Sony Diaries #1037: The amazing Beercan!

The Minolta 70-210F4, aka The Beercan, is an amazing lens, arguably the best value telephoto zoom. It can still be found on Kijiji or Craigslist for $80-125. It seems  the production majority were good copies. I've had 3 copies but I have only kept the best one. This review by Kurt Munger reaches the same conclusion as other reviewers: great optics, great value. The Beercan was launched in 1985 and is compatible with the Sony Alpha line (I use this lens on an A77II) and with the A7 series using an LA EA4 Adaptor. Actually, it seems to me that the Beercan looks sharper on the A7III than it does on the A77II, but this observation is not based on any scientific testing.

Below are two versions of the same shot, uncropped and cropped. There is chromatic aberration (the purplish fringing around high contrast areas) such as around the wings but for the subject matter, I can live with it.

1/500 F4.5 ISO1000, shot at FL  200 (300mm)

Luminar 4 Update

I bought Luminar 4 for its Portrait capabilities but just this week, I started using it for landscapes shot in my backyard and around my neighbourhood.

In a word: AWESOME! If you are on Instagram and you search for #luminar, you'll find some amazing photos.

Here's a Before and After using 5% Photoshop and 95% Luminar. The Before is a SOOC JPG, AWB, using an APS-C Sony A77II and a 25 year-old Minolta 70-210 F4 (the Beercan), It was overcast and the fog was just lifting off. I had gone out hoping to shoot a pair of mallards that visit the seasonal pond in the woods behind the house, as it is their annual thing to do. I didn't see them so I shot this scene, more as a record and not really hoping for any print-worthy images. If I had expected potentially amazing scenes, I would have used my Sony A7III and the far sharper Tamron 70-200 F2.8.

There is a plethora of imaging software out there, almost all doing the same things. I typically use Camera RAW in Adobe Photoshop. Based on my initial use, I find Luminar 4 to have more specific tools with more nuanced controls. For example, for this set, the Gradient Tool, and Dehaze to reduce the fog/mist, is superior to anything else that I have tried.

Based on this exercise, Luminar 4 seems to offer the possibility of getting more out of my SOOC JPGS, for maximum results. I can't wait to revisit the Olympus JPGS that I have from a Philippine trip 12 years ago. I had to use Photomatix HDR to get the best out of those files.

26Mar2020

Sony Diaries #1003: The best-kept secret in the Full Frame world

Ever since I switched to Sony (from Canon), I have enjoyed (and employed) the many excellent features of Sony's unique SLT technology. Seldom mentioned is the fact that Sony has kept the Minolta mount, now known as the Sony Alpha mount. This means that one can use Minolta lenses, world-renowned for their superior image and build quality. Minolta lenses possess excellent optics in almost-all metal barrels. There is also the mystical "Minolta Colors", that I can definitely discern.

One of the best-kept secrets in the world of Full-Frame cameras is the cultish status of the legendary Minolta 70-210F4 Beercan. Still available on eBay and occasionally on Kijiji and Craigslist, it can be had for as low as $100CDN. 

I was fortunate to obtain my second copy off of Kijiji just yesterday, for $130CDN, boxed, and what looks like in never-used condition. This copy is incredibly sharp, Minolta colours. Being a screw drive lens, I expected  the focus ito be relatively sluggish (and hunts a bit) on my a99. But on the a7III, focus is snappy almost as if it was a native lens!!

I feel like I just won a small lottery!