Photoclub Alpha

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 morning I received from the Managing Director of Sony United Kingdom Limited a copy of the book ‘Sony Alpha Lenses’, inscribed to me and signed by Mr Katsumoto, Senior General Manager of the Alpha Mount Company. This is a very high-quality book which contains not only the expected promotional shoot images (nice freebie trip to the French Riviera in the company of an attractive model, properly credited to the facilitators in small print at the end of the volume) but work from four selected former Minolta shooting stars.

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.

THE Konica Minolta Maxxum/Dynax 5D colour modes and conversions are like a whole box of film choices in one roll. This article was written using the 5D in 2005. The modes of the Sony Alpha 100 are similar, but the colour palettes will vary from these results.

NOT AS a force in the market but as a camera body! This question divides the camp of Alpha owners expecting to upgrade to the new Advanced Amateur model (codename A300) when it appears later this year. We now expect the AA model to be on sale before the end of October 2007 in some markets, with a publicity release date some before this.

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

I SELL digital images through Alamy, the on-line photo library. When an original piece of art is out of copyright, and displayed in public or by an owner permitting photography, the ability to get a good quality reproduction copy on the spot without lights, tripod or flash is valuable. Some 8 per cent of my overall Alamy images sales over the past four years have been of signs, notices and labels - disproportionately high, compared to the actual number of such shots. As someone has commented, editors like pictures which tell their own story, and sometimes have words in the pictures does just that.

9 July, 2007 - As take up of High Definition (HD) gains momentum in Europe, Sony is to launch a major Pan-European marketing campaign to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the company’s HD proposition and to educate consumers about the intricacies of HD.

IN 1998 Minolta published, for their 70th anniversary, a large poster featuring all the landmark cameras from their own museum and employee collections. Many of the cameras shown - all fairly small on the poster - were well used and worn examples. The original image-files for the poster, which we have archived, are of poor quality. They are Japanese inkset CMYK sharpened for pre-press, with very dark gamma. This page re-creates all the information from the original poster, complete with the photographs.

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.

YOU MAY want to learn exactly how I shoot the product photographs which appear in my own articles here at Photoclubalpha. I use a studio light table with an opal plexiglass transilluminated scoop. This is the method I have used now for over 25 years and it’s saved me a lot of time, and earned me a lot of money.

THE LENSBABY was a novelty item when first introduced as a low-cost meniscus lens mounted on a flexible concertina tube with an SLR mount-fitting at the other end. Like the Diana or Holga cameras sometimes used by professionals to capture a feel of post-modern grunge, it used aberrations creatively.

TESTING the flash options most widely sold for the Minolta/Sony unique hot shoe system became a necessity after the launch of the Alpha 100. Despite the reliability of automatic TTL off-the-film flash metering ever since Minolta first introduced it with the Auto Electroflash PX series in 1981, things began to go wrong with the shift to digital SLRs.

HAODA FU has been supplying alternative focusing screens for the 5D and A100 since 2006 and for many other makes before this. While the Alpha system DSLRs are not intended to have user-changeable screens, it is relatively easy and risk-free.

I CARRY a camera everywhere, because you never know when a good photograph is round the corner. I also just grab the camera from my office, and rarely think to check the settings. Today, I managed to shoot everything with Super Steady Shot (Anti-Shake) carefully switched off on my Alpha 100.

IN 2006 before the Sony Alpha 100 was launched, my Dynax 7D went on its last serious travel shoot, spending a short week in the south-west of Ireland.

IT IS not a good idea to have flash cables trailing around an aquarium, and the typical home setup will not be suitable for available light shooting

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!

The latest Photoworld edition, Autumn07, appeared on November 1st 2007. It contains a first review of the Alpha 700 including a report on the UK press conference. It also covers the Sony World Photo Awards. Articles include a journey to China from Colin Brenchley, a portfolio by Paul Murphy, and autumn scenes by John Gilkerson. Issues are published in January, April, July and October.

FREE MAGAZINE SAMPLE - UK ONLY

If you are in the UK and would like a sample magazine, we have a limited number of the random back issues available free on a first serve basis. Send an A4 self-addressed envelope with 55p stamp affixed to Photoworld Sample at the address shown below. You will receive a back issue and a postal subscription form.

To subscribe by post to Photoworld in the UK, send a cheque/PO made payable to Icon Publications Ltd for £19.95 to Photoclubalpha Subscriptions, Icon Publications Ltd, FREEPOST, Kelso TD5 7BR. No stamp is needed. You will receive:

• A free ‘most recent available’ back issue
• Welcome information letter
• Current or last issue to start your subscription term
• The balance of the year in quarterly magazines

You can download a PDF version of our latest printed application form.

This does include Europe and World subs. The pricing can be found on Page 2 of the PDF in fairly small print - sorry, it was designed for UK use.

Alternatively, and for all Europe/World subscriptions, see web subscription offers. These include bare-bones subscription prices starting at £17.95 with no back issue (£2 off the standard subscription price), and offers with free gifts (you pay postage & packing only).

SOME time ago I got hold a Soligor Pro 0.75X converter - a front-of-lens job. This is not something anyone should consider using on a DSLR. The Soligor was a bit different because it cost nearly as much as the ACW-100 wide angle converter for the Konica Minolta A1/A2/A200, which does an excellent job, and fitted a 62mm filter thread. That’s about the largest rear thread on any converter I have seen.

I AM not a Mom, and if I was, I’d be a Mum because we don’t have Moms in Britain, just the same way we don’t have Pops. I grew up in a world where everyone had Mummies and Daddies, and having a Mum and Dad would have been non-u, infra-dig. Times change and our kids grew up with a Mum and Dad and ended up with parents just as likely to sign off an email with Christian names as anything else.

So, I do not qualify to test out the latest Sony Alpha system ‘product’. It looks like you have to be a Mom to do this one, and it’s firmly aimed at Mickey Mouse’s home territory. Disney has launched a ‘Digital Photogaphy 101′ course

Here’s a thought for today, in the absence of Microsoft’s new Vista operating system. Don’t want to break the Dell which does all necessary PC stuff and seems happy on XP Home Edition, even if that makes people laugh. The last pre-Intel Mac OS and presumably the current Intel incarnation have a Find function in the ‘Finder’, not exactly analagous to Windows Explorer but the system’s interface for all operations and present no matter what you do.

This ‘Find’ function has been amended at some point to go right into the EXIF data

Our articles are written as ‘Posts’ and automatically added to Categories, Recent Posts and Archives. This manual index to articles will help you find the larger reviews, as distinct from short pieces on assorted subjects:

Main camera reviews

Which Sony Alpha? Choosing between the A700, A200, A300 and A350.

Sony Alpha 350 Live View tested

Sony Alpha 200 guided tour (full description with large photos and comments on operation)

Sony Alpha 700 operation and use review: the Interface

Sony Alpha 100 report from the launch of the camera

Major overviews

70 Years of Minolta History - 113 cameras from 1928 to 1998

Lens Reviews

The 70-300mm SSM G sized up (first report)

Carl Zeiss 16-80mm zoom review

Tamron 18-250mm zoom review

Lensbaby 3G selective zonal focus tilt/swing lens

Software Reviews

DxO Optics Pro 4.1 review

Seven raw processors tested with Alpha 700

Apple Aperture 2.0

Capture One v4Â

Accessories and aftermarket

Haoda Fu split-image/microprism replacement focusing screen for Dynax 5D or Alpha 100

Flash choices for the digital SLRs (camera top bounce/direct)

Studio Light table review and technique

Sony GPS-CS1 device to pin your pictures on Googlemaps

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE PDF VERSIONS OF PHOTOWORLD BACK ISSUES

You may now download from this site a complete 36-page ‘edition’ PDF of the Summer06 issue of Photoworld, at a medium quality 150dpi resolution suitable for viewing up to 200 per cent on most monitors or printing out to better than webpage quality. Printed copies are still available for new subscribers.

You can also download as an alternative just our eight-page article covering the European launch of the Sony Alpha 100 camera in Morocco. It is in two versions, page by page and in spreads, and is a little over 2Mb in size.

We have now made the autumn06 edition of Photoworld available for download, again, it’s a 36-page edition. Click here to download (10MB). It includes a report on Sony’s Alpha system as exhibited at photokina (Sept 25-Oct 1st, Cologne). There is some detailed test material on the A100 including comparisons with other 10 megapixel DSLRs; a great account of Duncan McEwan’s assignment to cover the Commonwealth Games in Australia using his Dynax 7D kit with 70-200mm SSM; a timely portfolio of off-season images from award winning garden photographer Tony Jones.

Photoworld Winter07 (January) is one of the best editions we’ve had yet. It contains a superb Carl Zeiss 135mm Æ’1.8 ZA lens portfolio from Wietse Jongsma, and a brilliant landscape essay from the Dynax 7D of Neil Paskin. At the heart of the issue is a big article from a big man - Gary Friedman visits Cuba, taking wonderful character portraits of people he met, talked to, and encountered in their own space. This is not tourist photography, it’s something else. You can now download the entire 36-page issue as an 8.5Mb PDF file.

If you wish to subscribe to Photoworld just download our complete postal application form. However, you can also do so using our online Paypal subscription service. This has additional bare-bones price and free gift offer options not included on the postal form.

PHOTOWORLD is published seasonally four times a year and is sent by Airmail to subscribers outside the UK (not by slow surface mail) so it is received within a week of printing. UK subscriptions are posted by 2nd class Press-stream. Every issue has 36 pages on heavy gloss art paper, full colour, printed sheetfed litho with a fine screen to allow the full detail of pictures to be studied. There is an open Gallery you can submit images to, and every edition features tests or reviews of the latest equipment along with articles by professional and enthusiast Alpha system and vintage Minolta users.

Photograph by John Gilkerson - Scotland, mid-November, 2006

PHOTOWORLD is available on subscription by mail to anywhere in the world. You can subscribe at minimum prices with no additional back issue (which we have in the past included) to keep postage costs down. These prices are the same as for advance RENEWAL of subscriptions. You may also use these buy it buttons (please inform us by email) to renew your existing subscription.

UK RENEWAL or starter subscription with current issue only - £17.95.

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EUROPE RENEWAL or starter subscription with current issue only - £19.95.

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WORLD RENEWAL or starter subscription with current issue only - £23.95.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS WITH VINTAGE KONICA MINOLTA GIFTS

We are offering a subscriber gift - the very neat belt/shoulder Konica Minolta CS-DG1000 Z-case which is great for lenses or flashguns as well as Z-series digital cameras. This neat zipper case has a generous belt loop plus two D-rings and a shoulder strap. We find it great to fit on a belt, and use it when changing lenses - a kind of platform to pop the lens in, freeing the hands.

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UK subscription 1 year including free CS-DG1000 Z-case which will fit Z-series cameras, many lenses including 11-18mm, 17-35mm, or flash units including the 3600 (perfect) and 5600 (tight but it fits). Cost - £21.95 (£19.95 subscription includes one back issue and current issue; £2 p&p/handling for case).

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European subscription including the CS-DG1000 case. Cost £24.95. (£21.95 subscription includes back issue and current issue; £3 p&p for case).

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World subscription (outside Europe) including the CS-CG1000 case. Cost £27.95. (£23.95 subscription includes back issue and current, £4 p&p for case).

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There is now an excellent PDF format e-book written by Gary Friedman as a user guide, mine of information and all-round treasury of inspiration for Alpha 100 owners – see www.friedmanarchives.com for details and how to buy this either as a physical printed book, or a download. It’s nearly 400 pages but very easy to read on-screen, and the expensive printed edition (even more so if you use your own inkjet!) is not necessary. Gary also has a Dynax 7D/5D book, and Dimage A1/A2 book (equally applicable to the A200).

There’s a new e-book in for the Alpha 700 as well on this site, and Gary has been busy shooting with it in the Autumn season!
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 is very fair. This report also shows that the Sony Alpha 100 has (and still has) the highest extinction resolution of all the 10.2 megapixel class DSLRs.

Read Phil’s review.

Phil has also done a review of the Alpha 700.

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.

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 Alpha 700 was not supported last time we checked.

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 Beta 4 version is remarkably unstable and still doesn’t support all the newer cameras.

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.

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, Æ’2 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. Æ’2 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

The main Icon Publications Ltd site allows subscription to Photoworld magazine, including special offer options with free gifts (subject to additional postage & packing only). We also have a range of discontinued Minolta products for sale, some Alpha-compatible, and details of our other photo magazines: http://www.iconpublications.com/

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.

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/. Sad news is that in January 2008 they sold off a lot of stock at half price because it had not been shifting well enough.

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.

THE NEW Tamron 18-250mm has some importance to Alpha system users. It is almost certainly the optical basis for the forthcoming Sony SAL 18-250mm version, and as a APS-C 13.7X zoom with an equivalent 27-375mm (in full frame terms) range is uniquely suited to the SSS-enabled Dynax 5D, 7D and Sony Alpha 100