Hello From St. Louis, - USA
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:56 pm
Greeting all! I found this site a few months ago when looking into rumours of Sony's bringing out a FF camera, and finally started to register.
I got my photographic start at 8, when my oldest sister broke the rules and spent more than allotted for the Christmas exchange and gave me a Kodak Instamatic. I immediately became the family photographer. When we went out west on our big vacation to Yellowstone a few years later, Pop got out the Argus C3 he'd bought in Japan, while on leave from Korea, and had it tuned up. Boy was I hooked on the better quality photos!
Around 1980 I decided to go SLR, and asked a Pro friend for advise. I told him I wanted a good yet affordable SLR that, should I get the bug, I could build into a Pro system. His response, Minolta XGM. I've been a Minolta Man ever since.
Next came the X700, X 570, another XGM that Kmart had lost in a storeroom and gave away new for practically nothing. I added a couple of SRTs after I had a battery failure - with no spare - in the middle of the Brazilian Rain Forrest.
And lenses! More that I ever thought I'd need. From a 20mm to a 500, I've run the gamut. Most of them not Minolta, as I was always on a tight budget, but they did fine.
When my brother and sister were looking to get SLRs, it was AF only, so they have a Maxxums - a 7000 and a 9000. I always stuck with the manual focus, and started going the other way - to simpler cameras, and larger formats. Yashica TLRs for weddings, and a Crown Graphic for family reunions, great landscapes and special weddings.
Along the way I occasionally employed my gear to do weddings or a little photo-journalism, but most of my pics were just for family, friends or myself.
Last April, an old friend asked me to cover his daughters June wedding, and I agreed to do so. I went down to the pro shop I always used for proofing and printing, only to discover that they no longer touched film! So.... Off I went to find a digital SLR to do the work.
I ended up with an A350, and I hope to build out from there. My biggest disappointment with it is that there's no X-sync terminal. I don't think I should have to step up to an A700 or buy an adapter for something so basic!
So, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
Dusty
I got my photographic start at 8, when my oldest sister broke the rules and spent more than allotted for the Christmas exchange and gave me a Kodak Instamatic. I immediately became the family photographer. When we went out west on our big vacation to Yellowstone a few years later, Pop got out the Argus C3 he'd bought in Japan, while on leave from Korea, and had it tuned up. Boy was I hooked on the better quality photos!
Around 1980 I decided to go SLR, and asked a Pro friend for advise. I told him I wanted a good yet affordable SLR that, should I get the bug, I could build into a Pro system. His response, Minolta XGM. I've been a Minolta Man ever since.
Next came the X700, X 570, another XGM that Kmart had lost in a storeroom and gave away new for practically nothing. I added a couple of SRTs after I had a battery failure - with no spare - in the middle of the Brazilian Rain Forrest.
And lenses! More that I ever thought I'd need. From a 20mm to a 500, I've run the gamut. Most of them not Minolta, as I was always on a tight budget, but they did fine.
When my brother and sister were looking to get SLRs, it was AF only, so they have a Maxxums - a 7000 and a 9000. I always stuck with the manual focus, and started going the other way - to simpler cameras, and larger formats. Yashica TLRs for weddings, and a Crown Graphic for family reunions, great landscapes and special weddings.
Along the way I occasionally employed my gear to do weddings or a little photo-journalism, but most of my pics were just for family, friends or myself.
Last April, an old friend asked me to cover his daughters June wedding, and I agreed to do so. I went down to the pro shop I always used for proofing and printing, only to discover that they no longer touched film! So.... Off I went to find a digital SLR to do the work.
I ended up with an A350, and I hope to build out from there. My biggest disappointment with it is that there's no X-sync terminal. I don't think I should have to step up to an A700 or buy an adapter for something so basic!
So, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
Dusty
