Some Basic Camera Questions

[Parabellum]

Hey gang,

Whilst on vacation in Washington, DC over the Thanksgiving holidays, I came to the conclusion that my camera, specifically the lens, isn't quite capable of doing what I want it to do. We have a Minolta, and I guess the camera itself is ok, but the lens just doesn't zoom in far enough. It's a standard detachable lens, with a 35-80mm zoom on it. 80mm seems to be a "natural" level of zoom, for lack of a better term. It would have been nice to be able to really zoom in on far-off things. So, a couple of questions:

- What's a good zoom to be able to get decent close-up shots of things, but not so much that my miniscule skills would be trumped by the camera?

- Wide-angle lenses: What are some recommendations?

Thanks in advance, all.

[Guest]

Using a Minolta, your lens options are limited, so you may want to go with something that fits a Minolta, like a Sony lens, although I have to say I don't know much about Sony/Minolta lenses, you'll have to determine the quality.

As for good zoom range, most people stay between the 28mm on the wide end, to 200mm on the long end. That's about as long as you'll really need to go really, unless you're trying to get high quality action shots during a baseball game.

Keep in mind, that the farther out you zoom, the higher the shutter speed has to be to get sharp, handheld shots - and the Depth of Field also gets smaller as well.

Here's a list of Minolta lenses that might fit your camera:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/9266/SL...ny_Minolta.html

If I had my pick, I would probably go with a Sony or Tamron over the other brands.

[Parabellum]

Thanks mate! Unfortunately, my camera doesn't really have a variable shutter speed. It has some presets for up-close, action, night, etc., but I have no way of manually adjusting the shutter. But that's the kind of information I was looking for.

Edited December 13, 2008 by Parabellum

[CrowmanUK]

Nice little tool on this page that lets you change the zoom on the lens mate, might give you an idea of what sort of zoom you're after

http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learning_cent...-comparison.php

[Parabellum]

Nice little tool on this page that lets you change the zoom on the lens mate, might give you an idea of what sort of zoom you're after

http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learning_cent...-comparison.php

Holy... WOW! Thank you!

[Guest]

Thanks mate! Unfortunately, my camera doesn't really have a variable shutter speed. It has some presets for up-close, action, night, etc., but I have no way of manually adjusting the shutter. But that's the kind of information I was looking for.

No problem. Just remember that the action setting tries to bump up the shutter speed, so when you zoom in, you'll want to use that setting.

[Papa6]

Hey gang,

Whilst on vacation in Washington, DC over the Thanksgiving holidays, I came to the conclusion that my camera, specifically the lens, isn't quite capable of doing what I want it to do. We have a Minolta, and I guess the camera itself is ok, but the lens just doesn't zoom in far enough. It's a standard detachable lens, with a 35-80mm zoom on it. 80mm seems to be a "natural" level of zoom, for lack of a better term. It would have been nice to be able to really zoom in on far-off things. So, a couple of questions:

- What's a good zoom to be able to get decent close-up shots of things, but not so much that my miniscule skills would be trumped by the camera?

- Wide-angle lenses: What are some recommendations?

Thanks in advance, all.

Another option is, you CAN get an adapter ring that will screw into the body of your camera but the other end can screw in another makers lens, minolta, Canon etc. from my research alot of photographers, prominent ones swear by the fact that if you do this, the lens controls will be off a bit to one side. but they also swear that you'll get exceptionally clear photos.