SLR lens on a digital SLR

Please excuse my ignorance, but I still have a Minolta 7000i (from the late 1980's),
along with several lenses. Am I correct that I could use these lenses on a digital
SLR, such as the Maxxum 7D? Would they in some way be out of date, or is there some
other 'gotcha' with using them on a digital camera?

To betray more of my ignorance - Minolta AF lenses only work on Minolta cameras,
correct? Are the lenses usable on any other digital cameras? The 7D seems pretty
expensive compared to other digital SLRs..

TIA

Bob B.

 

Depends on how good they "were". If they were the cheap cunsumer zooms,
probably wouldn't be worth choosing a camera over them. If they were just
OK on film, they will just be worse on digital given the crop factor.

 

Do you still view the 7D as "pretty expensive" when you consider that you
don't have to pay
more to have image stabilized lenses? In the Nikon line, looking at
70~80-200mm lenses, the
difference between VR (Nikon's IS lenses) and non-VR is around $500...looks
like with the 7D
you pay that difference once then all your other lenses are "upgraded" to IS
for free. (Before I
get flamed by someone pointing out that Minolta doesn't upgrade your lenses
to IS for free,
we ARE talking about the IS built into the body turning your non-IS lens
into an IS lens.) Looks
like a pretty attractive option...wish Nikon would emulate it.

George

 

The 7D works with all Maxxum lenses with some caveats regarding
anti-shake. For example the 1x-3x macro does not work with anti-shake
on. If you have lenses with focus limiters, then they have to be off
for anti-shake to work.

If you are cursed with any xi or auto-zoom lenses then the only drawback
is the AF/MF mode-flip switch can't be used. (But the main MF-AF-CF-SF
switch does so you can still control whether in AF/MF ... you just can't
do a quick AF (from MF mode) using the thumb button).

Yes. Maxxum lenses fit Maxxum cameras.

Expensive? Value often goes that way. It is a very complete camera.
Great ergonomics, great monitor (large), great viewfinder and to cap it
all off it has the anti-shake system built in that allows you to shoot
hand held at comparatively low shutter speeds than without it.

The 1x-3x macro can't be used with the anti-shake.

With the 100 f/2.8 macro you can expect this: (not at macro distance,
very large file 2.5MB. Be sure to view at 100% zoom on your browser.)

http://www.aliasimages.com/images/KM7D/ColBill_FD.U.jpg

Cheers,
Alan.

 

Thanks Alan, this is just what I wanted to know.

Well, other digital SLRs can be had for quite a bit less than the 7D. But yes,
considering that I could use my current lenses, and the 7D has anti-shake, perhaps
it's worth it..

Bob B.

 

I'm just showing off at 400mm w/ closeup diopter <grin>:
<http://www.edgehill.net/1/?SC=go.php&DIR=Misc/misc-photos/2005-04-25-macro&PG=1&PIC=5>

 

Which lenses do you have (out of curiosity)?

The other day at a used gear fair I saw the 70-210 f/4 macro from
Minolta for $225 (CDN). I regret not buying it for my girlfriends
Maxxum 5. But if you don't have a really sharp lens for closeups, this
would be a great buy.

Cheers,
Alan

 

Note that I was not at macro distance for the shot shown and that the
image was "as is" (with USM pass).

Cheers,
Alan

 

I know, I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist.

 

Happens to the best of us...

 

Two Minolta lenses: Maxxum AF 28-85/3.5-4.5 and 70-210/3.5-4.5. Also a Sigma
70-300/1:4-5.6 DL MACRO. They have served me well over the years.

Bob B.

 

I would expect these to work fine on the 7D. BTW if you're in the US,
there is a $200 rebate on the 7D. So shop and bargain and negotiate and
then get the rebate too. (Ends Jun 30)

http://tinyurl.com/bkqcb

Cheers,
Alan.

 

-----------------------

Hi Bob.

I'm sorry to say, but, at best, those are mediocre quality lenses. They may
have sufficed for use on a film camera, but will, likely, struggle to
deliver sufficient resolution and speed on a good digital camera, like the
D7D. The focal length of the shorter zoom is, also, not particularly useful
on a digital camera. What was a wide angle to portrait length lens, will,
instead, become a normal to short telephoto length lens. I predict you'll
want to rush out and buy a new wide angle zoom lens the very same day you
begin using your new digital camera.

My advice to you would be to take this as an opportunity to start fresh with
a camera and lens combination that is ideally suited to the task at hand.
Spending a little more money now, and possibly broadening your list of
camera options, could save you from headaches, frustration, and additional
expense later.

Camera technology has taken a quantum leap in recent years. We all have to
shift our thinking, if we wish to enjoy all the opportunities it allows.

For your consideration...

Rob

 

-----------------------

Hi Bob.

I'm sorry to say, but, at best, those are mediocre quality lenses. They may
have sufficed for use on a film camera, but will, likely, struggle to
deliver sufficient resolution and speed on a good digital camera, like the
D7D. The focal length of the shorter zoom is, also, not particularly useful
on a digital camera. What was a wide angle to portrait length lens, will,
instead, become a normal to short telephoto length lens. I predict you'll
want to rush out and buy a new wide angle zoom lens the very same day you
begin using your new digital camera.

My advice to you would be to take this as an opportunity to start fresh with
a camera and lens combination that is ideally suited to the task at hand.
Spending a little more money now, and possibly broadening your list of
camera options, could save you from headaches, frustration, and additional
expense later.

Camera technology has taken a quantum leap in recent years. We all have to
shift our thinking, if we wish to enjoy all the opportunities it allows.

For your consideration...

Rob[/QUOTE]

After a couple of days of researching this, I've come up with the following:

- There are reports of older Sigma lenses not being compatible with the 7D, so mine
might not work at all.

- Others are using the 70-210, and are happy with it, though at least one complained
of "softness" in the images.

- As noted above, with the 7D, the effective focal distance of all the lenses will be
changed by a factor of 1.5X - so the 28-85 will become more like 42-128, making it
something of an oddball.

So the benefit of using my existing lenses probably won't be as great as I had hoped.
Still, the 7D seems like a great camera, especially because of the built in
anti-shake. But I think I need to look more closely at some others - Nikon D70, Canon
Digital Rebel XT, etc., to decide on what makes sense in terms of total cost (body
and lenses), and of course quality.

Bob B.

 

Anecdotal here, but my Sigma 75-300 f/4-5.6 APO and Sigma 500 f/7.2 APO
purchased back in 1993 work well with my 7D, as do a Tokina 20-35 and a
Tamron 35-105 f/2.8. And a couple Minolta AF lenses as well, of course.

My main photographic interest is aviation, so that 1.5x crop factor is a
plus here for the most part. Back problems have left me less stable on
my feet, so I've had even more problems in recent years tracking and
shooting fast-moving planes (nevermind the crappy eyes...) - I have
noticed the motion-blur percentage of images going up with the Maxxum
9xi's in recent years.

I've now shot my first air show with the 7D and the new Sigma 50-500
(the old 500 prime seems to have developed some focus issues, was seeing
this on recent shoots with the 9xi's as well - that wide zoom range on
the 'Bigma' was a real clincher as I pondered how to handle with one 7D
what I used to do with two 9xi's and different lenses.) My results so
far have been very pleasing - the AS allows me to shoot consistently
sharper images hand-held at the equivalent of 750mm - often with shutter
speeds of 1/250 or slower.

Still have to get used to changing 'film' every few hundred shots,
though - and wondering how many years it will take to break the 35 year
habit of turning my back to the sun and hunkering over the camera to
shade the Microdrive as I swap... ;^)

Bob ^,,^