Looking for Minolta film body for DSLR Sony A-Mount Lens? Advice needed [first post]

photoartsgirl · Apr 12, 2015

I have a Sony SLT-A57 and a few A-mount lenses for it, and I am hoping to get a Minolta body that will be compatible to these lenses. I am aware that there are quite a few that are compatible but I'm not sure which one to get. These are some things I would like:

Compatibility - Must be compatible to my Sony A-mount lenses (SAL1855, SAL30M28, SAL75300, SAL50F18)
Budget - I am aiming for $100, preferably less than $200
Basic - I only have experience shooting with the Pentax K 1000 and I loved it - does anyone know anything similar? I do not need auto-focus or aperture/ shutter speed priority (these would just be bonuses!)
Size/ Weight - I am looking for something similar to the size of the Pentax K 1000, nothing too clunky or too heavy.
Seller - The camera body must be available for sale either in-store in Canada or online.

That being said, I would like a camera that will last and help me in my art. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

hoffy · Apr 12, 2015

Hi and welcome aboard!

Any Maxxum or Dynax branded Minolta camera will take the current Sony Alpha lenses. The issue, though, is that there are only a select few of these cameras that will auto focus anything where the focus motor is built into the lenses - I.E., those that are marked as SSM or SAM. (you can still manual focus)

To maximum compatibility, you are best to look for one that has SSM/SAM capabilities. By far, the best bet is the Dynax/Maxxum 7:
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/onebody/7

These can go for just less then $100 to around $250 USD, depending on condition. They are a solid camera. As a matter of fact, I'd suggest they are probably more rugged then your A-57

A cheaper option is the Dynax/Maxxum 5 which you should be able to get for less than $50. These feel a bit more plasticy compared to a 7:
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/onebody/5

There are other options as well. If you want to check out specs for all the Auto focus Minolta's, check out the following page:
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/bodies.php#film

What you are looking for is SSM,SAM under the "Supported Lenses" category heading.

If you head over to KEH, they currently have both the 7 and 5 available.

Just one word of caution - he has the 9 range listed as supported. These camera's need to be modified to use SSM/SAM lenses, so if you want one of these, do your homework before purchasing!

Hope that helps.

polyglot · Apr 12, 2015

Seconding the mhohner link, you must have a read through that. And hoffy's body recommendations are good; I would start with a 5 since they're like $10 and support everything, then think about a 7 or 9 depending on your desires for speed/functionality or indestructibility.

Your problem however is that most of the lenses you own are APS-C and will not completely cover a film frame. You need "full frame" lenses for use on film, otherwise you get a black outer circular area on the image. I think the 75-300 is your only full-frame lens.

Because you don't really have any investment in film-compatible Alpha lenses and because I am biased*, IMHO there is not a lot of point shooting 35mm film anymore because digital has finally gotten notably better. Medium format is a different story and you can make incredibly good photographs with cheap old medium format cameras. Have a google for Mamiya and Yashica TLRs (examples), then also read up on Mamiya/Pentax 645 systems and RB67/RZ67 (examples).

Just be aware of the non-obvious options and don't let the tail wag the dog in terms of your existing equipment. Not all of my above suggestions are for everybody by any stretch of the imagination. See if you can find a local camera club and borrow a medium format camera or two. A 645 SLR or 6x6 TLR can be lighter and smaller than a DSLR with grip, a 6x7 has 4x the film area of 35mm; the only drawback is they eat 4x as much film so you learn to slow down a bit

* I shoot a Sony A99, Mamiya RZ67 and Toyo 45A.

hoffy · Apr 12, 2015

Oh, yes - I forgot about the APSC lens restrictions. Very good advice from polyglot.

If you do want to stick with the Alpha scheme, the original Minolta lenses will work perfectly fine with your new Sony, so keep that in mind. Be cautious, though, of some of the 3rd party lenses, as some won't auto focus on the new Sony cameras.

Chan Tran · Apr 12, 2015

I would recommend the Maxxum 9 or Maxxum 7.

Colin DeWolfe · Apr 12, 2015

As a Minolta shooter, I recommend the same... Alpha/Maxxum 7 if you have SSM lenses, 9 i they are all screw drive. Unless you can find a Alpha/Maxxum 9 which has been updated. All the titanium bodied 9's have SSM support.

photoartsgirl · Apr 12, 2015

hoffy said:
Oh, yes - I forgot about the APSC lens restrictions. Very good advice from polyglot.

If you do want to stick with the Alpha scheme, the original Minolta lenses will work perfectly fine with your new Sony, so keep that in mind. Be cautious, though, of some of the 3rd party lenses, as some won't auto focus on the new Sony cameras.

Hi and thank you for all of your advice!

I just want to make sure I have this right since I'm new to this. Because the majority of my lens are not full-framed, the Dynax/ Maxxum 7 and the Dynax/ Maxxum 5 that you recommended would have the black outer circle that polyglot mentioned or would the lenses work for these 2 models?

Alternatively, I could purchase the original Minolta lenses which would work with the Dynax/ Maxxums and my current Sony Camera? But in your opinion, is it worth it to stay with the alpha configuration?

Thank you again for your help, I really appreciate it!

photoartsgirl · Apr 12, 2015

polyglot said:
Seconding the mhohner link, you must have a read through that. And hoffy's body recommendations are good; I would start with a 5 since they're like $10 and support everything, then think about a 7 or 9 depending on your desires for speed/functionality or indestructibility.

Your problem however is that most of the lenses you own are APS-C and will not completely cover a film frame. You need "full frame" lenses for use on film, otherwise you get a black outer circular area on the image. I think the 75-300 is your only full-frame lens.

Because you don't really have any investment in film-compatible Alpha lenses and because I am biased*, IMHO there is not a lot of point shooting 35mm film anymore because digital has finally gotten notably better. Medium format is a different story and you can make incredibly good photographs with cheap old medium format cameras. Have a google for Mamiya and Yashica TLRs (examples), then also read up on Mamiya/Pentax 645 systems and RB67/RZ67 (examples).

Just be aware of the non-obvious options and don't let the tail wag the dog in terms of your existing equipment. Not all of my above suggestions are for everybody by any stretch of the imagination. See if you can find a local camera club and borrow a medium format camera or two. A 645 SLR or 6x6 TLR can be lighter and smaller than a DSLR with grip, a 6x7 has 4x the film area of 35mm; the only drawback is they eat 4x as much film so you learn to slow down a bit

* I shoot a Sony A99, Mamiya RZ67 and Toyo 45A.

Thanks for your help!

I hadn't even thought about medium format as an option which is funny considering I shot with the large format view camera just recently. I will look into the Mamiya & Yashica TLRs that you mentioned. Thanks for the idea of borrowing a medium-format and trying it out, I will definitely do that! Just wondering if there is a huge learning curve to using one and what are some great resources to get started? I find that a lot of them get too muddled in advanced technical details and I find that a bit overwhelming. Thanks again!

polyglot · Apr 13, 2015

photoartsgirl said:
I just want to make sure I have this right since I'm new to this. Because the majority of my lens are not full-framed, the Dynax/ Maxxum 7 and the Dynax/ Maxxum 5 that you recommended would have the black outer circle that polyglot mentioned or would the lenses work for these 2 models?

Alternatively, I could purchase the original Minolta lenses which would work with the Dynax/ Maxxums and my current Sony Camera? But in your opinion, is it worth it to stay with the alpha configuration?

That is about right, yes. DT lenses will show a black outer at some or all zoom settings (depends on the lens design) but should otherwise work (you will get pictures!) on a 5 or 7 and on some 9s.

All of the older Minolta lenses are full-frame, and there are plenty of full-frame Sony lenses you can buy that will work on film. If it's compatible with full-frame digital, it should work fine with film too, modulo any SSM/SAM issues.

photoartsgirl said:
I hadn't even thought about medium format as an option which is funny considering I shot with the large format view camera just recently. I will look into the Mamiya & Yashica TLRs that you mentioned. Thanks for the idea of borrowing a medium-format and trying it out, I will definitely do that! Just wondering if there is a huge learning curve to using one and what are some great resources to get started? I find that a lot of them get too muddled in advanced technical details and I find that a bit overwhelming. Thanks again!

If you can shoot 35mm film in manual mode and reliably get a decent image, you can do the same with medium format. Most cameras - especially affordable ones - don't have a meter, but you can use your digital camera as a meter, buy an external meter or use a metering app on your phone. As long as you can focus a lens, read a meter and decide on a valid exposure, you can use a medium format camera. Most of them are far simpler to use than any DSLR: you get to pick the aperture, the shutter speed and the focus and then you push the button; mostly* there's nothing more to it than that. There's a reason you'll find all the anti-technology troglodytes on APUG When you're starting out, feel free to take a preview exposure or three with your digital and once you like the result, then commit it to a bigger piece of film.

PS if you're using your alpha regularly, you should join dyxum.org too.

* bellows factor and/or reciprocity failure may trip you up, also parallax error on a TLR. Google them and you'll figure it out.

Looking for Minolta film body for DSLR Sony A-Mount Lens? Advice needed [first post]

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