I have an inexpensive (ie cheap) Targus tripod I got at Walmart. It's plenty light, 58" tall or so. It's been all over France, Italy, Austria.

What does aspherical do for you? Is aspherical relevant for prime lens as well as zooms?

I ran across a box of assorted bodies, lenses, filters, flashes at a thrift store. The Minolta is a X-700. Some of the lenses are a real mess, some look to be excellent. I just love the feel of those old lenses as you adjust the shutter and f/stop. I was a bit rushed, so I didn't take an inventory. Anybody out there looking for something specific? I'll go back and check it out. If I hear a lot of interest I'll go back and buy the whole lot, clean it up as best I can, take pictures and post here in the classifieds.

If I had it, I would use it! Along with my Minolta HiMatic 7s and Sony A 550. I've also got a Kodak Retina 1a. If you feel like passing it along to someone who would use it, contact me at jmccl@yahoo.com. I've attached a couple of recent shots (no post) from the top of a SanFrancisco tour bus while crossing the Golden Gate bridge.

GoldenGate-ala-HiMatic7s


GoldenGate-ala-KodakRetina

Pile it on. I have my big boy panties on :mrgreen:

Lone Pine

Hello Linda. Come across the bay to The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. (www.fmopa.org) We have a group that meets there on the second Tues. of each month at 7 pm. Next meeting tonight July 10.

My camera (Sony Alpha 550) has focus mode settings of Spot, Wide, Area. Spot is pretty intuitive, no questions there. I don't understand the Wide setting. Depending on the framing, various of the 9 little squares light up when I use auto focus. Is the auto focus selecting the hyper-focus focus point based on my aperture setting and zoom position? If not, what does the auto-focus key on when determining the focus points for a given framing? I think I understand the Area mode, but why not just use spot, focus lock on the desired focus point, and then frame your shot?

I have read a little about IR and would like to "dip my toe in the waters". I'd appreciate any insight as to cameras in the 8 to 12 megapixel range that have the capacity to record the near IR without the need to perform surgery on the camera to remove any internal IR blocking filter. For example, I've read that the Minolta DiIMAGE 7 will capture the IR and a photographer at a local show says a Nikon D70 with no internal modifications works well. But these are in the 5-6 MP range. Some of what I've read indicates that manufactures incorporate firmware that prevents capturing the near IR. I can't afford to "buy and try" all the possible cameras, so I'd appreciate any insight.

Hello. I'm new here. Any other Sony Alpha 550 users out there? Question 1. There is a menu setting for CTRL for HDMI (on or off). And there is a connection port on the camera for HDMI. The book does not explain the purpose of this port or setting. Anybody got an explanation? Question 2. There is a USB port and menu selection for USB (Mass Storage or PTP). I gather that in Mass Storage mode I can connect to a computer and transfer images from the camera. What is PTP for? Thanks for your feedback.