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I have just have my two older lenses back, 20-35/3.5-4.5 and 28-70/2.8, and both were full of molds. Called Sony and Sony will charge me around 40 UKP for cleaning and I was informed that all such service to Minolta products will cease by the end of this year.
Before the launch of A100, I have watches those interviews from Sony again and again and I thought Sony bought KM as a whole and will continue their support.
Sad to hear but not unexpected really. Sony used Minolta as a launch pad and I don't believe they ever intended to continue with their thinking or supporting legacy stuff either. Black frame issue support also ends this year too. Shame but we move on.. literally!
Baz I was just sitting here thinking how likely it would be for you to get interested in an A77, I sortof came up with a 'not likely' .....provisionally.
Greg
Did you contact JP Solutions, or Sony? JP Solutions will almost certainly continue to offer independent servicing of Minolta lenses of all dates. They still have some staff working there who were with Japanese Cameras Ltd in the 1970s.
Whatever happens, some servicing will still be available. Even Minolta themselves did not guarantee to be able to service any equipment over 10 years old, and regularly issues bulletins to state which products were no longer serviceable. Early victims were the entire 9000 system, and later on the Dynax 9. They stopped being able to repair all SRTXXX series cameras with CLC CdS metering a decade ago, when the last Japanese workshop able to make the galvanic coils shut down (the tiny wires were hand-formed by highly skilled workers, and the last old lady able to do this died - so they ceased trading).
This sort of thing happens!
In the early 1600s, a German wiremaker (Nobels?) patented a new type of steel wire (not iron, this was steel before its time) which enabled instrument makers to produce new instruments like the Orpharion, a wire strung lute. The sound was new and incredibly popular. Wars and ruling-house conflicts in the German states somehow meant that the patent was lost, along with the ability to make this wire. No-one was able to re-string the instruments and it was over 150 years before equally strong wires were made again (leading to the development of the piano).
Today, we have a similar situation with galvanic coils for metering. The Russians rescued the thermionic valve industry, otherwise we probably would not have valve amplifiers. I can imagine that one day you won't be able to buy a normal tungsten filament bulb. And many lenses can not ever be made again, because the elements required for their design use materials which are banned from consumer products. As for batteries - expensive substitutes are all we can use for many 'vintage' mercury cell types.
Canon put a fluorite element back in their new 70-200mm f/2.8. Crazy? Fluorite is expensive, brittle, and can discolour with age. But you are allowed to use it, and perhaps the alternative glass is not on the permitted list.
I thought I remember seeing Flourite also had a very small percentage of Pb in it, (either that or it was radioactive or something) and that was one of the reasons it was on the no no list, (could be wrong though, my memory isn't that wonderful); I had heard that Borosilicate? and LD Glass is very difficult too work with and also some of those rare glass elements are difficult to get homogeneous (create an element with no internal laminar distortions etc.) Then there is the difficulty of adding the coatings on low melt point glass, did I read somewhere that the coatings are put on at a temperature that is borderline causing the glass too slump...thus distorting the shape of the element (you have to put the coating on after the element has had it's final polish). Making high quality lenses must be a nightmare.
Greg
David Kilpatrick wrote:
Even Minolta themselves did not guarantee to be able to service any equipment over 10 years old
I once bought a used 85mm soft focus MD lens, only a few years after it disappeared from the list of 'new lenses' but soon the diaphragm got sticky and Minolta in Milton Meynes said 'sorry, can't repair, part no longer available'.
I also saw the Sony notice informing me about the agreement about Sony and Minolta.
Well I brought my two lenses to a local camera repair shop from which I have cleaned my 20-35 once. They are capable to clean my 28-70/2.8 for the price as 40 UKP, same as from Sony but however, the 20-35 is out. The glass elements have been developing "cataract". They blame this phenomenon to the material and they said it is quite common in Canon lenses too.
The strange thing is older lenses like my 70-210/4, 24-50/4, 50/1.7 do not have this cataract.
I also saw the Sony notice informing me about the agreement about Sony and Minolta.
Well I brought my two lenses to a local camera repair shop from which I have cleaned my 20-35 once. They are capable to clean my 28-70/2.8 for the price as 40 UKP, same as from Sony but however, the 20-35 is out. The glass elements have been developing "cataract". They blame this phenomenon to the material and they said it is quite common in Canon lenses too.
The strange thing is older lenses like my 70-210/4, 24-50/4, 50/1.7 do not have this cataract.
I have just have my two older lenses back, 20-35/3.5-4.5 and 28-70/2.8, and both were full of molds. Called Sony and Sony will charge me around 40 UKP for cleaning and I was informed that all such service to Minolta products will cease by the end of this year.
