1981 as an adminstrative trainee, and in 1988 when Icon Publications Ltd moved to Scotland, he took over the entire club operation for several years. Today he provides the Club’s UK lens hire service, and holds a dealer account with Sony (as he previously did with Konica Minolta) allowing him to stock a large range of small parts, spares, and accessories which dealers are generally unwilling to have ‘on the shelf’.

E-Books from Gary Friedman are user guides, mines of information and all-round treasuries of inspiration for Alpha owners - see www.friedmanarchives.com for details and how to buy them either as a physical printed book, or a download. His e-Books include:

• Dynax 7D/5D
• Dimage A1/A2 book (equally applicable to the Dimage A200)
• Alpha 100
• Alpha 700
• Alpha 200/300/350

dPreview

dPreview is recognised as one of the most important camera test sites on the web. While some visitors complain of bias, we do not believe that is the case, and Phil Askey’s test report on the Alpha 100 while missing a few minor plus points was very fair. This report also showed that the Sony Alpha 100 has (and still has) the highest extinction resolution of all the 10.2 megapixel class DSLRs. dPreview has now covered the Alpha 350 and 200 as well as the 700, a different staff writer covering each camera.

Read Phil’s review.

Phil has also done a review of the Alpha 700.

Alpha 200 review - Alpha 350 review

Raw converters

Sony Alpha owners will find that Adobe Photoshop CS2/3 and Photoshop Elements 4.0/5.0/6.0 include a good .ARW raw file converter in the current version of Adobe Camera Raw 3.x/4.x (anything later than 3.4 will process Alpha 100 .ARW files, 4.3 or later is needed for .ARW2 files from the A700/200 and is much improved over the first compatible version, 4.2, so upgrade your installation if you are still using 4.2). Earlier versions will not handle Alpha files. 4.5 handles 350 files well.

You can also convert .ARW raw files from the Sony Alpha 100 into Adobe .DNG (Digital Negative) universal raw files, readable by earlier versions Adobe Photoshop 7, CS and Elements 3. Please note that downloading auto-updates for Photoshop does NOT automatically update the raw converter, and this must be done as a separate, manual download. There are two download options, both entirely free, for the DNG converter and the ACR 3.x/4.x plug-in (which requires CS2/3 Mac/PC; or PSE 3/4 for Mac, PSE 4/5 for Windows; and is not compatible with earlier versions):

Windows download page

Mac download page

Adobe Lightroom, a dedicated raw file conversion and ‘digital asset management’ utility, which is a complete stand alone product including A100 conversion, can be purchased from:

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/

There’s a great Mac-only raw file developer for the A100, A700, A200 and previous Konica Minolta DSLRs - RAWDeveloper from Iridient. This is really fast, allows scaled exports, has superb noise reduction and is a highly professional workflow solution.

Another alternative is Silkypix Developer Studio, a Japanese developed raw file converter, which has something in common with Sony’s Image Converter SR, and will - again - handle both the new A700/A200 and A100 file formats and previous Minolta and Konica Minolta raw files, for those with mixed systems. This is available in both Windows and Mac versions.

Bibble, a popular commercial multi-format raw converter and browser utility, now supports the Alpha 100/700/200. We have had some problems with scaled-up output showing unwanted raster-like patterns, but for normal size files BibblePro offers NoiseNinja which is one of the best ways of dealing with the Alpha 100’s rather strong high-ISO noise levels.

DxOptics Pro also now supports some Konica Minolta/Sony DSLRs and includes automatic correction for a few Minolta/Sony lenses. This deals with chromatic aberration, fringes, curvature of lines and vignetting of brightness towards the corners of the field, and it is especially useful with digital format zooms. They do not appear to have fulfilled the promise of serious support, and are concentrating on the obvious cashcows of Canon and Nikon ownership percentages. The latest v5.2 update brings the Alpha 700, 200 and 350 into the fold with an odd set of lenses but omits the 300 entirely.

An excellent top-level raw .MRW/.ARW converter, if a little hard to master, is Capture One Pro made by Phase One, the Danish digital medium-format back manufacturer. The good news is that if you buy a SanDisk Extreme III memory card right now (as from October 16th 2006) a version normally costing $99 called CaptureOne Pro LE is included on the card free of charge. You can also download trial software, and upgrade this LE version to the full product, by visiting Phase One’s website. The latest versions are good at handling high ISO noise but Phase One is fairly slow to add new camera models.

Recently, a Mac-only converter came to light, RawPhotoProcessor. This is simple and deep. It reveals a lot about the image through reading the makernote and metadata comments hidden in each file. It is fast and small. It has no noise reduction beyond simply chroma blurring, and no sharpening option.

http://www.raw-photo-processor.com/RPP/Downloads.html

Another commercial program we really like - it has a very good interface - which works well with the 5D, 7D and A100 but awaits A700 addition is LightZone from Lightcrafts Inc. This is a feature-laden full image management system which can match Aperture or Lightroom on most levels and even replace Photoshop for some work.

http://www.lightcrafts.com/download/download.html

This program is not very well marketed internationally, yet. Of all the commercial offerings it has the most potential, I think, for cross-platform universal application. It is apparently JAVA-based.

A good PC-only raw converter, small enough to run on palmtop devices and Origami platform machines, is RawTherapee. This independently written experimental converter has won many converts amongst Alpha 700 users, as it offered support right from the start and overcame most of the smurrging issues present in high ISO detail:

http://www.rawtherapee.com

Let us know of any other raw converter links, and I will add them.

Support and resources

For legacy support and information on Konica Minolta photo-digital products, we currently recommend the website below, which has not disabled all its downloads of software, firmware, etc: http://ca.konicaminolta.com/support/americas/

For information on the Sony Alpha system and the new Sony Alpha 100 DSLR, the UK Sony site now has some really excellent resources in place. Use the High Bandwidth option if you possibly can, and expore both ‘Assignments’ and ‘Equipment’: http://www.sony.co.uk/nextlevel

The bimonthly magazine for freelance photographers, f2 Freelance+Digital, has a dedicated website where many PDF articles can be downloaded. We have included on this site many PDFs from our Photoworld magazine. f2 magazine moved to new publishers from the October/November 2006 edition, but our website remains operational. Registration is necessary but paid subscription is only required to access the archives of older articles - new editions are free for two months to all comers, subscribers can download from well over 100 previous articles: http://www.f2photo.co.uk/

You can view a selection of full size, 10.2 megapixel images taken with the new Sony Alpha 100 on David Kilpatrick’s pBase pages. At the last count there were over 70 examples and the Alpha images had clocked up over 100,000 views. There’s lots of technical information on the tests, examples, and comparison present on these pages. These include comments, captions and EXIF shooting data: http://www.pbase.com/davidkilpatrick

There is an independent Minolta M-AF forum and website, Dyxum, which offers many useful resources including lens tests and storage card speed comparisons. Unlike dPreview, Dyxum does not ban participants for being associated with specialist websites like Photoclubalpha, and has kindly promoted and helped us in the past: http://www.dyxum.com

Yahoogroups include one dedicated entirely to Minolta which in practice is used by Sony Alpha owners as well - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Minolta/. There is also a Yahoogroup called SonyAlpha, at least until Sony’s legal dept ask them to cease and desist: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SonyAlpha/.

A busy forum is well established at Dynaxdigital - http://www.dynaxdigital.com/

Carl Garrard and T E Morrison have set up a site called Alphamountworld which offers forums, reviews and articles and will be reporting from major trade shows in the US. Carl is also going to post articles from his show visits or press invites to Photoworldalpha.

A useful group with a strong photography emphasis is UKExpert - forums and galleries and many further onwards links. It was a pleasure to meet Andy from UKExpert at the Sony Alpha 700 launch, and great to know that Sony value the presence of independent opinion-formers.

There is a photo sharing site (by far the most popular web activity for photographers!) at Shootalpha.com. This is, after all, what camera clubs and even august professional associations do - share their pictures and pass generally not unkind comments on them to each other, with the occasional bit of constructive crit. Do not expect to encounter the photo equivalent of Simon Cowell stalking the gallery pages, you will be welcomed as a beginner and find your level quickly. There is also an active forum.

Dealers and spares

At Icon Publications Ltd we now have just a selection of Minolta glass filters; MD/AF hard lens cases (many types); Dynax branded original camera straps; Minolta leather cases ideal for iPhones, iPods etc; and Vectis BPS-1 battery base grips for the Vectis S-1.

Former Minolta Club administrator Adrian Paul has his own specialist business selling spares, accessories and smaller hard-to-obtain products from the Minolta and Konica Minolta ranges, and will be offering Sony Alpha system products in future. The Photostore is a mail-order business only and Adrian offers a fast, excellent standard of service and knowledge: http://www.photostore-uk.com/

Lens rental is also available from the Photostore in the UK, but applies only to Photoworld magazine subscribers, and full details are printed in each magazine. There is a new Alpha lens rental service operating in the USA - http://www.alphalensrental.com/index.html.

In New Zealand, the Sony Service Centre for Alpha is http://www.phototronic.co.nz/ - they are also dealers, an ideal one-stop shop for purchases and repairs, run by a former Minolta UK Ltd service department staff member.

Pro dealers Calumet have the Alpha system now as a main line, after decades of sidelining the Minolta mount. This is very important and will put the Alpha in front of Britain’s working professionals: http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/.

London Camera Exchange Colchester is now a Sony ACE dealer and has committed to supporting this website and our magazine. Manager David Jenner will always try to offer the best deal to Photoclubalpha members! Email them on colchester@LCEgroup.co.uk or call 01206 573444.

To find out about the values of used cameras, visit the Monark camera price guide site - http://www.cameravalues.com/

Thank you for visiting the photoclubalpha.com site. If you would like to receive future information by email from Sony UK about the Alpha system, and news of future developments for the former Minolta Club of Great Britain, please email david@photoclubalpha.com using the heading ‘Add to Alpha mailing list’.

A review by David Kilpatrick from Photoworld Spring 2007 with additional updates

MY SONY Carl Zeiss 16-80mm “superzoom” arrived from Warehouseexpress - the best price I could find and one of the very best dealers in terms of service - packed rather minimally for a £465 purchase.

PHOTOCLUB ALPHA is the website for the Photoworld Club - the former Minolta Club of Great Britain after the final closure of the Konica Minolta camera division on March 31st 2006. David & Shirley Kilpatrick - that’s us, aka Icon Publications Ltd - first started using Minolta SLR systems in 1974. In 1981 we were asked by Minolta Camera Co. Ltd to run the existing club and produce its quarterly magazine, Photoworld; we did this for 25 years with their support and later that of Konica Minolta Photo Imaging (UK) Ltd. In 1987 we formed Icon which is the siteowner of photoclubalpha.com, and now publishes Photoworld as an independent quarterly full colour glossy magazine for Minolta, KM and Sony Alpha DSLR system users.

SUBSCRIBE NOW to the magazine and support this website!

Photoworld started life in 1966 as a black and white newsletter produced by David Shaw, marketing manager of Japanese Cameras Ltd, the UK importing company owned by Charles Strasser which handled Minolta, Soligor, Miranda and several other brands. It became an A4 magazine with some colour in 1976. Between 1982 and 2004 it changed name to Minolta Image. Over 100 editions have been produced under our editorship.

You can download the entire PDF for the final Konica Minolta supported edition, which would have been a 25th anniversary edition for us and nearly 40th anniversary edition for the British Minolta Club. It includes a few words of farewell as well as optimism for the future.

What made the Minolta Club of Great Britain possible was the long-term loyalty of thousands of system owners, and the regular intake of new members through the medium of leaflets in product packaging. This new intake is no longer easy to find. Sony packaging will not contain any references to the former Minolta Club for obvious reasons, and Minolta or Konica Minolta products are now generally out of stock as well as out of production.

The future of the club and the magazine are Icon Publications Ltd’s responsibility. Sony will provide their own web-based club open only to buyers of new Alpha equipment, closed to our existing Minolta Club members unless they invest in Alpha. Konica Minolta will not allow use of its trade names for a continued Minolta owner club site, something difficult to reconcile with the many enthusiast and owner clubs independently run for countless makes and brands past and present.

Existing subscribers have received the Autumn 2006, Winter 2007 and Spring 2007 magazines, following up Summer’s first Alpha 100 report with more detailed tests. We have welcomed support from Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd, Intro2020 Ltd (Tamron lenses), The Flash Centre, and Calumet Group. This enabled us to mail all current and previous subscribers, including those who have allowed their subscription to lapse, with the first (Summer 06) magazine in our new situation. We really need new blood, however - new photographers to feature in our pages and competitions, to join in with or create future events for readers, to write for us, perhaps to lecture in our sponsored camera club talks programme.

We are offering a chance to resubscribe with a worthwhile welcome gift of a versatile Z-case or a Minolta MB-1 camera kit bag (subject to postage and packing charges only).

Download and install latest FIRMWARE and SOFTWARE updates for the Alpha 100 and Sony image conversion/browsing packages.

View David Kilpatrick’s latest page of images on pBase - example shots from the new Carl Zeiss 16-80mm f3.5-4.5 DT ZA zoom taken on the Alpha 100.

Run our Alpha System web slideshow