a100 replacement

[DonSchap]

swpars,

That is usually why I try to sway people, these days, to checking out the α700, rather than the α100. Over time, the α700 just delivers everything the normal user is looking for in a DSLR ... the α100 was just a band-aid fix to get SONY up and running with the Minolta-mount. It was never the be-all, end-all camera, although it did a decent enough intro-DSLR job to get itself voted Camera-of-the-Year 2006.

No ... for the time being ... the α700 is the only real offering, as far as SONY is concerned. The α100 has been discontinued. In a couple months, there will probably be a formal intro-DSLR for the masses.

[DonSchap]

In an effort to clean up my act, I popped for a cocoon and maximized the use of my 750W strobes:



and after a couple trial shots ...wound up with this (Coldrain ), taken with the marvelous α100:

It's a start ... Note that bright blue Manual Focus band, will ya?

[swpars]

Nice pictures Don. I will have to get my D40 & kit lens into a studio sometime and see what results I can come up with. That cheap little Nikkor is sharper than a $100 lens deserves to be.

[coldrain]

Uhmmm Don... is that not a blue MANUAL FOCUS band?

[DonSchap]

(Correction to text made.) Still looks nice ... man, the color pick up is spectacular, especially considering the reflective-foil nature of the "α" symbol on the α700 camera's upper right-hand corner.

Don't you just love it when the things you buy .... uh, oh yeah ... work?

Anyway ... the tent is a terrific idea ... and not too terribly expensive. I think we're looking at $80. The 750W lamps ... well, $550 a pop, on sale. (Better to already have a pair of those, eh?)

They are nice, because you can dial them down (or up) ... to balance out the exposure without having to physically move them ... which can be a royal pain, in tight places.

Watch out for the modeling lamp though, as they tend to get very warm in short order ... so use them sparingly (in other words, shut them off between shots) The plastic sides of the cocoon will actually start to melt if you do not respect that. Placing a small diffusing tent on the front of the strobe will tend to mitigate some of the heat, but it is still a good practice to avoid using the modeling lamp UNTIL you are actually ready to focus.

I remember seeing this damage happen at school, where one of the younger students actually burned through the "light tent" before they even knew what they had done. Call it a "silent killer." That was it for that unit. Now, I understand why lab fees are so high.

Anyway, here's the α100 w/ a TAMRON SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di MACRO

[SONYNUT]

tent for small item= cut up milk jug

[DonSchap]

Well, the bigger one (Cocoon 130) is brouching serious funds ... roughly $255. It may be bigger, but at that cost ... I'd consider home-made, also.

Anyway ... I figured I'd keep trying some more pf these high-key shots:

I think I'm going to try this as an HDR and see what happens ...

[Rooz]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08...nydslra200.asp

[coldrain]

Well, the bigger one (Cocoon 130) is brouching serious funds ... roughly $255. It may be bigger, but at that cost ... I'd consider home-made, also.

Anyway ... I figured I'd keep trying some more pf these high-key shots:

I think I'm going to try this as an HDR and see what happens ...

Just using a white background does not make it a high key shot...

[coldrain]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08...nydslra200.asp

Oh well... it is almost exactly like the A100, Sort of what Canon did with the 30D after the 20D.

Still 3fps, still the 10mp CCD, still no live view possibility (and you just know the 400D/XTi follow up will have live view...). So what you get? Slightly improved noise behavior (one can hope), a slightly bigger LCD.. and a more compact body to bring it in line with the D80/D40/400D/XTi/E-510.

Nice to see Sony finally offer a camera that can compete with the XTi/400D better, only 1.5 years after the introduction of the XTi/400D. And just a month before the XTi/400D follow-up. Now all Sony has to do is do a major revamp of theit lens line up, and they can be competitive .