just rambling... busy people skip this post ok? 
***
i've not been a minolta user for long - started a few years ago with an A2 camera, and stuck with KM when i got a dslr because of i liked the attitude they took towards making cameras, the kind of intelligent and friendly design that we've all grown to love. (ok, anti-shake was another reason)
slowly i found more reasons to like being a minolta user. the user base is small, but friendly and knowledgable. because the brand is less known, there aren't loads of people with canon vs nikon type questions.
there's also that strange experience when it comes to shopping... the thrill of the hunt for illusive minolta items, calling up shop after shop to ask if they have minolta TCs and extension tubes, joy at finally getting hold of an os-1100 and oc-1100 set, scanning b&s for those illusive, less common lenses.
and of course, the enjoyment from using the equipment, the way it fits in the hand, the beautiful colours, sharpness and contrast from a 50 1.4... (my cheapest lens, but so wonderful).
but every now and then, i wonder if i'm just making a virtue out of a necessity. here in minolta land, we get excited every time a G lens gets mentioned. a 70-200 ssm is like some sort of legend. then i pop into consumer corner and see yet another nikon 70-200 VR or canon 70-200 L IS mass order going on. you can't even buy a 17-35G if you wanted to, but there are 17-40Ls everywhere. not just the expensive glass... cheaper stuff like the 28 f2, want to buy also cannot. out of production, seldom appears on secondhand market, and when it does, disappears almost immediately... go on outing, everyone else sharing and trying stuff, but i got no one to share with
because of this, every now and then i'd wonder if it'd be easier just to switch. all the established systems are good systems and can deliver the results i need. why not just buy into one with a strong presence here, easy access to lenses and accessories etc etc.
all this is a little late and pointless now. the sony takeover is a done deal. in a month or so, the alpha (a new beginning) will be on the market. as the giant comes to life, many things will change. there will be more and more new users, equipment will be more easily available, if expensive. those days of searching high and low for a @#$@#% cable will be over. i'll soon be getting what i wished for. and what i was afraid of.
sorry for the melodrama. in the end the pictures are what count and i do enjoy what i have, and will keep enjoying it. but as an era draws to a close, i guess i just want to take some time to think about what it means to be minolta :angel:
***
i've not been a minolta user for long - started a few years ago with an A2 camera, and stuck with KM when i got a dslr because of i liked the attitude they took towards making cameras, the kind of intelligent and friendly design that we've all grown to love. (ok, anti-shake was another reason)
slowly i found more reasons to like being a minolta user. the user base is small, but friendly and knowledgable. because the brand is less known, there aren't loads of people with canon vs nikon type questions.
there's also that strange experience when it comes to shopping... the thrill of the hunt for illusive minolta items, calling up shop after shop to ask if they have minolta TCs and extension tubes, joy at finally getting hold of an os-1100 and oc-1100 set, scanning b&s for those illusive, less common lenses.
and of course, the enjoyment from using the equipment, the way it fits in the hand, the beautiful colours, sharpness and contrast from a 50 1.4... (my cheapest lens, but so wonderful).
but every now and then, i wonder if i'm just making a virtue out of a necessity. here in minolta land, we get excited every time a G lens gets mentioned. a 70-200 ssm is like some sort of legend. then i pop into consumer corner and see yet another nikon 70-200 VR or canon 70-200 L IS mass order going on. you can't even buy a 17-35G if you wanted to, but there are 17-40Ls everywhere. not just the expensive glass... cheaper stuff like the 28 f2, want to buy also cannot. out of production, seldom appears on secondhand market, and when it does, disappears almost immediately... go on outing, everyone else sharing and trying stuff, but i got no one to share with
because of this, every now and then i'd wonder if it'd be easier just to switch. all the established systems are good systems and can deliver the results i need. why not just buy into one with a strong presence here, easy access to lenses and accessories etc etc.
all this is a little late and pointless now. the sony takeover is a done deal. in a month or so, the alpha (a new beginning) will be on the market. as the giant comes to life, many things will change. there will be more and more new users, equipment will be more easily available, if expensive. those days of searching high and low for a @#$@#% cable will be over. i'll soon be getting what i wished for. and what i was afraid of.
sorry for the melodrama. in the end the pictures are what count and i do enjoy what i have, and will keep enjoying it. but as an era draws to a close, i guess i just want to take some time to think about what it means to be minolta :angel:
