Emma and Siiri

Emma is the grey one and Siiri is the black one. They are around 16 weeks old on these pics. I don't usually post pics of pets, but did so for DH. =)

I just took a photo of my two 50mm AF lenses to show which ones work, for a discussion on dpreview:

The old version on the left, the new version (RS) on the right. They need to have the AF text in order to work in KM/Sony cameras.

J's A350 on a Gorillapod SLR. Stable with the joints as shown and the lock ring tightened a bit past the "lock" symbol. Blog entry to show example of use for dpreview discussion.

Mannequin, Black and White
(Sony A100, Sigma DG EX 70mm Macro)

J points at a flower
(A100, Minolta 50mm/1.7)

Bush flowers with insects, including a bug acting as a hornet

Flower with dandelion seeds

A flower, with my and J's computer keyboards in the background

Some flowers on the side of a sidewalk in Gävle, spring of 2008

A350 bought

Finally decided on continuing on the Alpha line, despite the fact that we don't have too many lenses, no Alpha flash etc. J got a Sony Alpha A350 for her birthday.

Prior to the decision she got to try it of course, but I also took several test photos with my A100, and the store's A200 for comparison (in case we should have picked the A300 instead). Judging from 3 identical setting ISO 800 shots from a tripod in the stores, I'd say the A200 had the best quality because of slightly lower noise at ISO 800, with the A350 not far after, with my A100 proving its poor quality at ISO 800 and up. The good quality jpg at ISO 800, with no de-noise artifacts and good colours, was enough for us to decide that we want the A350 and not wait for the A300.

At home, we tested the camera's ability to focus at dim light, and it was far superior to the A100. Also, the focus motor works faster (70% I heard from one source) so there was a huge difference in focus ability and speed.

For me, the A3*0 is not an upgrade path because they have been crippled in software by Sony (which is quite typical Sony manners) since they do not have a mirror lock up timer for the 2 or 10 second auto, like my A100 has. I use it quite a lot up here in Sweden where the light isn't always so good, and indoors; I set the camera to 2 second mirror lockup, no flash, Depth of field preview has also been removed for some reason... I guess they try to cripple these so that their next cameras in the same line will look more attractive, and the current A700 will look more attractive. For me, my upgrade path will be Alpha for sure, but that will have to wait til after autumn because of Sony's decision. I am quite happy with my A100 in the long summer days up here in the north, bu when the fall comes and with that less light and the need for higher ISO for hand held shots... well, I am sure the A710 or whatever it might be called will look very attractive.

Instead, the next investments will go to a flash and lenses. Currently we have two SAL-18-70 kit lenses, a SAL 75-300 and Sigma's excellent 70mm DG EX Macro. J and I both want a lens that's good for low light photos, like the Minolta 50mm/1.7 that can often be found in www.tradera.se. I'd love the SAL50/1.4, but it's quite expensive so the 1.7's will do. J also wants some kind of super zoom, like the DT18250, or Tamron's older equivalent, while I am looking for a replacement for the SAL 75-300 which suffers from some bad image quality and chromatic aberration. Except for some great shots at around 135 mm range and in good light, I've not taken any shots with it of decent quality. Perhaps I just need more practice and a faster focusing camera, but no inexperience can explain the bad aberrations. As for flash, I've been debating between the Sony HVL-F42AM and Soligor DG-420 Z, which is cheaper. The Sony is not that more expensive and is probably better in all aspects, including wireless support, so at next paycheck we'll most likely order one.



Oh, and about these photos themselves... I had to use manual settings, since the Av setting on J's Canon S3 IS simply would not expose this scene in darkish corner with a closeby floor lamp pointed at our white roof in our apartment correctly. Even exposure compensation never raised the time over 1 second, while 2.5 seconds was needed to get acceptable exposure at a low ISO and smallish aperture to get some sharpness. I am sure J will love the better exposures and much lower noise compared to her old camera.