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Some cool Sony images:

Sony DSLR-A100 with an M42 mount lens


Image by Arkku
My first SLR (digital or otherwise) camera, which I got in August 2006. Has suffered some loss of paint around the lens mount, but otherwise has performed flawlessly.

Sony/Minolta AF lens mount.
Minolta flash hotshoe. CCD-shift anti-shake system.
Shutter speeds: 30s-1/4000s, B. Self-timer, mirror lock-up in 2 second mode.
Flash sync: 1/125s with anti-shake, 1/160s otherwise.
Built-in flash: GN 12 (meters @ ISO 100)
Spherical acute matte pentamirror viewfinder.

Battery: NP-FM55H Lithium-Ion

The camera uses Minolta/Sony AF mount lenses natively, but I use old M42 screw mount lenses, such as the Pentax Super-Multi-Coated Takumar seen here, almost exclusively. A special electronic M42 adapter is required to take advantage of the built-in anti-shake mechanism in the A100, as this system needs knowledge of the (approximate) focal length to operate properly. Also, due to some idiocy, the focus confirmation light doesn’t work without an electronic lens (or adapter) attached. Fortunately, such adapters are now available from a variety of manufacturers.

A common problem with M42 adapters is that they may be slightly too thick for the lens to achieve infinity focus. It may be hard to see this problem without a correct adapter for comparison, as it’s possbile to simply attribute the infinity softness to the lens, but comparing sharpness at "infinity" and at some finite distance of focus reveals that actually most M42 adapters have infinity focus slightly off… even ones where the seller claims otherwise.

One solution to the M42 adapter infinity focus problem is to sand the face of the adapter slightly until it’s thin enough to reach infinity. Personally I’ve used 1200 grade silicon carbide paper to sand mine. Some adapters required just a slight sanding to reach infinity, while the worst required fourth of a millimetre taken off, which was quite a chore (and caused the lens to end up in the wrong orientation when screwed on). The electric adapters seem better made with regard to infinity focus, so just get one of those.

Tags: Cool, images, Sony