Photoclubalpha

I bought my 100/2 two hours ago. Hopefully get it on monday. It´s going to be an extremely long weekend

Think yourself lucky. I drove my wee Mercedes A140 car into a dealer with a jammed bonnet (hood) and realised it needed an annual service - I was working 60 miles from base, and the Merc dealer just happened to be next to the location I was working at and was able to fit the car in for the service. Two hours later, I was informed one of the the front suspension springs had broken (thought it felt a bit sloppy) and my poor brakes were actually deceased brakes, and one exhaust mounting was corroded through, and... loads of small problems in addition to the jammed bonnet release.

Four hours later, I'd successfully traded in the car (for £1200 more than my local Merc dealer offered in December) against a brand new Honda Jazz 1.4 EX top of the range supermini with £1000 knocked off for pre-reg, which due to the low interest rates I can actually afford to buy - this last car was s/h when bought and did me four and a half years, so I reckon the new one will be good for five to six years. The entire roof is made of glass except a short bit at the back. I hope I never roll it. I will miss the Merc's fully opening roof - no chance of standing up in the car for a high viewpoint any more.

Now I have a long weekend making sure I do not damage my trade-in car (I might just go NOWHERE).

On the way back, I had the new Nikon 18-200mm VR lens to test and nature provided a fantastic sunset which lasted almost 40 minutes - from the sun going down over the Pentland hills, seen from near Pathhead, to Hume Castle silhouetted against a great red-sky-at-night backdrop.

I get to pick up the new car on my birthday, on Monday, which is a bit of fun. We will take the 18-200mm out for a drive in the Ochill Hills or Fife.

However, I would much rather be testing a 100mm f/2!

David

David, this way off topic but we all enjoy to hear how it is going. I hope you will be happy with your Honda. Have read some positive reviews in the past and it seems to be a very versatile car! Mercedes is not what it used to be 10 years ago. Better get an Audi (had some in the past but now too expensive for me), also Toyota, Honda and Subaru get good reviews these days. I am on Seat now. Volkswagen/Audi 2.0L TDI DSG technology at spanish prices

I also had some unexpected expenses. My 13 year old beloved Marantz stereo amp died just before I left for Corsica After some thoughts, I have replaced it by an Onkyo AV Receiver. Doesn't have the warmth of the Marantz but the detail it gives is stunning. A really powerful machine (and with great reviews). A similar specced Marantz would be way out of budget

Talking vehicles, I always dreamt of doing a tour with a Segway and finally did today. Really cool. Did a one hour tour with the wife in vieux Nice and we both enjoyed it a lot.

It was a fantastic day here today - brilliant sunshine and warm - so we took the Mercedes out for the day and went to the coast, then round some gardens and a local country house (no photos inside, but we had not visited it for many years and wanted to see it again). I don't think cars are all that off topic, as mine is certainly the only means I have to reach the subjects I want to photograph.

I was thinking of the costs of the car, and of the Alpha system, and realise that in the past year I have spent the same as half the new cost of the Honda on photographic equipment (excluding even more spent on software and computer equipment). That puts the cost of motoring into perspective. Especially when you take three camera bodies, a handful of lenses, a projector and a few other items and place them next to a car and think about the costs and value!

I guess the difference USED to be that the car would need replacing after 2-3 years business use and the camera gear would last for ten or twenty years. Now it is the other way round. The car could easily last seven or even ten years, the cameras are out of date and due for replacement after anything from 18 months to 3 years.

Which comes back to the 100mm f/2 - something like that will have exceptional value as long as the system continues to accept the lens. No matter whether there is a new A950, a 36 megapixel full frame, a 25000 ISO APS sensor, or whatever - the 100mm f/2 will still be in demand. Even more so!

David

I got a Honda fit 2 years ago now and I can tell you that every day I'm using my car I can say : my god this car is good! For the price, size, engineering genius design and the good driving experience It is almost perfect.

Well, it is not like a German car on long trip and at high speed (but in Quebec we are limit mostly to 50-70km/h on city highway and at 90-100km/h on other place), but Honda ... it is like a old Minolta lens like the 100mm F/2.0 It is build very good, and you can almost don't have to think about if this will break.

The only drawback it is on very big winter storm. On this side, my Volkswagen Golf TDI was better in 20 cm of snow on the road and on icy mountain road, but on the other side my TDI was not good to start at -45 celcius like the small Honda that even at this temperature feel like in summer.

I can tell you something, you will save enough money in the next year that you will be able to buy a 100mm 2.0 , when you are ready just tell me, I have some backup in case

If it was not of the PBASE crashed yesterday, I have been able to put picture of my car with the 58mm F/1.2 from 1.2 testing session.

Regards,

Frank

So, anyone heard of Sony remaking this lens?

Minolta stopped making it themselves. The theory - which I think is accurate - is that regulations about use of certain mineral additives in lenses ended the production of some glass needed for the original design. This also happened to Nikon. When the existing stock of lenses ran out, they did not bother to compute a new design, because all the emphasis was on zooms at that time.

New production methods - aspherical lenses, ELD and SLD glasses - may allow designs like the 100mm f/2 to be reintroduced in a new computation. I hope Sony do this.

David

Is it for this reason too that most of the time, at the airport, they are checking for chemical stuff in my Lenses bag ? Last time they done that in Germany and in United state too...

I have asked them what they where looking for and they told me that this is secret ...

I think, a lot of old and good Minolta lenses was using Radioactive or other stuff that hare not there now. (like the old 58 mm F/1.2).

Regards,

Frank

InTheSky wrote:I have asked them what they where looking for and they told me that this is secret ...

I asked once and they said its to check for traces of explosives (and maybe drugs...)

InTheSky wrote:Is it for this reason too that most of the time, at the airport, they are checking for chemical stuff in my Lenses bag ? Last time they done that in Germany and in United state too...

I have asked them what they where looking for and they told me that this is secret ...

I think, a lot of old and good Minolta lenses was using Radioactive or other stuff that hare not there now. (like the old 58 mm F/1.2).

Regards,

Frank

A large lens would make a nice bomb casing. In the old days (film) if you didn't want your camera equipment to go thru the x-ray machine, they would take off both caps and look thru every lens.

Now days the sniffer does that for them. The first time I ran into one was in Frankfurt. I asked the guy if it was an electronic dog, but he didn't understand much English, and I only know 10 words in German. I pointed to the machine, sniffed loudly and barked, and he smiled and nodded.

You can communicate accross language barriers if you're not afraid to embarrass yourself!

Dusty

Got it, love it!!!

Wow, my first topic is still active! Thanks guys for your advices but at the end I gave up the famous Minolta 100/2... because I've found a nice CZ 85/1.4 which is really amazing, and not only for portraits!

I have a 100/f2. All of my other lenses I either got at a super good price or a good price. The 100/f2 I paid a premium for, and it has been amazing on my a700. Sorry, I cannot compare it to an 85mm as I don't have one. And I wish I could show it on an a900 but nobody has given me one yet.

It's a wonderful pairing with the 35/2 and even shares filters. Along with the 50/2.8 RS macro, it's a pretty nice prime setup.

Here are some photos that I took this summer. It's the first an only wedding I've ever shot, for my sister-in-law, with very little planning and some real luck as I got all the bride/groom shots in about 30 minutes during an interlude of nice diffused cloud, between some harsh afternoon sun and a monstrous thunderstorm that subsequently rolled in and soaked the tent and everything else at the outdoor reception! It was hilarious at the wedding ceremony before; my wife and I were doing music, so when I wasn't playing, I'd grab the a700 from my brother-in-law and take some pictures.

Here are some of the portrait shots. Please don't tell me I should stick to music – that would hurt my photographer feelings... and I know, there are some loose hairs I need to clone out still... but I was pleased with how they turned out.

Mr_Canuck wrote:I have a 100/f2. All of my other lenses I either got at a super good price or a good price. The 100/f2 I paid a premium for, and it has been amazing on my a700. Sorry, I cannot compare it to an 85mm as I don't have one. And I wish I could show it on an a900 but nobody has given me one yet.

Do you not find it a bit long on the A700 for portraits?

Harvey

harvey wrote: Do you not find it a bit long on the A700 for portraits?

Harvey

On the A700 is depends what you are doing as portrait, but It was one on the A700 just to do the exact cropping. Making you realized that the extra of the picture was not necessary.

F2.0 on the A700:



F2.2 on the A700:




This lens is amazing wide open and a perfect match for almost every actual and future DSLR body.

Regards,

Frank