Minolta, Sony and Me |
|
Many the photos on this website were taken with Minolta cameras, many of them using film equipment and an increasing number using a digital camera. I was therefore disappointed to hear that the company will soon stop producing cameras all together. Luckily Sony will be taking over Konica Minolta’s DSLRs. Let’s hope that the brand is in good hands. The great thing about Minolta cameras has always been their handling. All the Minolta cameras I have ever picked up have sat nicely in the hand. This is something I could not say about cameras from some other well known manufacturers. The controls have been easy to use and easy to access. It seems that once you have learned to use one Minolta camera you will find it easy to use another one. The cameras seem to have been used with the photographer in mind so that he can use it quickly and effectively as a creative tool. Some other manufacturers seem to put as many bells and whistles as possible into their cameras without thinking about how easy they will be to use. I hope that Sony have the same design philosophy as Minolta did. Minolta was always at the forefront of innovation. In 1985 they brought out the first SLR with body integral autofocus, the 7000, which was a great creative tool. This is just one example of the many innovative ideas that Minolta brought to the standard SLR. John Glenn carried a Minolta with him when he was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 as part of the Mercury space program. In fact he was the first photographer in space. I have recently upgraded my equipment to the Sony A100 - the first of the legacy DSLRs from the new owners of the old Minolta camera division and I'm not disappointed, especially with low ISO shots. My pictures are very detailed, sharp and noise free. In fact, they are all I could ask for. I hope that soon we will have the top rate lenses that we have been promised and full system support to rival the other big, more established, camera manufacturers. |
|
|
|