Lenses - Minolta Film Camera - for re-use in Digital Camera

[Jayo1111]

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the website and know little or nothing about Photography
I was using a Minolta ( Maxxum 300 si ) old Film type and would like to change over to a good Digital camera.
Can you advise if it is possible to use the Lenses ( I have 3 - (a)AF35-80 (b)Sigma Zoom 100-300 & (c) Minolta AF Reflex 500 on a Digital Camera - and if Yes - what make / model cameras would you recommend.
Thank you for your help
Kind Regards
John

[Greg Beetham]

All the Sony DSLR's have the Minolta AF lens mounting, so those will fit and work ok, and also the now out of production KM5D and KM7D, (if you wanted to try a second hand one that is).
Greg

[Argonaut]

Not all lenses with compatible mounts function properly on either the old KM DSLRs or the Sony Alphas. I recommend going to this forum

http://www.dyxum.com/

and look/ask around. You need expert advice. I can say that I have the Minolta 500m reflex lens and it works fine on my KM5. Since it has only one aperture, I think it should work on any Alpha, but when you come to purchase time, you might want to try first. Your other lenses may or may not have chips that allow them to work on the DSLRs.

Which camera to buy? Well, the make has to be Sony or the lenses won't fit for sure (unless you want a used KM5 or 7). So many factors to consider, but IMHO if you are inexperienced you should look at the lower price ranges first. They are all incredibly capable cameras. If you get really hot to trot you can buy upscale and keep your first body as your backup.

[rogprov]

I've never heard of any Minolta AF lens (excluding APS Vectis) that would not work with any Sony Alpha. Some Sigmas (only a few quite old models) do have a problem as the electronics was reverse engineered and the specifications not supplied and licensed by Minolta. Even so some non-working Sigmas can be re-chipped to work with Sony.

[Greg Beetham]

I think what Argonaut is getting at is with the older 6 pin lenses the ADI system will not work, (I didn't think there was much point in telling Jayo1111 the ADI flash system won't work with his older lenses), and the SSS system will be compromised as well, but they should auto-focus and respond to camera f-stop settings ok.
Looking at some user reviews of the Minolta AF35-80, there doesn't seem to be much good said about it, similar for the early 100-300 Sigma, so I would expect that Jayo1111 would think about getting a couple of decent lenses at some point after trying out one of the new digital cams for a while.
Greg

[Dr. Harout]

My advice would be to opt for the entry models such as A230 with a kit lens, i.e. 18-55 SAM. You won't regret it.
Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[rogprov]

... and the SSS system will be compromised as well, but they should auto-focus and respond to camera f-stop settings ok.
Greg

Why do you think this? The ADI (Advanced Distance Integration) is only for flash metering.
The earlier Minolta lenses with only 5 electrical contacts work perfectly with Sony bodies in all regards including SSS.

[David Kilpatrick]

All three lenses will work well. Even the latest 500mm f/8 only has five contacts as far as I know - same for all the fixed focal length former Minolta designs. The old system does provide information to ADI, it's just not so accurate especially with zooms, and it is perfectly OK for SSS.

The 35-80mm is a low value lens and many users think the earlier 35mm f/4 is better than this two generations later f/3.5-5.6. I actually found the 35-80mm better when tested; higher in contrast, and equally sharp. But it has limited uses on a digital body. The 100-300mm Sigma may be usable, or not; lenses chipped for use on the 300si may not always function with digital bodies. I've tested one early one which definitely did work on the KM 7D even though it was incompatible with some later film bodies.

The 500mm mirror is a difficult lens to use, but worth more than all the rest put together, and becomes even more effective with the digital crop factor. But getting sharp pictures with it can be tricky.

David

[Greg Beetham]

There's a couple of things to consider with ADI and zoom lenses, constant aperture zooms that report via the focus encoder the distance that has been focused on are one thing, but variable aperture zooms are a different kettle of fish altogether because the t-stop value changes with the focal length and therefore the amount of power/output the flash has to compensate for, as well as the focus distance variable, increasing the complexity of providing exactly the right amount of output.
So David, you have comprehensively tested 5 pin zoom lenses on digital cameras with ADI flash and found they work fine? I must say I'm a little surprised, I thought you would have to have a (D) lens to be guaranteed success nearly ALL the time.
I guess it doesn't matter all that much in the big scheme of things anyway, ADI is useful, but you really only use it if you're like me, indulge in a spot of improptu candid flash (on the move, variable distance, variable lighting conditions) now and then, for which it can't be beaten I don't think, the big drawback is of course, it's direct flash...only.
As for SSS, again I'm a little surprised that 5 pin lenses also work ok in that regard, as I understood it a zoom lens had to report the amount of zoom (translated into magnification = variable amount of apparent shake per unit of magnification), so the SSS system could adjust the amount of compensating movement to correspond with the apparent shake....keeping in mind SSS/AS did not exist back when these lenses were designed and manufactured.
Apart from those minor details, the lenses that Jayo1111 has (I agree) will function ok in a basic fashon, (they will do till he gets himself some decent lenses, if he decides to stay with photography that is).
Greg

[rogprov]

The extra contacts are for ADI flash control - period, nothing whatsoever to do with SSS capabilities. Xi lenses also make use of those extra contact as do SSM lenses.

[Greg Beetham]

That's correct Roger, and I think if you read what I wrote, properly, you will see that I'm discussing them separately.
Greg

[rogprov]

That's correct Roger, and I think if you read what I wrote, properly, you will see that I'm discussing them separately.
Greg

Well that's okay then ...

[David Kilpatrick]

To clarify - pre-flash TTL mode also uses some lens information. If you check the literature, you will find that ADI flash is only fully operative when ADI information is provided, but the camera can be left on ADI flash mode all the time. If the lens is in any way unable to provide distance information the ADI system can use, flash automatically reverts to using pre-flash TTL protocol under ADI. That's why Sony does not issue any warnings about any lenses without the (D) code or without eight contacts.

The aperture in variable aperture zooms does not vary as you change focal length, except at full aperture. It used to with MC-MD type lenses, and it does for example with Nikon AI and pre-AF lenses. The Alpha system relies on a preset arc of travel from the aperture actuating mechanism. The full lens aperture is reported to the camera, all the aperture mechanism actually does is to say 'stop down 1.3 steps' - it does not say 'stop down to f/8'. It is a relative mechanism.

While focus distance can affect macro lenses, it has no effect on current Sony zooms as all use internal or rear focusing methods linked to the zoom, which retain a constant aperture within certain limits.

David

[Jayo1111]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks very much for all your help.
I can see now I'll need a lot of Education before I get my first commission.
Does anyone know if this camera is a suitable one - Sony Alpha A100 Digital 10MP SLR, I've seen one for sale and maybe it will do as a starter, before I get on to the main course.
Thanks again

John

[Greg Beetham]

I bought one new and used it as my main camera for quite a while, it's modelled on the 6MP KM5D fairly closely, very similar user interface and menu system. I like the camera (although it's inclined to be noisy), it has plenty of widgets, gizmos and settings to keep you entertained, and to take photos in a variety of ways. Main thing is it has a working MLU, a DOF preview button, and a fully functional AEL button, including the daylight/backlight/flash balance feature, some of which no longer exist or have been modified on later Sony models.
I'm perfectly happy to keep mine as a backup camera, but people who do a lot of low light photography don't like the A100 much because of the potential noise, but if the lighting is adequate (ambient or flash), it takes excellent photos.
Greg