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I have a Vivitar Series 1 70-300mm f4.5-5-6 AF lens, which I bought for my SLR Minolta Camera. Now that I want to buy a DSLR, I would like to know which DSLR for sure will work with this lens I already have. I know Sony bought Minolta, but I have asked them and they did not give me an answer. I hope you can help me because I want to be sure about which DSLR camera model I should buy. Thank you.
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Minolta had two lens mounts. One for manual focus SLR film cameras and one for Auto Focus SLR Maxxum film and digital SLR cameras. Sony uses Minolta Maxxum lens mount. If the Sigma 400 f5.6 lens was made for Minolta X-700 series, XG, series, XD series, SRT series, then it will not fit on your camera.
if you want to use your current lens, then your only new choice is any of the Sony Alpha dSLR's as they use the Minolta AF mount.
However... your lens will not operate correctly. You may have to manually focus and the auto iris stop down might not work. The only way to find out in advance to to take your lens along to a Sony stockist to try it out, but phone them in advance to ensure that they have a display model with a freshly charged battery.
You will definitely find that your 35mm film lens will have a different angle of view; the smaller sensor on the dSLR means that your lens will appear to have a 1.5x teleconverter fitted. You'll also likely find that your lens will be optically inferior to the modern offerings simply due to greater advances in computer aided design and materials technology, although the actual build quality of your lens may well be better.
On balance, I'd suggest that you continue to use your Minolta 35mm camera and if you buy a digital SLR system just make a clean break and pick whichever system suits your needs best. Unless you already own late model 35mm AF Nikon or Canon gear there's really very little to be gained by trying to use your old equipment on the new dSLR body and potentially a lot of handling issues to interfere with taking photos.
Depending on how new your Minolta SLR film camera was, the lens may or may not work on a Minolta Digital SLR. In many cases, a lens with the correct mount (in this case, a Minolta mount) can be used on the same brand of camera in the digital format.
One thing you should know is that DSLR sensors are, generally speaking, smaller than the size of a 35mm film negative. Long story short, that means that your lens will have a magnification factor on the DSLR. Usually, it is in the range of 150%, so a 70-300 lens from a film camera would cover 105 to 450 on a Digital SLR.
To be sure about the mount, you'll need to seek advice specific to Minoltas -- probably best to take your lens to a local camera shop and see for sure if it fits and what features will work (aperature, auto-focus, etc) and which won't work on the DSLR.
As I understand it, Sony bought Minolta, lock, stock, and barrel. Theoretically the lenses should fit and may work on manual, but I'm very sure they will not totally work on sony digital cameras. I wouldn't even try to fit them as the autofocus system on the camera may be damaged.
here is a link to an ebay search for minolta to canon eos adapter, they sell for just about every camera. i know it sucks, buying a new camera that wont work with your favorite lens, but i think you might be better served focusing (couldnt help myself) on camera features and pricing. i own a canon dslr and love it. sigma has a cool dslr. it has a three layer image sensor, with a removable on sensor ir filter. the ir filter thing is really cool.
rtjohnson1,
the minolta 7000 was the first auto focus slr. you can still buy a good working 7000 on e-bay for around $40.00 to $50.00, or take a 7000 lens to a camera store and try it on a newer model.
Dear Minolta friends,
I have recently bought a second hand Maxxum 7000 and a AF lens, but found the body not ocntrolling the aperture while shooting. I know 7000 has someting special. Is my problem is due to lens and body compatibility or actually the malfunction of the body. I am sure the AF lens is ok since i have tried it working with another minolta af body.
Can give me an advice?
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