Sony A68 being used with Minolta lenses

[Bill Steinmetz]

Hello,

I have a Sony A68 camera that I purchased used on eBay to use with my collection of Minolta A-mount lenses, including a Minolta 80-200 mm f 2.8 and a Minolta 28-70 mm f 2.8, and many others.  I have been really disappointed with the quality of the images, they all look slightly fogged or like they were shot thru a dirty window. The camera appears to have had little use before me and the translucent mirror appears really crisp and clean when I look at it with the lens off. The images I get are in focus, just foggy. I have adjusted some of them in post to get them to be more bright but in low light it is really hard to get a decent image. Is this the price to pay for the simplicity of a translucent mirror that does not move? Or is this operator error? Maybe the camera could be set up differently? Most of my shots are taken in program. Anybody else had this issue? 

[thebeardedgroundsman]

It might be that the sensor itself is dirty? Initially try the sensor cleaning mode with no lens attached and pointing down.

If this doesn't work, you can inspect the sensor by flipping the translucent mirror out of the way. To do this, have no lens fitted, at the bottom of the mirror, in the middle, there is a little metal tab. Press this down and the mirror flips up to reveal the sensor. If it looks dirty you have a choice of getting it cleaned professionally, or risking cleaning it yourself. 

Start with a blower before moving onto a sensor cleaning brush. (the mirror is very fragile, so try to avoid touching it.)

To get brighter shots in-camera remember you have the +/- (EV) button next to your ISO button.

I find my A68 still works really well and I use it a lot for wildlife as the cropped sensor gives me more "reach" than my A99.

[Bill Steinmetz]

Thank you for your reply and ideas, I will give you an update on how they worked.

[Bill Steinmetz]

I carefully cleaned the mirror and sensor with a puff brush cleaner with only puffed air. They both looked really clean already, going to an airshow this weekend to try out my newly cleaned A-68

[thebeardedgroundsman]

Good luck!

[Pablozamora]

thebeardedgroundsman Que objetivos minolta usas para tu Alpha 68?

[thebeardedgroundsman]

6 hours ago, Pablozamora said:

Que objetivos minolta usas para tu Alpha 68?

Minolta 500 AF reflex. + 70-210 mm  "Beercan"

[Pablozamora]

Minolta 500 es tu cámara?

¿Sabes dónde podría comprar el 70 -210 beercan en buen estado?

Gracias amigo

[thebeardedgroundsman]

Mi cámara es Sony A68. Minolta 500 AF Reflex es el único objetivo de espejo con enfoque automático.
Lo siento, no sé dónde conseguir estos lentes de una fuente confiable. A veces vienen a MPB, que son muy buenos y negocian en Europa.

[Pablozamora]

thebeardedgroundsman gracias por tu ayuda, estoy buscando estos objetivos para comprar. Soy muy nuevo en esto y no tengo mucho dinero así que valoro muchísimo tu consejo y estoy agradecido por ello. Sólo hacerte una última pregunta. Para sacar fotos Macro que me recomendarías? Un saludo amigo 

[thebeardedgroundsman]

Con un presupuesto limitado, recomendaría comprar lentes de segunda mano en un distribuidor de renombre, como MPB en Europa (creo que también pueden haberse instalado en Estados Unidos).
Los lentes que venden con una "buena" calidad tienen una excelente relación calidad-precio y funcionan perfectamente.
Para Macro, buscaría una lente macro ligeramente telefoto para darle un poco de distancia de trabajo. También es una buena lente para retratos. No tengo una macro para mi A68, por lo que no puedo recomendar una específica.
Salud
PD, ¡nunca pensé que estaría conversando en español! Gracias al software moderno para hacerlo posible.

[Pablozamora]

Gracias amigo, y el español de tu herramienta es bastante bueno. Un saludo desde España.