The “Back to Film” wave continues to move along, and as it does, it’s bringing back into use cameras set aside for their digital successors. The last film cameras I remember from the late 1980s and early 1990s were inexpensive, disposable P&S cameras. We used these a lot, taking picturesContinue Reading
The Minolta 700si won the 1994-1995 EISA award and a few others after its release in 1993. Today it has faded into relative obscurity. Looking at sold listings on eBay, one finds that only a few are sold in any given period. There are YouTube videos, though, so that’s good. At theContinue Reading
Being in command of an extraordinary machine is an intoxicating experience. I’m a huge Star Trek fan, and the bridge has always held a particular fascination for me. The sense of being in absolute control of an immensely powerful ship–the lights, the screens, the sounds–has never lost its appeal. AlthoughContinue Reading
The Minolta AF 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 is an oddity. It is widely touted for its sharpness and has an overall rating of 4.64/5 (sharpness, 4.78) on Dyxum, with the main ding against it being relatively poor flare control. I have seen it mentioned glowingly many times in forums. Yet somehow, IContinue Reading
I had heard good things about the AF 28-85mm 3.5-4.5 lens. However, I never set out to buy one—at least not to use. I purchased an “XX” lens from Goodwill but immediately put it on the shelf with the other hard-to-find “XX” items. Perhaps I would have been tempted toContinue Reading
Look through enough forum posts (there are very few reviews of Minolta AF lenses), and you will likely come across a favorable mention of the 35-70mm f4. It is a good performer that is widely available and costs very little. When putting together a newbie Maxxum camera kit, having theContinue Reading
Get a Minolta Maxxum camera, then ask around about what lenses to buy. If you already have a 50mm lens, the next suggestion will nearly always be “get a Beercan.” I ran into this advice on just about every blog and forum I visited, so the 70-210mm f4 was theContinue Reading
To be honest, the only reason I bought the 50mm f2.8 macro lens was was fear of losing or damaging my 100mm f2.8 macro. I’m almost embarrassed to say this now. The 50mm 2.8 is sharp and handy, and it allows one to shoot from only a few inches away.Continue Reading
This is my first true Lens Love post. My goal is to report my experiences with various lenses, primarily how they work with film. There are many detailed lens reviews available that use digital cameras—and I use those reviews quite often—but digital sensors react to light differently compared to film.Continue Reading
