Photoclubalpha

On the A900, my SAL-70400G will focus better overall with a -1 correction. With telephoto lenses, one step of micro-adjustment will make more of a difference than with wide-angle lenses. Shoot one lens at different apertures, lighting conditions, and ranges, carefully scan the results for obvious fr...

Have a look here:

http://www.artaphot.ch/lens-comparisons ... x-apo-conv

Bottom line: The Minolta AF Apo 300 mm 1:2.8 G is fairly good but the Sony SAL 300 mm 1:2.8 G SSM is even better.

-- Olaf

Just dropped by to tell you that your recommendations led me to purchase the HDR XR-550E today ... Congratulations, Yildiz, and have fun with your new toy! Have you chosen a video-processing software yet? As I said, I bought Adobe Premiere Elements 8.0. Just a few days ago, Adobe published an updat...

But [the Sigma 12-24] is, until now, the only one-shot solution I (we) have ... Umm ... when thinking about it, there's another solution, albeit a weird one: the 11-18 mm lens for APS-C format. From 14 mm or 15 mm on and longer, it can fill the full 35-mm format. The Tamron incarnation in particula...

And 17mm isn't always wide enough. So ... I'm apparently shopping for a new lens. - First thing coming to my mind was "finally I can justify a fish-eye (but I'll have to de-fisheye on post-processing) ... Full-frame fish-eye lenses for 35-mm format are 15 or 16 mm. When de-fishing those then y...

Avoid old MC lenses unless you are looking for a dreamy effect (they are way more prone to flare. No! Do not avoid MC lenses generally! Actually, many MC are great even by today's standards, and some are even better than their successors. MC lenses to look for are: MC W.Rokkor-NL 21 mm 1:2.8 MC W.R...

I'll have to check to see what happens with the aperture. Oh yes, the aperture. Doh. Why didn't I think of that ...? Yesterday evening I tried the trick with the Konica-Minolta AF-DT 11-18 mm in the dark---at full aperture of course, which works just fine. But it's not possible to stop down. With t...

Did you know it's possible to take full-frame shots with DT lenses on the A900? Just press the lens release button prior to firing the shutter! Normally, the A900 camera will switch to APS-C shooting mode automatically as soon as a DT lens (i. e. a lens with a reduced image circle designed for the d...

The general rule is: Never sell a good lens! Sooner or later you WILL regret.

-- Olaf

For the record, the newest High Definition camcorders come with G lenses while some previous models have Carl Zeiss lenses. So, which lens type do we like on such camcorders so far? Any preference of one over the other? I always had a soft heart towards the Carl Zeiss but Sony tend to build the new...

The Bloggie looks like the Sony HDR-TG7VE which provides some high-definition qualities and managable image sizes. A good choice for carrying in the purse and pocket of one's jacket/shirt. That's right; camcorders in this class are easy to use, particularly easy to carry, and still offer good image...

What do you say? Should I buy it or go for better options? I bought exactly this camera four months ago, and I definitely can recommend it. That said, you also should take a serious look at the equivalent models from Canon and Panasonic in that price category; those are very good too. Still, I pref...

Found this image (not mine) in an article on the annular solar eclipse which occurred yesterday in Africa, Indian Ocean, and South-East Asia. The caption beneath the image, in German, says:

Baghdad: Members of the Academy of Astronomy in Iraq observe the solar eclipse with telescopes.

-- Olaf

See http://sonyalpharumors.com/sr3-new-sony ... -february/. It's supposed to reduce both low-ISO and high-ISO noise. Personally, I am hoping for a re-designed histogram display, for better readability in sunlight.

-- Olaf

The SAL 70-400 G SSM's bokeh is not soo great, is it? It's the same with my sample. It's a great lens in most regards but bokeh is not the strongest point.

-- Olaf