Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

I used my 500mm f/8 mirror lens.
speed=1/400
ISO=auto

The auto focus algorithm has been vastly improved. I have used this same, screw driven, lens on the A77II. It would click and bang while attempting to focus. I think it was under-damped (for the engineers reading this). Now the focus is critically-damped. It works quickly and smoothly, without make a lot of noise.

Pittsburgh won. I have many more photos. These are all JPGs made by the camera. I have the RAW files, but until DxO or LR catches up and supports this camera, I'll just save them.

A young fan prior to the game.

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Pageantry prior to the game

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A hand off to Bell

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A field goal

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An intersption.

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The fans

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Tracy B. Loc: Indiana

Great pictures!

Bkh42 Loc: N.I. UK

Very impressive. Well done

Bkh42

Aprilart Loc: Florida

Great photos!

dreamon

Enough! I'm now just a tad one the green side of envy. Nice shots!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Excellent! Pleased with your camera. That's the whole point of deciding, buying, and learning.

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

Looks like you have a winner there! Nice photos! 👍😎👍

Dr.Nikon Loc: Honolulu Hawaii

Looks like the photographer was already good .. the new Sony A 99 II is just learning a new master ... not bad .., and with a 500 mirror lens ...kind cool ...!

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

Thanks everyone for looking. That mirror-lens and that camera combination makes for about the most powerful combination that we are allowed to bring into the game as an amateur with no press photographer wavers. The young lady who examined my camera as I passed through security remarked how heavy the camera is. It is. To avoid attention I make the lens as short as I can by unscrewing the little lens hood, shortening the lens by another inch. I slip a black sock over the lens to prevent people from touching the lens. The young lady at the security gate was confused by the heft of the camera and asked "if this was a camera or a camera case?" I assured her that this was just a single camera. She then let me enter the game. Once I was at my stadium seating, I removed the sock and replaced the small lens hood that I had in my pocket. Even with the lens hood in place the lens is will under the maximum lens length of six inches allowed in to games. I also had a small plastic case that had a glass window that I could have slipped the camera into, with the lens attached, if it had rained while I at the game and could have continued safely taking pictures in the rain without my camera getting wet. After the game was over, and I was packing to leave it did rain just a bit.

Attached is a photo I took just prior to the game starting, while there was just a little sun light. This young lady was sitting several rows in front of me. I have no idea who she is, but I took her photo. I hope it's legal to post her photo. The TV video photographers frequently broadcast images of people in the stadium; it must be legal to do so.

The ISO used was 1000, yet you can see individual eye lashes and pores in her skin. this is an UN-retouched image out of the camera.

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dennisallard Loc: Southern Maine

Nice shots. Looks like you had a great time. I had a 500mm mirror lens some 30 plus years ago. It was a Tamron. I didn't know anybody made them anymore. Who does?

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

The Minolta/Sony reflex lens is whole different lens from the other mirror lenses, because it has the ability to "auto-focus." No one is currently making this lens, but you can find both the Minolta and the Sony versions on e-Bay.

KTJohnson Loc: Northern Michigan

Nice work! That shot of the interception in the End Zone at 1/400, ISO 6400, & f 8.0 ... hand-held I assume? Shows off the capabilities of the camera & you to good advantage. I've got a Sony A77 which I love, but I may have to start saving for one of these (A99II).

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

Yep, hand held. I also have used this lens on my A77II; the A99II beats the pants of it.
That rapid fire shutter on the A99II helps capture the action. You then decide which version you like the best out of a burst of multiple versions taken a fraction of a send apart. This camera makes look like I'm a better photographer than I normally am.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I'm jealous! Nice images. I do have the Sony A99 and the 500mm f8 Minolta mirror lens. And it does take great images. But the auto-focus should be much better on the A99ii and the same for the image stabilization. But still hard for me to justify to myself with a perfectly working A99 that I already have.

Davethehiker Loc: South West Pennsylvania

My wife spotted a photo in the paper by a photographer on the field of that same interception. She says it was not near as good as mine. Yes it a bit hard to justify 3.2K$. I never bought the A99, so it was easier to justify/rationalize moving up from the A900.