DobiePower Loc: Texas

I used to take a lot of pictures, but in the last few years life interfered and I wasn't as active. Now I am wanting to get more involved again and I am considering replacing my camera with a new model. I have a Minolta Maxxum 7D. I also have a lot of really nice Minolta lenses (which is why I am still using the Minolta body). So I have been considering the Sony A-99, but I decided to do some research before I made up my mind. I like to do nature and macro photography. Another consideration as I look for cameras is full-frame digital and whether it is valuable enough to pay the money to get it. What cameras would you recommend I look at?

BasqueLady Loc: Woodburn OR

Sony A7II is also a full frame and is very interesting. I own the Sony A7r and love it Sony are great cameras. I also have Canon cameras and use the Canon lens on my Sony.

jack schade Loc: La Pine Oregon

Get a camera body that will accept your lenses. Sounds like you have quite an investment in glass.
Jack

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

You have two options available to you utilizing your existing A mount lenses.

You can buy the Sony A99... or wait for it's replacement due out this summer and buy the A99 at a discount or get the replacement.

You can also buy an adaptor (LA-EA4) and use your A mount lenses on one of Sony A7/A7II/A7R cameras which are full frame mirrorless cameras with EXCEPTIONAL image quality. (The A7II has built in image stabilization; the others do not.)

The A99 is an EXCELLENT camera for portraiture and landscape photography with all the flexibility and control of a professional level DSLR. It is an Average sports camera, with the maximum frame per second rate being it's only drawback.

The A7 series don't quite offer as much operational flexibility as the A99, but are still powerful cameras that can capture any image you need short of high speed sports photography or high speed birds in flight.

Either route will allow you to use your legacy glass, and Minolta made some quality lenses that STILL perform well today. :)

DobiePower Loc: Texas

Thank you. I do have quite an investment in quality Minolta lenses and I was unaware of some of those options. I will check them out

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

^^^With a large investment in Minolta glass then buying a new A99 or A7/A7II/A7R is the way to go. :thumbup:

Now one other thing to consider: right now the A77II, an APS-C sensor camera... is one of the hottest products on the market.

It shoots 12 frames per second in RAW + JPEG, has 79 Autofocus points and the AF system from the A99 with several improvements. The image quality is EXCELLENT for an APS-C camera and it would work extremely well with your legacy glass.

I mention this because a new copy can be had for LESS than $1000.00... and the camera would be a steal at TWICE the price!

So you can definitely stick with Sony and be able to meet all your photographic goals PLUS use your existing lenses. :thumbup:

DobiePower Loc: Texas

I had not considered the A77II, but that is a lot cheaper than the A99. I will look into it. Thank you for all the good advice - I have been out of photography long enough I wasn't sure about the right way to go. The Sony cameras do appear to be very good cameras and best of all they let me use my Minolta lenses.

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

Sony cameras are EXCELLENT!!

But because people associate Sony with consumer products and NOT photographic equipment, it doesn't get much notice, especially compared to Nikon and Canon.

Thing is, Sony competes successfully with all but the top of the line Nikon/Canon sports cameras!!!

Sony cameras BELOW the high speed sports shooters are as good as or BETTER than their canikon competitors in almost every category.

Sony does NOT however, do as good a job at marketing as the others, so most people don't know that Sony is a viable alternative.

But hey, Sony has been in DSLR business since 2006 and has won Popular Photography's Camera of the Year award 4 times in some VERY crowded fields.

They are EXTREMELY innovative, and produce excellent images under almost all photographic conditions.

The A77II is THE BEST camera I have ever used... bar none. It is a great APS-C alternative should you decide not to buy a full frame camera. :thumbup:

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

You might consider a used Alpha 850. B&H has 1 in their used dept. for $850.00. I've used mine for over a year and been very happy with it. The A77 is a cropped sensor body. The Alpha 850 & A99 are both full frame sensors. They'll be much closer to what you're used to based on your Maxxum body.

DobiePower Loc: Texas

Thank you. I think you are right - if I don't have at least the same functionality as I have with my current Minolta, which was a professional level camera when I bought it, I will probably be disappointed.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I also had (still have) the Maxxum 7D. And a stable full of old Minolta glass. And I currently have the Sony A57 and A99. I have some newer Sony, Tamron and Sigma lenses, but the old Minolta lenses work really well. I find I go back and forth a lot on whether to shoot crop sensor or full frame. They both have their best roles. I tend to take the crop sensor out with the long lenses since I get more reach. But more most everything else, I take out the full frame.

I also have a telescope and equatorial mount mount. The full frame, even thought the scope uses a 2" focuser, vignettes a lot. I don't get that with the crop sensor.

The Sony A99 is an excellent camera. Don't know what differences will come with the A99II, but I don't see me making any changes. The Sony A77II is quite a camera. It runs circles around my A57, but the A57 is still a decent camera. I don't see me making a change there either.

Also also have some old manual focusing M42 type lenses. The focus peaking on the Sony cameras is way better than the manual focusing I remember doing with the Maxxum camera.

DobiePower Loc: Texas

Thanks. It is good to know the lenses will still work well with the newer cameras. I was a little worried about that.

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

The ONE big drawback with the older Minolta AF lenses is the fact that they were designed for film... not shiny digital sensors which reflect light.

Ghosting can be a problem under certain lighting conditions. So can flare with quite a few of the 1st generation Minolta AF lenses.

Not a big deal once you learn the strengths and weaknesses of each lens on your digital camera... and it won't take long to learn them. ;)

Direct light gives the biggest headache, but some of the lenses do better with low angle light while others work best with the sun or other point source higher up.

But you know, those Minolta colors and resolution really DO make it worth the effort to find the best way to capture an image regardless of lighting. :thumbup:

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

This is a good example of what I was talking about:

See the flare on the left? But look at the color and the resolution! :thumbup:

Sony A77 with Minolta AF 70-210mm "Beer Can" lens, straight out of camera.

(Download)

lloydl2 Loc: Gilbert, AZ

I too am an old Minolta convert to Sony. I had an srt 101 followed by a maxxum 7000 and also have a few excellent condition Minolta lenses so I went with a sony alpha a100 and then about 1.5 years ago sprung for the fullframe a99. I find this camera amazing. I've added the sony Zeiss 24 70 2.8 which is the lens I use most often. I also recently picked up the sony rx100 m3 and also love this camera it is full function just like a dslr but fits in a shirpocket and takes amazing pictures too. The old Minolta Maxxum lenses work great on the a99. I've got a 50 1.8, a 28-135 macro and a 75 300. Now aiming at a 70200 2.8 which Sony charges way to much for so considering a tamron instead. and one day that 150-600 Sigma sports.. The only caution with the a99 is on the lighting end. the hot shoe is not quite standard most of the radio triggers will work on it but not all and most won't work on the hvl 60 flash. Also to use the newest ratio and ttl multi wireless flash you will need a 60 as the trigger device on the hotshoe.. the cheaper 20 flash will trigger the lights, will do ttl but you can't do the group ratio lighting. I'm going with pocket wizard and will do manual lighting for portraits. I highly recommend this a99 camera... Although there are rumors about a new fullframe and a 50 meg sensor on medium format....