MINOLTA REPAIRS

by specialist workshop in Milton Keynes
For many years Camera Repair Workshop, based in Milton Keynes close to the original Minolta UK service department, handled the repair of classic SRT, X, Vectis and later film cameras for Minolta UK. They have obtained many of the spare parts and KMs stocks of older cannibalisation cameras like 7000 and 8000i. Their proprietor is David Boyle, and his two technicians are Minolta trained. As an independent repairer they will specialise in film and digital, and hold parts going back to models like the XM. The Dynax 9 is an exception, previously serviced by a special European centre, and must be sent to JP (see above). No VAT is chargeable at present, and they offer Photoworld Club members a 10 per cent discount on prices which they say are already better than former retail repair charges. This enables the Club to continue with its 10 per cent service and repair discount offer. The Photoworld Club Camera Check scheme will be operated by Camera Repair Workshop, though in absence of Konica Minoltas former bulk shipping arrangements, the return carriage costs have increased and a charge of 25 per camera/standard lens combination is now required. Your equipment is bench-tested for shutter speed, metering, focusing and aperture accuracy, externally cleaned and adjusted (this includes mirror box and film track, and all accessible parts or adjustments). If performance is below standard, a quotation will be issued for optional servicing. A certificate is completed showing the test results and functions checked, and returned with the camera. Camera Repair Workshop were actually responsible for most of the Club Camera Check work, and hold a stock of original Minolta Club certificates along with all the necessary bench testing equipment. They are based at: Unit 9, Wharfside, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK2 2AZ. Telephone 01908 378088, fax 08712 427677. Email: cameraworkshop@tiscali.co.uk
Published by Icon Publications Limited Maxwell Place, Maxwell Lane Kelso, Scottish Borders TD5 7BB Tel: Fax: e-mail: iconmags@btconnect.com PUBLISHED AND EDITED BY David Kilpatrick FBIPP Hon. FMPA Shirley Kilpatrick MSc (Colour Science),

The development of the original AF lines first into the i series champagne colour 8000i (labelled in Japan as 8700i) top and then into the xi series saw the most elegant body styling ever applied to Minolta SLRs. Though the 9xi, bottom, looked far sleeker than the 7xi the body was more or less the samer shape, it was the lack of a built-in flash which lowered its height. body, the 9000AF also launched in 1985, as well as the original all-purpose 7000AF and dumbed down entry level 5000AF (1986). It also offered one of the first digital imaging backs more accurately a still video back, capturing VGA resolution colour frames with a 2X crop factor and recording them on 2" magnetic disks much like the Sony Mavica. The first revision of the system came in 1988 with the Minolta 7000i, a far slicker and faster operating version of the 7000. It introduced Predictive Autofocus for the first time in any AF SLR, and the system of Creative Expansion Cards which were small ROM cards identical in form factor to the Sony MemoryStick Pro Duo. These cards added functions to the camera, and from the start there was the suspicion that functions might be removed from cameras in order to sell them as later add-ons.
had been designed by the Sakai optical factory, which the club visited in 1986. Sixteen members signed up for a two-week trip including India, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan. The highlight of this was a day spent with Minolta, including a reception at the Osaka headquarters tower and a tour of the lens making plant. Quality Circles of eight workers made every lens by hand from the components, and some lenses were very complex. The 28-135mm 4-4.5 was shown off with the most pride, alongside new G series superlenses. By 1989, a new wave of cheaper mass produced lenses had arrived to replace the initial range. They were lighter, smaller, and often swapped a constant aperture for a variable one. The 70-210mm became an 3.5-4.5, and the 35-70mm did the same. More use was made in all lenses of the hybrid aspheric elements first seen in the original 35-70mm. The 1988 revision to the i series established a kind of three-year cycle. In 1990, a bridge camera called the Riva 105i appeared the brick with its built-in 35-105mm 4-6.7 Auto Power Zoom lens. The 8000i in the same year rounded off the range but was not a 9000 equivalent. The Rivas function APZ linked the zoom setting to the focus distance so that if you framed a subject at 10 metres and followed it with continuous auto focus, the zoom would automatically keep the subject the same size even if the distance changed to 5 metres. It would also make an intelligent guess at initial framing; you lift the camera to the eye, the AF sensors detect the apparent area of focused subject, and zoom to fit as you touch the shutter button. This camera was not an SLR, it had an optical finder, but it previewed the main innovations from the next generation of Alpha SLRs.

That came in 1997 with the Dynax 9. It is hard to explain in 2010 just how exceptional this camera was. I took a Dynax 9 to test for a days shoot in Barcelona along with the Canon EOS 1n and the Nikon F5. In fact, the 9 did not offer anything more than the 9xi had five years earlier the same 1/12,000th shutter and 1/300th flash sync for example. But it had the best viewfinder of all the big three pro cameras, and used along with the fairly new G series lenses such as the 17-35mm 3.5 it gave me results which were better. The Dynax 9 (in Europe Alpha
9 in Japan) came with an ambitious plan to support professionals with a five-year warranty across the entire EU regardless of where purchased, and a network of service centres with loan cameras. As with so many of Minoltas attempts to capture the professionals interest it came to nothing. To make matters worse, a new semi-pro Dynax 7 appeared two years later which added functions the owners of 9s envied. The built-in data recording system had a computer which could also calculate depth of field and use near and far AF points to set the optimum focus. This was something the old Creative Expansion Card system offered, and which Canon had built into their system after a similar experiment (cameras with a barcode reader and expansion cards consisting of a printed barcode). Worse still, with the Dynax 7 came a new use for the eight-pin lens mount. SuperSonicMotor focusing (SSM) did away with the use of the noisy if fast AF coupling between body and lens. It brought a few Minolta lenses into the same league as Canons mid-1990s introduction of UltraSonicMotor (USM) lenses. The first SSM designs included the 300mm 2.8 APO G and a brand new 70-200mm 2.8 APO G zoom. The Dynax 9 was unable to use SSM lenses without a service modification, and owners had to decide whether to part with their beloved camera even if they did not yet have an SSM lens. For the next few years until the merger of Minolta with Konica in 2004 those selling used Dynax 9 bodies needed to check whether they had done the upgrade, and get it (no longer free) before putting cameras on the market. Every Minolta and Konica Minolta SLR body made after the Dynax 7 was compatible with SSM. The 7 also marked the transfer of camera manufacture to Malaysia, along with many lenses. The 9 remained hand-built in Japan, but the 7 was no longer a Japanese made body. The Dynax 5, the smallest fully featured SLR even made by Minolta, took some of the AF improvements made in the 7 and continued a trend towards reducing size and weight above all else. The new all-plastic construction was not inspiring, and the later Dynax 60 (with a superior 9-point AF system as now found on the digital SLRs) was rarely seen as a better camera than the 5 even though it was. The 3, 4, 3L and 40 were all at entry level similar or even more basic in their way than the earlier models such as the 3xi or the SPxi, a wonderful little camera from the xi

period which featured spot metering as a special selling point. By the early 2000s it was beginning to look as if any kind of technical selling point was misplaced though Minolta continued to include a spot metering mode in basic models right to the end, when other makers abandoned it.

Konica and digital

The 3L and 40 were the final fling for Minolta before the 2004 merger with Konica; there were never any Konica Minolta film SLRs, the remaining stocks continued to sell with the Minolta branding on bodies and lenses even when some of the packaging was relabelled. New Konica Minolta lens caps were put with Minolta brand glass. As far as anyone can tell, lens manufacturing in Japan ceased; the Malaysian factory kept going. Konica Minolta in 2004 introduced two new lenses which were actually made by Tamron the 17-35mm 2.8-4 (D) and the 28-75mm 2.8 (D). Very few earlier Minolta designs had even been updated for the 8-pin specification (D), notably exceptions were the 24-105mm and the 100-300mm APO. In November 2004, Konica Minolta introduced the Dynax 7D the first digital SLR in the range. There is an unverifiable story that the camera appeared two years later than originally planned, and was to have used the Foveon X3 sensor which eventually surfaced in Sigmas SD-9. Minolta had used Sony digital sensors for some time, and may have been persuaded by Sony to abandon the idea of fitting their DSLR with a US-made imaging device unproven and revolutionary when a larger format 6 megapixel CCD was available from a Japanese supplier. Whatever the case, the Alpha/ Dynax/Maxxum 7D was two years late, too expensive, but also far ahead of its time. It was and now remains the best 6 megapixel DSLR
The last serious view of the last serious film camera made by Minolta the 7. It is much smaller and neater than its digital successor which arrived only five years later. The days of opening the back to put film in were almost numbered
With the 7D, Konica Minolta no doubt inherited an entirely Minolta design, but the lens shown fitted here was outsourced from Tamron, along with its 28-75mm companion. After the Konica merger, there were no more film bodies introduced.

What followed was pretty remarkable. First of all, where Konica had not made proper use of the Minolta expertise it merged with, Sony immediately saw the value of the managers and workforce who had created classic cameras and some of the worlds best lenses. Within three months of the final takeover of the brand, they had the Alpha 100 ready for worldwide launch with a single brand name the original Japanese choice replacing the confusion of Alpha, Maxxum and Dynax. They gave it the first use of the highest resolution APS-C CCD yet made for consumer DSLRs, 10 megapixels, and kept all the features needed from the outgoing KM models. The Alpha 100 remains an extremely good choice especially for landscape or macro work where its superior sharpness, depth of field preview, and 2 second mirror lock-up timer are desirable. In September 2007, the Alpha 700 put 12.3 megapixels into a semi-pro body with glass prism, 5fps and every primary function a serious still photographer needed. The launch of the Alpha 200, 300 and 350 six months later (actually rolled out between January and March) gave Sony a complete line-up from entry level to enthusiast/freelance grade. The full-frame Alpha 900 came as a complete surprise in September 2008 only two years after Sonys takeover really got under way and the rollout of exceptional Zeiss lenses which had started with the 16-80mm
The Alpha 700 successor to the 7D, destined for two years in production.
The Alpha 900 full frame revived interest in classic Minolta glass like the 28mm 2.
for the A100 continued with premium grade (and price) full-frame options. This speed and quality of development can only be compared to the first years of the Alpha system back in 1985 to 1988. Yet is was not going to let up; in 2009 Sony added the ultra-compact Alpha 230, 330 and 380 to replace the 200-350 series then launched a new breed of CMOS sensor in the Alpha 500 and 550. At the same time, the Alpha 850 was put in place as a reduced cost full frame 24 megapixel option. Finally, in January 2010 the Alpha 450 arrived confirming that high performance CMOS and off-sensor live view would now be the norm.

gallery

o enter your own pictures for future Gallery pages, just send digital files. Images should be no larger than 2000 x 3000 pixels or the equivalent data size for panoramas (6 megapixels). They should saved as AdobeRGB or sRGB JPEG files, with embedded ICC profile and intact EXIF data, to level 8 quality (High) or better. Your details, caption, copyright information, website URL, email address etc should be written into the file EXIF or IPTC fields - use 'File Information' in Photoshop File Menu to view and edit these text fields. You may also put caption, website, etc information in a separate text document attachment or in the body of your email. The pictures must have been taken on Minolta, Konica Minolta, Sony or Sony Alpha equipment. Scans from slides, negatives or prints are accepted and full details must be provided of equipment used. EXIF data will be used to confirm the origin of digital entries. Send by email to: gallery@photoclubalpha.com You may also send by post on CD or DVD to : Photoworld Gallery, Icon Publications Ltd, Maxwell Place, Maxwell Lane, Kelso, Scottish Borders TD5 7BB. You may enter as many images as you like at any time, including your name and address and all relevant caption details. Gallery entries will be considered for cover or portfolio use and web editions. Each contributor chosen receives a years subscription/renewal, or a prize of similar value which may be a photographic book or other item.

11 photoworld

Alpha Aqua Babies
Sony Alpha 350 underwater by Ian Cartwright M-QEP FBIPP LMPA
et me say from the start that I am not a bona fide underwater photographer. From time to time some of my work is taken with a camera which is under water. Im not particularly at home in the water either I could never be a scuba diver as I have a perforated eardrum, but I can be immersed and get by with a snorkel and goggles. For the particular photographic requirements I am discussing here, I dont have to get my head wet. There are many cameras which could be used underwater, with expensive custom housings or with more universal glorified plastic bags, but not many can be viewed from above the water when the camera is just under the water surface. To do this, the camera must have a swivel screen with a live view which stays bright even when the ambient light is relatively low. My subjects are mainly babies swimming, or at least immersed, in a shallow pool in front of a blue vinyl backdrop from Studio Dcor, and lit with Broncolor studio flash from above the water. I need spectacles to view a camera screen, and wearing them inside goggles is not really an option. Stick-on lenses, which go inside goggles, although feasible, are fiddly and can be dislodged. So, as my head is above the water, I wear reading spectacles as I would on dry land. I used to use a Canon G6, which is a compact style non-SLR, and in many ways was the perfect camera for this particular application. Its downside was a slight shutter delay and fairly noisy images due to the small sensor. A DSLR with its larger sensor was the obvious step up, but finding one which combined live view with high speed AF was not easy. Only the Sony Alpha system offered this, and at the time of purchase the choice was between the A300 and A350. For professional use, I preferred the 14.2 megapixel model as the ISO used would be below 400 with mains powered studio flash lighting.
The blue backdrop is ideal for single baby shots (above) but its also good for montage the shot below is made up from two. The baby swimming sessions are run by Aqua Babies (www.aquababies.co.uk website photos by Ians Caramel Photography studio). Right: the Alpha 350 and flashgun inside a Ewa-Marine flexible housing.

Technical challenge

I had been triggering the flash with a low cost radio device bought on e-Bay from a guy in Canada, shipping from Hong Kong, which was able to send its signal from a non-submerged position in the hot-shoe of the camera. I dont know whether it would still work deep under the surface as I havent needed to be particularly deep. Because of the need to be able to increase the image quality, to allow for bigger prints, I researched available options. As I am not shooting under water more than three times a year, I could not justify housings costing thousands of pounds or underwater lights. Underwater lighting tends to be crude and too close to the camera for my liking anyway. The pool I work in allows for safely placing lights just where I want them allowing me to have a large soft sky with bounced heads aimed at the white ceiling, and a more directional hazy sun using a head with a soft box diffuser, place above and behind the camera. Initial test runs revealed that a live view with the Alpha 350 on Manual for exposure, which is necessary for studio flash, gave me a screen too dark to view as the available light is not bright enough for an aperture of around 8. It only switches to Auto Gain when the pop-up flash, or a camera top flash, is used. I was able to buy an old (1993) Minolta 5400xi flash which, on a minimum manual power suitable for slave synchronisation of the studio flash, selects 1/60th second in Aperture Priority mode with Auto Gain for the Quick Focus Live View. There is no problem with shutter lag or image lag as there was with some alternative systems live view and focus methods. I would like to be able to use a radio trigger directly inside the Ewa-Marine housing, and its manual power settings. The Sony HVL-F42AM flash might fit, but I need the highest output at minimum power to ensure slave sync works every time. The HVL-F58AM is too big. Wireless flash triggering with a fixed shutter speed and auto brightness on the Quick Focus Live View screen is not possible with the new Alpha 500 and 550 either, although Sony is aware of this issue and reported to be working on it. At the moment if you use Manual exposure, the screen reflects the actual brightness the manual settings will produce; if you use a radio trigger in the hot shoe on Aperture priority, the screen is perfect but the camera tries to make a time exposure as it cant tell flash is being used.

Ian likes the effect of surface reflections (above) but it is possible to avoid them (below).

Water babies

With this set-up, pointing the flash gun upwards or to the side, I am able to trigger the flash using the cells on the heads or packs. I can give instructions to the swimming instructor so that babies neednt spend any longer under the water than necessary. We are talking about two seconds at maximum. The baby sessions can last for over seven hours with up to 80 babies in total, so having my head out of the water helps me cope! From a technical viewpoint, critical factors include the clarity of the
water, the focal length of the camera lens and the amount of light available. The water washes off skin particles as well as oils and make-up. The more people have been in the water the cloudier it becomes, so it is crucial to have enough time ahead of the shoot when the pools filters are working. Water has a magnifying effect, so wider lenses become effectively longer. Its not a good idea to have too much water between the camera and your subject because of the particles and a blue colour shift, but also you wouldnt generally want to have too much perspective distortion or run
out of background, so I choose a medium wide focal length equivalent to around 28 mm on 35 mm cameras. I have retired my first lens, a 17-50mm Tamron 2.8 XR DiII zoom, in favour of a fixed focal length 20mm 2.8 Sony SAL lens, which is shorter and fits the Ewa-Marine housing better. At 8, the depth of field is fairly large so focusing is not super critical. Sometimes, with babies, the flash duration is too long at about 1/250th second, as they can flip around rapidly. I could speed up the flash duration but would have to sacrifice power, so I put up with the odd blurred arm.
The clients are given the option of paying extra for an enhanced session which allows for at least six immersions over half an hour, shared between six babies and /or families, compared with up to four immersions over 15 minutes. This option is only available to more experienced swimmers when there is less of a risk of causing babies distress. Should that happen, the session is ended, as the babys welfare is paramount. The booking fee pays for the session and prints are extra. I offer unframed prints, two types of frame and canvases. I also offer montages of images creating sequences or the illusion of more than one person in the water.

Models and brides

I have always valued personal work and I like to do underwater shoots with one or more adult swimmers. Flowing fabric and graceful body shapes can create beautiful, unpredictable images. Although the pool I have been using is quite shallow and this is a bit limiting, I still have ideas to try whenever I can find volunteer models who can look normal underwater. I am offering brides an underwater option after the wedding, wearing their wedding dress. My method has evolved for my particular subject, and, no doubt will continue to evolve. I am able to offer 45" prints from the Sony Alpha 350, which is plenty big enough for the moment! See: www.caramelphoto.com

Adults as well as babies make great underwater subjects, especially women with floating drapes or dresses. Some of Ians shots are creative experiments (above, inverted for effect) and some are unexpected requests such as the underwater bridal shot for a wedding album, right. I rely a lot on the skill of the swimming instructor in positioning a baby. They often have their own idiosyncratic behaviour such as soaring head first, bobbing bottom up, or twisting and rolling. After the first attempt, with an adjustment, the instructor can often counteract this movement for the photograph. I have to be on the ball to fill the frame as much as possible, ideally have the instructor out of the shot, and the baby in a good position. I often have to retouch out the instructor or extend a background on over half of the images. Thankfully, the vinyl background is relatively easy to extend. I get better sales which are done online via everybodysmile. com, when I take the trouble to do most of the retouching before uploading the images. There is a tendency for images underwater to be blue and, curiously many babies hair, especially after correcting the blue, can appear strongly ginger. This doesnt seem to happen with adults hair. Nobody has offered a convincing explanation for this so far! I feel sorry for those genuine redheads out there! Although I make it absolutely clear that I will take the artificial redness out of the non-redheads hair, many parents are so worried that their child should have any red hue in their follicles that they just have to email me to point out that their child has strawberry blond hair, not ginger. I also encounter the odd aesthetic disagreement when it comes to surface reflections, which I love, and asymmetry, which I also favour. Sometimes I cant help responding, that the only people without reflections are vampires. Is the customer always right when they insist on total symmetry? Sometimes I argue, sometimes I just crop as they request!

Alpha 450

he A450 is an A200 update with an Amegapixel CMOS sensor (the A500 being effectively an A300 update to 12 megapixel CMOS). There may be some surprises present when examined, but the listed specification indicates this camera is exactly what it appears to be. Here are the recent and current camera sets in every line the first has a fixed rear screen and no quick live view, the second has a quick live view and an articulated screen, the third has a higher pixel count sensor: A200 A300 A350 A230 A330 A380 A450 A500 A550 The 450 breaks the pattern by using the 550 sensor not the 500 sensor, leaving possible room for a 12 megapixel A400. It also adds Manual Focus Check Live View, which of course is missing in all the CCD based cameras. Its unlikely we shall see a 14 megapixel A280, but thats what the model number would be if it was made. In line with speculation, logical models A600, A650, A750 are possible introductions but the Ax30 and Ax80 designations could apply. It is not an A230-330 style body, but an A5xx-style body, and uses the larger battery hence the excellent shot count per charge. At the time of posting this information, no further images were available from Sonys UK press media library. The logic of this camera may be questioned, but a lot will depend on the viewfinder eyepoint. By choosing a relatively small and safe viewfinder magnification, and removing the articulated screen which forces your eye away from the eyepiece, Sony may come closer to the comfort factor of the Nikon D5000 which despite having an articulated screen allows a closer eyepoint and better visibility of the finder. Until buyers pick up this camera and try it, we cant be sure. It may just hit the mark perfectly. The viewfinder eyepiece is not the same as any previous Alpha model the eye start sensors are above the ocular. From the press release: The DSLR-A450 is a perfect all-rounder. Inside the 450 is a high-resolution 14.2 (approx.) effective megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor. Its teamed with the powerful BIONZ processor to deliver highly detailed, ultra-low noise images. Sensitivity extends right

Selling for about 50 less than the Alpha 500, the 450 will reach shops in March 2010 and offers 14.2 megapixel CMOS with MFC Live View
The Alpha 450 weighs 520g and the body size appears much the same as the 500/550, including extra height for the flash to avoid red eye and lens hood shadows. The viewfinder (below) places the eyepiece much lower down, with sensors above. This may suit some users well. The rear screen allow true live view off the sensor for 7X or 14X critical focusing and 100% accurate composition.
up to ISO 12800, allowing you to capture beautifully natural handheld images in low light without flash. With a generous 95% field of view, the bright optical viewfinder makes framing and composition a pleasure. As an extra refinement, Manual Focus Check Live View previews clear, bright full-resolution images on the 6.7cm (2.7") Clear Photo LCD screen. With selectable 7x/14x on-screen image enlargement its ideal for confirming pin-sharp focus with portraits, still life, macro and architectural scenes. The powerful BIONZ image processor enables high-speed continuous shooting at up to 5 fps (maximum approx. figure). In Speed Priority mode (with AF and AE set at start of burst) this increases to an amazing 7 fps (maximum actual speed depends on shooting conditions and media card). Creative options are enhanced with Auto HDR mode that accommodates bright highlights and dark shadow details in a single frame. Two successive frames shot handheld at different exposure values are merged automatically by the camera. The result is a detail-packed High Dynamic Range image with no need for a PC image editor and specialist skills. In addition to fully automatic operation, the exposure difference between frames can be manually set up to 3EV, in 0.5EV increments. SteadyShot INSIDE offers up to 4 steps of anti-shake correction with the full range of 30 lenses and two teleconvertors, as well as compatible A-mount optics by Konica-Minolta. The 450 also offers the most impressive shooting stamina of any DSLR camera by Sony to date. The high-capacity battery allows up to 1,050 shots between charges. Connect the 450 to any HD Ready TV for a breathtaking big-screen view of your photos. PhotoTV HD optimises still image reproduction on compatible BRAVIA models, while BRAVIA Sync allows control of slideshow and other camera playback functions using your TV remote. The DSLR-A450 digital SLR camera by Sony is available from the beginning of February 2010. Editors note: despite Sony stating this availability, all the advertisements we have seen state mid-March 2010 for deliveries. Jacobs have the body only priced at 449.50.
or most of us, visiting the Arctic is something that can only easily be undertaken during the Summer months when sea ice has melted and broken up sufficiently to allow access by ship. Not only is it light for 24 hours a day but in June and July, the sun gets nowhere near the horizon. Even in Summer it was easy to feel the harshness of the Arctic wilderness and appreciate the achievements of the great pioneers of Arctic exploration such as Amundsen, Nansen and Rae. Todays tourists regard reaching 80 North, 650 miles from the North Pole, as a real landmark deserving a champagne celebration on deck, albeit at 8.30am in freezing conditions. The trip was on the Russian ship, Akademik Ioffe. Although crewed by Russians, all the leaders were Canadian, Australian or Norwegian. Svalbard is an archipelago of islands lying midway between Norway and the North Pole. Spitsbergen is the largest of the islands with the small town of Longyearbyen being the departure point for most cruises. An expedition trip like this is not all about photography as the Arctic experience and sense of adventure are just

Summer snows

As if we dont get enough of it at home Duncan McEwan headed for Arctic Svalbard in midsummer for an unseasonal extra dose of the white stuff.
Two of the lenses in Duncans travel kit for this expedition were the classic Minolta 100mm 2.8 AF macro and the new Sony 70-400mm 4-5.6 G SSM tele zoom. The macro was used at 16 for the Svalbard poppy the national flower of Spitsbergen. The full reach of the zoom at 400mm was needed for the polar bear on the shore at Mushamna, working from a zodiac launch. 1/800th at 6.3, ISO 400. All images on Alpha 900. as important. A cruising ship does limit photography, but it also gives time to take in the atmosphere. More intensive photography was undertaken during shore landings or zodiac excursions, normally two per day. Equipment consisted of two Sony Alpha 900 bodies, and three lenses a Sony 24-70mm CZ 2.8 SSM to cover landscape situations, a Sony 70-400mm SSM G lens for wildlife and a Minolta 100mm 2.8 macro lens to photograph the Arctic flora. A Gitzo Basalt tripod was also taken, mainly with macro photography in mind, but it also proved surprisingly useful on deck when using longer focal lengths the ship, having been designed for sonar research, was remarkably vibration free. The deep lens hood supplied with the 70-400mm lens was a great asset, helping to keep rain or sea spray off the lens which was further protected with an ultraviolet filter
Rannoch Birches: Good colour contrast with the clouds being so important in completing the composition. Alpha 100 + Sony DT 16-80mm ZA lens. 1/10 @ f13 (+1.3 compensation). Lee polariser. ISO 200. Rowan Tree: A demonstration of how damp, overcast conditions can produce excellent colour. Alpha 100 + Minolta 70-210mm f2.8 SSM lens. 1/40 @ f10 (-0.3 compensation). Lee polariser. ISO 200.
Above: Colourful ice sculptures at Tusenoyane, taken from a zodiac in fairly choppy seas. Alpha 900 with Sony 70-400mm SSM G lens at 135mm. 1/2500 at f5.6, handheld. ISO 200. Below: Walrus taken in heavy rain and strong winds at Dolerittneset, on Edgeoya. Alpha 900 with Sony 70-400mm SSM G lens at 230mm. 1/125 at f9, tripod. ISO 200.
Top left: Beluga whale bones at Bourbanhamna are a reminder of the mass slaughter of whales that took place in Svalbard over the centuries. 70-400mm at 250mm. 1/10 at 20, tripod. ISO 200. Bottom left: This Arctic fox had its den below this house in Ny Alesund. 70-400mm 00mm. 1/400 at f5.6, tripod. ISO 200. Above: Old coal wagon relics from a failed coal mining venture at Calypsobyen. 24-70mm f2.8 CZ SSM lens at 28mm. 1/20 at f18, handheld. ISO 200. a cheaper alternative to Sonys high quality protection filters. Landscape photographers who are used to using a tripod nearly all the time probably undervalue the importance of image stabilisation achieved through Sonys SteadyShot Inside feature. On this trip, it assumed top priority as most photographic opportunities involved hand-holding the camera. Particularly when shooting from the unstable platform of a bobbing zodiac, SteadyShot was invaluable. The tripod was carried on most shore excursions, but opportunities to use it were limited due to having to stay within, and keep up with, the group. Groups were created according to fitness or ambition and since usually opting to join a group going further/higher, it did limit tripod use compared to being in a more leisurely group. When using the tripod on deck,SS was switched on, rightly or wrongly, to counter any sea movements or vibration. restrictive it is compared to the freedoms one may be accustomed to. Shooting from a cruising ship imposes considerable restrictions, with any foregrounds being limited to parts of the ship itself. Medium telephoto focal lengths were found to be most useful for photographing the coastal land during cruising. Restrictions on land were dictated by the dangers from polar bears, and guides would recce an area before any landing was made. Even so, on two occasions, shore excursions were prematurely terminated due to an advancing polar

David Kilpatrick found the high ISO quality of the Alpha megapixel sensor valuable as the days got shorter and darker

Normal

HDR 3EV
the files, like Adobe Camera Raw or Sonys own Image Data Converter, produces normal brightness results. The JPEGs from the camera are also of the correct brightness. Perhaps the exceptional 920,000 dot rear screen of the Alpha 550 is confusing users. Its MUCH brighter and more accurate tonally than the Alpha 700 or 900 screen. This is what happens with new generations of cheaper cameras, they can overtake more expensive earlier models in some respects. This screen is one such improvement. Its far better in sunlit conditions and also gives a more accurate idea of colour balance. The Alpha 550 also has an improved viewfinder screen. The focus markings are no longer permanent, they are created by an LCD overlay and only appear when needed. This means that your Quick Focus Live View, using the CCD camera located in the prism housing, no longer shows all the screen markings all the time. There are some very faint hairlines visible from the wiring to activate the LCD overlay, but these are so fine they do not appear on the Quick Focus Live View. The Manual Focus Check LV is even better except that for some reason Sony has decided you want a big text panel permanently overlaid, telling you that MF Check LV is being used. Its a pity, because without this panel the HDTV video feed from the camera would be good enough to record movies!

The ISO benefit

The right-hand picture was taken at ISO 800, as a raw file processed using Adobe Camera Raw 5.6. This picture shows no more noise or grain than a typical ISO 200 shot with the Alpha 350. It had no problem passing Alamys quality control, which will reject noisy images, along with other shots ranging up to ISO 1600. While I would trust 1600 on the Alpha 900, it would be out of the question on the A350 or A380, equally so on the A100, 200 or similar models and even on the A700. The A550 and now the new 450 look like being the first APS-C models where using ISO 1600 will produce a picture you cant always tell from one at low ISO. In low light, or with dark subjects, the result will
DRO+ Level 5 High Dynamic Range versus DRO+
The top picture is a normal shot Standard JPEG. The second picture shows the effect of using the maximum HDR function (3EV difference between the two shots taken almost simultaneously). Look hard and you will see the double imaged moving car, but also note how accurate the colour of the red van remains. The bottom picture using maximum DRO+ (Level 5) and a single exposure. Note how the colours are affected, especially the colour and brightness of the red van. HDR wins if you can use it.
A combination of very low noise ISO 800 from the raw file, 16mm (equivalent to 24mm) angle of view, foreground illumination from the built-in flash and careful processing using Adobe Camera Raw 5.6 with graded sky exposure and local corrections produced this result from the Sony Alpha 550. Photograph by David Kilpatrick.

ISO 1600

be worse than in good light. And of course a lower ISO will be better still. At first, I used Auto ISO on the 550 and was surprised that a whole set of 16-80mm CZ close-ups of fairy cap toadstools had been bumped up to 1600 when I expected the camera to stay at 200 to 400 with the sun out. But I was underestimating the filtering effect of trees on sunshine. The exposure was perfect with settings of 1/100th at 11, ISO 1600. Even with SteadyShot it would not have been a good idea to use a shutter speed longer than 1/100th at 80mm for a close-up shot. I returned with a tripod the next morning when the light was similar, and over the course of two weeks documented the growth and decay of a couple of troops of the toadstools. Here in encountered a problem with the Alpha 550. It has no mirror lockup or pre-lift self timer. Although the shutter-mirror action is quieter and sweeter than the Alpha 100, the sort of exposure times needed at ISO 200 for this subject nearly always showed vibration blur even when the tripod was used. Speeds from 1/8th to 1/30th were particularly prone to mirror shock. Hand-held pictures with SS were generally better than tripod shots without, perhaps because the hands damp the vibration and SS can deal with what remains. The

ISO 800

problem goes away with speeds of 1/4 second or longer on the tripod, as the vibration dies away. This omission from Alpha entry-level cameras later than the 100 is much missed. You might expect that MF Check Live View macro focusing would allow an exposure with the mirror still lifted up, but it doesnt. The shutter closes, mirror comes down, mirror lifts, shutter opens its actually worse for vibration than any other shooting mode. I gather nothing can be done to change this as the mirror-shutter cycle is mechanically linked, with no provision for separate control of each function. I have acquired some very substantial old macro bellows (a rather nice Pentax 42mm screw Auto set) and will be trying some MF Check LV focused macro work as warmer weather brings more subjects. My existing skinny little BPM bellows just couldnt handle the vibration. The new Alpha 450 also offers MF Check LV, not doubt with exactly the same mirror action. Its a pity, because with mirror lock the high ISO quality could have aided astrophotography and photomicrography. We can hope to see this 14 megapixel sensor or an even better one in a future Alpha 700 replacement. With mirror lock-up!
THE INNER LANDSCAPE with David Ward 2 days, at Seaford, East Sussex Wednesday/Thursday 7/8 April or Saturday/Sunday 10/11 April 2010 We are delighted to have the services of David Ward, who will be leading his first workshop in Sussex. David is one of the countrys leading landscape photographers, whose eye for shape and form is without equal. His distinctive style and philosophy have earned him a reputation for his superb and very personal images. Examples of these may be found on his web site www.intothelight. com. David describes himself as a tshirt winning professional landscape photographer working on large format. His teaching emphasis is on the photographers vision, rather than what format or camera is being used, and that he tries to pass on his knowledge in an accessible and humorous manner. The workshop is, therefore, suitable for anyone, beginners included, no matter what equipment you use. Quotes about David from well known photographers include Joe Cornish David Wards camera looks deep into the landscape, revealing texture, detail, rhythm and subtleties that most of us miss and from Keith Wilson, editor of Outdoor Photography In the world of landscape photography there are many practitioners but precious few masters. David Wards compositions are artful and compelling. David regularly leads workshops for Light and Land, and is the author of two books Landscape Within and Landscape Beyond. (both highly recommended!) The workshop will include field trips, discussion, and picture review and is a rare opportunity to see and learn from this master photographer. Price 255(deposit 75). 10 places. IMPROVING YOUR LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY with Colin Westgate and Hugh Milsom 2 days, at Mersea Island, Essex Thursday/Friday 15/16 April 2010 This workshop is being held in Essex for the first time, so if you were unable to attend in Sussex last year, then here is your chance. Landscape photography is often thought to be straightforward and indeed, it is not difficult to obtain reasonable pictures. Frequently, however, landscape photographs are disappointing, perhaps because of unfavourable light, poor composition or lack of interpretation and shortcomings in printing. With the right approach,

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