Advice and help please.... Minolta D7D.

[BarryJay]

Hi Guys. As I am new to JetPhotos.net I don't have any photos posted. I tried to upload one, but it was rejected and several grounds.

My concern (and I am sure all you Canon users will agree) is that I have a Minolta D7D. I am using a Minolta 70-200/2.8 APO lens which is great. Yesterday was the first day I 'tried' to take photos of planes at the main Melbourne airport. I was not very happy with the results, many of them were blurry (obviously too slow on the shutter speed). Only one or two were just OK, but they all seemed a little soft to me, and was wondering if it was just my inexperience or my camera/settings. Is there anyone else using the same Minolta D7D with success?? Can anyone give me some tips and advice on the best way to take these photos? Is there a minimum shutter speed you would use to eliminate movement? Any advice appreciated.

One more thing. Since KM went out of business, I don't know what other lens to buy. I would like to own a Minolta G 400mm APO, but don't think a tele lens would do. Are there any other options open to me as far as lenses are concerned, or would it be better for me to bail out of Minolta altogether and either purchase a Nikon or Canon. The only reason I have not done so up until now, is that I have too much Minolta gear to even think of changing....

Anyway, I apologise for the novel, but would appreciate any of your constructive thoughts on the subject.

You can e-mail me directly if you like as well.

Many Thanks in advance.
BJ

[Whopper]

Hi Guys. As I am new to JetPhotos.net I don't have any photos posted. I tried to upload one, but it was rejected and several grounds.

My concern (and I am sure all you Canon users will agree) is that I have a Minolta D7D. I am using a Minolta 70-200/2.8 APO lens which is great. Yesterday was the first day I 'tried' to take photos of planes at the main Melbourne airport. I was not very happy with the results, many of them were blurry (obviously too slow on the shutter speed). Only one or two were just OK, but they all seemed a little soft to me, and was wondering if it was just my inexperience or my camera/settings. Is there anyone else using the same Minolta D7D with success?? Can anyone give me some tips and advice on the best way to take these photos? Is there a minimum shutter speed you would use to eliminate movement? Any advice appreciated.

One more thing. Since KM went out of business, I don't know what other lens to buy. I would like to own a Minolta G 400mm APO, but don't think a tele lens would do. Are there any other options open to me as far as lenses are concerned, or would it be better for me to bail out of Minolta altogether and either purchase a Nikon or Canon. The only reason I have not done so up until now, is that I have too much Minolta gear to even think of changing....



Many Thanks in advance.
BJ

Barry,

The 7D is a very good camera for Aviation photography. It sounds more like that you haven't used the right settings. Please tell more about how you set the camera.
Although i now use an Canon 30D, i still have my Minolta gear and use them both.

Regards,

Rob

[ollieholmes]

You can never beat experiance. I would be ashamed to show my first photos i took with my slr.
Maybe if you could post the better ones we could help you.

[BarryJay]

Barry,

The 7D is a very good camera for Aviation photography. It sounds more like that you haven't used the right settings. Please tell more about how you set the camera.
Although i now use an Canon 30D, i still have my Minolta gear and use them both.

Regards,

Rob

Cheers for your reply Rob.

I set the camera on shutter priority at varying speeds between 1/250 and 1/400 @100 ISO. I was in broad daylight with fairly harsh sunlight so I used a polarizing filter. I also had the AF on spot focusing. I did not have any issues with exposure, only shutter/aperture settings possibly too slow. I suppose I could have used a higher shutter speed being a 2.8 lens, but didn't want to narrow the DoF too much. I'm not sure if the aperture size makes much difference to the DoF at those distances.

I have uploaded 2 photos but have yet to be screened, so we'll see if they make it.

Do you have a 7D as well ?
Although the 70-200 I used the other day seemed to be adequate at that distance, what other lens should I be looking at buying?

Thanks, Barry

[BarryJay]

Advice and help....

Hi Ollie, yeah, these guys seem to be very strict with the adjudication of the photos, so I don't hold much hope....will wait and see if they get passed.

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/aircraft

The above link are some of my attempts.....

Cheers,
Barry.

You can never beat experiance. I would be ashamed to show my first photos i took with my slr.
Maybe if you could post the better ones we could help you.

[Whopper]

Cheers for your reply Rob.

I set the camera on shutter priority at varying speeds between 1/250 and 1/400 @100 ISO. I was in broad daylight with fairly harsh sunlight so I used a polarizing filter. I also had the AF on spot focusing. I did not have any issues with exposure, only shutter/aperture settings possibly too slow. I suppose I could have used a higher shutter speed being a 2.8 lens, but didn't want to narrow the DoF too much. I'm not sure if the aperture size makes much difference to the DoF at those distances.

I have uploaded 2 photos but have yet to be screened, so we'll see if they make it.

Do you have a 7D as well ?
Although the 70-200 I used the other day seemed to be adequate at that distance, what other lens should I be looking at buying?

Thanks, Barry

Barry,

Try this: Set your camera to "C" with the switch on the front and select the centre AF point on the back. Also, with the 7D, you're better off with ISO200. Also set your exposure manually. In case you use the Minolta 70-200/2.8 SSM, use the limiter on the lens.
A 70-200/2.8 is a good lens to start with for now. You can look at buying the Minolta 400/f4.5 but there are not many around in Australia. Another option is the Minolta 300/f4 and a 1.4x converter combo which i use.

I hope this helps,

Rob

[BarryJay]

70-200 Ssm...

I don't have the SSM lens, only the normal HS 2.8 lens, but what is the lens limiter you are talking about on the SSM lens?

I did see a 400G lens on E-Bay for sale, around $4k, but didn't think that a tele lens would be any good. Would a zoom lens not be better for this type of photography?

I'll try 200 ISO next time as well.

Many Thanks.

[Whopper]

I don't have the SSM lens, only the normal HS 2.8 lens, but what is the lens limiter you are talking about on the SSM lens?

I did see a 400G lens on E-Bay for sale, around $4k, but didn't think that a tele lens would be any good. Would a zoom lens not be better for this type of photography?

I'll try 200 ISO next time as well.

Many Thanks.

Barry,

I'm talking about a range-limiter. You can limit the focus range, so the lens does not have to go through the whole range which increases speed. I believe your HS version has it aswell but i'm not sure. It sure makes my 300/f4 focus faster.

For A$4000 you can almost buy a new Canon 30D and EF 400/5.6 which in my view is a better idea than buying more KM gear.

Regards,

Rob

[ollieholmes]

Hi Ollie, yeah, these guys seem to be very strict with the adjudication of the photos, so I don't hold much hope....will wait and see if they get passed.

http://www.pbase.com/barryvj171/aircraft

The above link are some of my attempts.....

Cheers,
Barry.

Personaly i feel they will all get rejected for being undersharp. They are very good for a first go with a Dslr, i would be disgrased to post some of my early ones.