Geartalk

My dslr of choice is the Sony A550. After a lifelong love affair with Minolta this was the next step. Many of the old (brilliant) lenses fit the  Sony dslr's and wow do they make a great team. i love how a fantastic piece of glass fits on a modern day camera and creates beautiful razorsharp shots. Something old and something new can be a match made in heaven. My favorite is the Minolta macro 50mm f2.8. , http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-AF-50-F2.8-Macro_lens93.html
My very first real macro lens and it is just the best. Sharp as can be and with colors  more magical then real life. I can recommend it to anybody.

50mm macro, 1/100sec, f/4.5,iso 800   

          

100mm macro, 1/250sec, f/ 5, iso 400

            











                                 
                                                    
If you are out on the hunt for Minolta classics it is worthwhile to visit the Dyxum website. They have great reviews of almost every possible lens for Minolta/Sony complete with shots so you can see how the various lenses perform. The reviews i found to be very accurate. You can find the link at my section with links (obviousely).

Another favorite is the 100mm macro also a classic: http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-AF-100-F2.8-Macro_lens97.html

It's also tack sharp but slightly less so then the 50mm macro. It is much more usefull for little insects that otherwise would be scared off.

These two are so good that everything else stands in their shadow. The good thing is that these lenses can be found secondhand for reasonable prices (compared to the new sony ones). I love the idea that somthing that is 28+ years old and still performs as if it was made yesterday. It is worth while checking old camerabags in bootsales or fleamarkets. I found another 50mm macro there just by sheer luck and it was perfect. Ofcourse check for mould or oil on the aperture blades etc.The 100mm macro seems to be more rare and in demand because creates it a more practical distance but i found that when you just move slow many insects stay put.

More geartalk later ; )