Sony Alpha 100 Settings Help

pinkfloydian

Anybody familiar with this camera?

Struggling to set the Shutter Speed and Aperture and ISO.

T

Homer

In what mode on the camera? You would need to be in "M" mode or manual, to be able to properly and independently control each of the 3 variables that make up your exposure. Usually ISO done via a separate button but aperture and shutter speed via dials on the front and rear of the camera body.

pinkfloydian

I was using A.

I'm a novice and I want to take a photo of the Supermoon on Monday night.

I can't seem to get the hang of making the settings!!

I'm using a Minolta AF 70-210 lens.

T

pinkfloydian

I was using A.

I'm a novice and I want to take a photo of the Supermoon on Monday night.

I can't seem to get the hang of making the settings!!

I'm using a Minolta AF 70-210 lens.

T

imnorobot

A bit late I know :-(
But if you set the camera to A for ( aperture priority ) you can adjust the aperture of the lens by rotating the little wheel left or right
the lower the number the more light is allowed in
However when in A mode the shutter speed is automatically adjusted by the camera to try compensate

Same goes for when your in S mode ( shutter priority ) the aperture is automatically adjusted to try compensate

If you use manual mode M
you can set both A value and S value manually


also to make things confusing for someone starting off some of the big beercan lens's like the minolta 70/210 may have a fixed minimum value like f4
this means that while you can rotate the little wheel to the right to increase the value it will no go below f4

also photographing something like the moon you would be as well to use a tripod and switch off steady shot while on the tripod
The reason to use a tripod is that when taking a shot with say a 1/2 second exposure trying to hold the camera steady would be difficult without the camera moving causing a blur

Steady shot tries to counteract vibration / movement by moving the sensor hopefully giving a better photo
but if the camera is on a tripod this can introduce movement vibration of its own as the camera is not moving

pinkfloydian

Thanks for the support imnorobot

That's what I was looking for.

Are you saying that by connecting a specific lens to the camera, then certain max/min settings are "controlled" by the lens?

The next challenge I want to take on is a photograph of the milky way from a location in the Algarve next summer (I plan to practice from here in Dublin). I assume I should go full manual mode. I would be using the lens that came with the camera (Sony 3.5-5.6/18-70), I will also be using a tripod and a wired shutter release.

Any further help with how to set up would be great!

T

imnorobot

pinkfloydian wrote: »

Thanks for the support imnorobot

That's what I was looking for.

Are you saying that by connecting a specific lens to the camera, then certain max/min settings are "controlled" by the lens?

The next challenge I want to take on is a photograph of the milky way from a location in the Algarve next summer (I plan to practice from here in Dublin). I assume I should go full manual mode. I would be using the lens that came with the camera (Sony 3.5-5.6/18-70), I will also be using a tripod and a wired shutter release.

Any further help with how to set up would be great!

T

Yes exactly
if your bigbeercan is 70/210 f4 that means it has a fixed value f4 and cant go below that no matter how much you turn the wheel
The camera when in A mode automatically adjusts the shutter speed to try match what your aperture value is

The 18-70 lens is not great as it has a fixed minimum of about f3.5 or something like that depends on how zoomed in you are it can increase to 5.6 which would not be great for night sky
you need a couple of seconds exposure to capture stars and with a couple of seconds trails start to appear
for night sky photos

imnorobot

ebay or adverts.ie
what you need to be looking for are some of the older minolta AF lenses which will work on your A100

I have a 50mm f1.7 that i use a good bit the 1.7 lets in a lot of light ( what they call a fast lens ) meaning you can use fast shutter speeds and fast shutter speeds mean less chance of camera shake
But the 50 is no good for night sky as its fixed 50 mm
On a alpha A550 cropped sensor means you multiply the the lens by 1.5 so the 50 mm acts as a 75mm
a 100 would act as a 150 and so on
Too zoomed in for night sky
What you need is a wide lens try to get in as many stars as poss

something like this should be better for night sky
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Minolta-28mm-f-2-8-AF-Lens-Sony-/182360541799?hash=item2a75890a67:g:PbYAAOSwal5YMfm0

As something like this is just too expensive :-)
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Minolta-AF-28mm-F2-Lens-Filter-Hood-For-Minolta-Sony-Alpha-/201688795864?hash=item2ef596cad8:g:e0MAAOSw4shX~gtb

pinkfloydian

Thanks again imnorobot

Much appreciated.

T

imnorobot

a bit of light reading for you
http://petapixel.com/2014/01/29/picking-great-lens-milky-way-photography/

imnorobot

drool
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/MINOLTA-AF-28mm-F2-for-SONY-w-hood-Very-good-From-Japan-06-H39-/252601462032?hash=item3ad0386d10:g:oxUAAOSwNSxVYc5N

pinkfloydian

Thanks imnorobot

Is The Sony Alpha 100 an APS-C camera or a Full Frame, as mentioned in the article?

It also mentions "4/3 camera"??

T

imnorobot

pinkfloydian wrote: »

Thanks imnorobot

Is The Sony Alpha 100 an APS-C camera or a Full Frame, as mentioned in the article?

T

it would be aps c

pinkfloydian

Hi imnorobot,

I'm looking at some lenses on eBay, but I'm confused about the Mount Types. I know mine is an "A".

Do you know of a compatibility chart that I could refer to?

Thanks,
Tommy

imnorobot

pinkfloydian wrote: »

Hi imnorobot,

I'm looking at some lenses on eBay, but I'm confused about the Mount Types. I know mine is an "A".

Do you know of a compatibility chart that I could refer to?

Thanks,
Tommy

If you look at the lens that I linked to above
you will see it is a Minolta AF ( Sony kept the same mount )
on the rear of the lens there are 5 contacts
you will see on your A100 there are 8 pins
on your Chinese sony 18-70 lens there will be 8 as this is a digital lens and can use ADI ( distance intergration for flash ) I Think
The older 20years old Japanese Minolta lens did not have this hence 5 pins
But they had superb glass and give a great quality image :-) the fact they are cheap now is a real bonus and will work fine on your A100
I have several 30 year old lens's that work fine on my A550

However be aware that some of these lens's may have been in the bottom of a wardrobe for years and have some fungus on the glass
This is not good so check the description
Should be fungus and haze free
google oil on aperture blades (Bad)

there are so many of these old lens's about it should not be difficult to find one in excellent condition



Minolta AF will be fine
Just keep away from the AF XI auto zooming range
Try for the all metal body type not the rubber ring plastiky ones

A good choice is the Minolta 35-70 F4 older metal type for day to day ( Not Night sky )

The Minolta MD cant be used without an adapter ring and would have to be focused manually but some people have gotten great results with the MD Rokker lens's and an adapter ring

the wiki page has a list of Minolta AF that will work on your a100
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Minolta_A-mount_lenses

Have a look on fleabay
Then search for the lens on Dyxum and see what reviews it got
http://www.dyxum.com/reviews/lenses/Minolta-AF-35-70mm-F4_review39.html

More info on using Minolta Lens on sony alpha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0OwKNhfQA

pinkfloydian

Thanks for the comprehensive reply imnorobot

T

imnorobot

No worries
Glad to help
Good luck with your new hobby :-)