Cameracraft magazine – Taking your practical photography further

Category: Offers

  • Photoworld 2008-2011 Book

    Photoworld 2008-2011 Book

    Icon Publications now has a 316-page book available with all the editions of Photoworld in one volume. Printed on 130gsm silk paper with a 250gsm gloss laminated soft cover, this compilation of news, tecnique and images covers an important period as the Sony Alpha system bridged the gap between Minolta’s legacy and the modern Sony mirrorless E-mount system.

    From the first 24 megapixel full-frame DSLR A900 to the first APS-C mirrorless NEX system and the birth of the short-lived ‘DSLT’ translucent mirror hybrids, this superb full colour A4 compendium puts the final 12 issues of Photoclubalpha’s quarterly magazine into a bookshelf-friendly read to keep.

    Many standing pages, advertisements and offers have been removed to keep the pagination, cost and posting weight down. Photoclubalpha is the name adopted by The Minolta Club of Great Britain after Sony absorbed the camera brand in 2006.

    A black book cover with red text reading 'photoworld' and an inset monochrome image. Photoworld was pub;ished to continue the Minolta Club's relationship with photographers after Sony acquired the Minolta camera business.

    You can order now from Mixam UK for £32 plus postage.

    ORDER PHOTOWORLD 2008-2011 HERE

    What was the Minolta Club?

    When Minolta established a UK presence, it pioneered a direct-to-consumer relationship by combining warranty registration cards with a periodical magazine and a programme of events, courses and training. Through the Minolta Club’s events many amateur and student photographers found a professional career path and training – and exposure in Minolta Image magazine and the compendium of featured work, Minolta Mirror.

  • Sony FE Macro 50mm f/2.8 – only $500

    Sony has just announced yet another 50mm, and this time it’s different – a truly affordable 50mm 1:1 macro, only $500 US. We reckon this will become the most popular standard 50mm lens by far, even more so than the budget 50mm f/1.8. Now you can photograph your food properly at last!

    or-sel50m28---3quarter

    It certainly looks neat and the specifications are good.

    It features one ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass to reduce lateral CA (colour fringes) as the image scale increases. The optical and mechanical construction of the lens is claimed to have less glare and ghosting. The lens is also dust and moisture resistant.

    Examples shot with the new lens can be found at www.alphauniverse.com, Sony’s new corporate pseudo-community site. We have to say the bokeh looks funky, not good, and this lens probably lacks the classical drawing of the more traditionally designed (and more expensive) SAL 50mm f/2.8 Macro A-mount.

    or-sel50m28---controls

    The 6.25″ (16cm) minimum focusing distance is a clue why. The effect of the 7-blade circular aperture design can be studied in the Sony photo examples. It has a focus-mode switch, focus-range limiter and focus-hold button (the mode switch is valuable as you may not want AF for macro shots most of the time, and the focus limiter is similarly good for controlling frantic hunting and missing – all three switches/controls are important on the mirrorless bodies).

    or-sel50m28---macro-convenience

    The lens is 7cm long, weighs 235g and during focusing it extends in length by only 26mm, not the 50mm required for a typical Tessar-type lens of this focal length. This, and the minimum focusing distance (should be at least 20cm for a 50mm macro at 1:1) indicate that the design relies heavily on internal/rear focusing groups, much like the 30mm f/2.8 DT SAM macro for A-mount. We would reckon the true focal length of the lens at 1:1, which can not be more than 40mm with a 16cm close focus, may be around 35mm as 1:1 is achieved with 76mm of overall focus extension.

    The distance from the subject to this lens front rim at 1:1 is only 3.5cm which many will find a little too close for insects and even for plants, as the shadow of the lens and photographer may interfere. Even the SAL 50mm is not perfect, reaching 1:1 at 20cm from the focal plane with a 48mm dual barrel extension and 53mm front element focus travel (the extra 3mm is down to floating element correction which slightly changes the focal length). This places the lens rim 7cm from the subject, twice the working distance relative to this new SEL FE design.

    B&H purchase link (Affiliate)

    Look – you don’t read Photoclubalpha to get sales blurb. You come here to find stuff out which you won’t read anywhere else and may not previously have been aware of. It may be difficult. But it will help!

    – David Kilpatrick