I would opt for the 500mm mirror or an older long lens like my Spiratone. The long lens has f6.3-32 and the mirror is just f8. Not that you get much DOF with any long lens. Either lens is on EBay with adapters for under $150. I find that my long lens is slightly better resolution. You definitely need to use a tripod with these slow lenses. But the price is good. Happy shooting

At our city/county parks and recreation department a 1 hr class costs under $30 . At our local community college a no credit 8hr class costs under $80. I teach both of those. For private lessions I charge $25 per hour with a 2 hr minimum. But I as not trying to make a liveing, just support my hobbies.

Your go to place for film and supplies will be Freestyle Photo supply http://www.freestylephoto.biz/ I used 8x10 my last two years getting my BFA in photography. Never had anything enlarged due to cost. But I love the negatives. In color I only shot Ecktacrome since it was easy to develope. Good suggestion about first using a 4x5 to learn the ins and outs. Lugging around 60+ pounds of equipment just became too much. When you get started shooting, contact me and I will give you some suggestions and any help you may need. I sold my 8x10 some years ago but still have 2 4x5s . I will gladly sell you my hand made 4x5 cherry wood camera at a very reasonable price. I would love to pass it on to an eager photographer. Happy Shooting.

Gee whiz, you guys sound like congress, you spend all your time bickering and not enough time shooting photographs. Maybe you two should start a lens company and work out your differences there.

Zoom lenses had long been developed for movie cameras. before 1959, when the "Voigtländer-Zoomar 1:2.8 f=36mm...86mm" was adopted as an interchangeable lens for the lens shutter SLR "Bessamtic" of the Voigtländer, Germany.
This was the first time a zoom lens was used for a still camera.
From the Nikon History.
The first printing of Ansel Adams, Book 1, Camera and Lens, was 1970 by Morgan & Morgan.Adams was well aware or zoom lenses. Unlike the current Washington Administration, this college instructor checks his facts prior to making it public.

Wikipedia is not a 100% reliable source. More Reliable : See pg 95 of Ansel Adams Basic Photo One, Camera and Lens. (could not Find my Langford and Lynch Text Book from the early 1970s. The actual placement of the iris is dependent on the lens design. As is the shutter in View camera lenses and some in "lens shutters" on cameras like Mamyia, Hasselblad and others.

Most people could care less how it works, I don't care how my Apple or PC works, or all my camera equipment work. I know a lot about the Physics and mechanics and Chemistry (film) involved but all I care about is the end results. If the final result is a 24x36 inch print or an image on my TV, then it doesn't matter what hardware I use as long as I get the results I want. The Results comes from the photographers artistic vision. The equipment only helps him get there. Otherwise you are nothing more than an equipment operator. Must we banter back and forth like those billionaire elected officials in Washington that only argue then don't get anything done and not see the big picture? We are here to help each other improve our photographic vision. Happy Shooting.

As a college trained photographer and college instructor of photography the truth is.... F-stop, aperture is actually a math formula relating to the physics of the lens ( diameter, focal length, ect). Zoom lenses of fixed aperture have an extra mechanism to change the aperture as you zoom. With current science it impossible not to have the iris varied its opening as you zoom to maintain a constant brightness of the final image. Constant aperture zooms cost more because they generally are better lenses and construction but that doesn't necessarily mean that the final image is better than a variable aperture lens. Like one reader responded, at f4.5-5.6 zoom left at f5.6 or higher becomes a constant zoom. What difference does it really make? It is the vision of the photographer that matters most. No one ever asks a Chef what stove or pots and pans he uses. Get real people. Learn to use your equipment and quit dreaming about the latest gadgets offered. Happy shooting

If you still have your Canon lenses, just buy the $10 adapters from eBay and use the on your Sony.

If your Minolta was Autofocus, you can save. A bunch of money by buying a Sony a58, 68, 77ll or 99ll. All of your Minolta lenses will work just fine on these Sony Cameras. Minolta is not dead, it lives on as a Sony Product.

If you have one of the autofocus minoltas, all your lenses will work just fine on any of the Sony A mount cameras such as the a99ll, a77ll, a68 and a58. Why spend more than you have to. All your old Minolta AF lenses will work just fine on these cameras.

https://www.theshutterbug.com/photoclasses

I live in Prineville OR, no good camera stores within 100 mi either. But I spent the $ and time and went to Shutterbug's Sony class at the Woodburn Tulip Festival. For the low cost of the class, you get to use for free most of the latest Sony cameras and lenses. Plus there is a Factory. Rep. And plenty of people to help you. I am a long time Minolta user, which is Sony A mount. I was wowed by the a7rll but but had plenty of A mount lenses and didn't want to start over. Sony has now come out with a99ll which has 99% of the features of the a7rll but still uses the A mount lenses vs the E mount. I debated and debated over the price. Two months ago I broke down and bought the a99ll. Love the camera. Don't regret a thing. Moral of the story: when you are going to plunk down $1000 or more. Spend the time to actually go and spend time with the camera and lenses. Here in Oregon, Shutterbug Camera Stores have weeken classes for the big three: Canon, Nikon, and Sony. Reference the Tulip festival, my wife went with me and wondered through the the tulips happily while I was in the the class and playing with wonderful camera equipment. It pays in the long run to have actual hands on experience. Happy Shooting

If you have the time, just do the Grand Circle. That is all the national parks that were previously mentioned plus Arches. Arches NP can be seen in a day. On your way in or out to see Canyonlands NP (10 mi from Arches NP) stop by Dead Horse SP. Just north of Arches on us191 almost to the Moab airport on a dirt road to the east is a spot that a Grad Student found Dinosaur tracks. A big meat eater fallowing a herbivore. Pour water in the tracks to make them stand out. Lots of Rock Art all around Moab. Haven't been to Monument Valley yet, but all the books advise staying at the Native American's hotel and hiring a local guide. That is on my bucket list. If you are flying in via Las Vegas, be sure to stop and see Red Rocks south west of Vegas, and Valley of Fire on your way north to Bryce Canyon. If you are in any of these parks during summer, be sure to take and drink lots of water. Heed the park rangers advice for drinking water, and be mindful of the weather for flash floods. Several people were killed in flash floods in the summer of 2015. Happy Shooting.

If you have the $ to travel. East of the Cascades in Oregon is a 95% bet on clear sunny day. Here in the high Desert of Oregon. Yes I said Desert. We get an average of 13inches of precipitation a year, mostly in the form of snow in the winter. Hot spots are Madres, Prineville, and John Day. Most of the hotels are already booked. Madress and Prineville are opening up farmer fields for campers of all kinds. If you don't like the crowds of those camping parties then there is hike in camping even as high as 8-9,000 ft in elevation along the Pacific Rim Trail. I'm one of the lucky ones, I live right on a hill in Prineville. I already have my filters and tried a few test shots. Be careful, use only approved sun viewing filters, not welding masks. Check with astronomy sites for filters and hints on photography and viewing. You only have one set of eyes don't blow it on the wrong filters or glasses. It isn't just the brightness it is all the other radiation you have to block too, like UV, IR and several others. Do you remember cooking ants or starting a Fire with a magnafing glass as a kid? That is exactly what happends to your eyes and your camera shutter and sensor (or film) if you don't use the correct safe filters. Happy shooting...