Sony A200 with Minolta AF Zoom 75-300mm

Location : Woodley, Berkshire Spotter Watch Member : NO

Hi

I'm after some advice on my Sony A200 and Minolta AF Zoom 75-300mm. This has been my first year using this combo for displays etc and must admit to having had mixed results. The biggest problem seems to be the sharpness of the pictures I've taken. I'm trying to work out if the problem is the lens or the dummy using it. Sony A200 with Minolta AF Zoom 75-300mm 657959

Sony A200 with Minolta AF Zoom 75-300mm 657959

I've had some OK results and some bad ones which I know are down to me, but even at it's best the sharpness/detail seems to be lacking. The lens seems slow to focus and sometimes struggles to so quickly enough, even with centre-weighted focusing etc.

So I guess my question to all you experts out there is, is the lens rubbish and if so, what would be a good replacement - mainly for taking pictures at/around displays/airfields of fast moving aircraft? I'm afraid money is an issue so a good value suggestion around £200 would be welcomed.

Alternatively if the lens is the dogs, what can I do to improve the quality of my photos?

Thanks in advance for any answers received.

Roger

P.S. For info, I have been watching the threads on the Sigma and Sony A-series with interest.

Location : Oxfordshire Spotter Watch Member : no

Hello,
im using a sony A200 With a sony 75-300mm lense. Im having the same problem, the auto focus is to slow when you need it to be quick. I have started using the manual focus when getting fast moving action as the auto focus cant keep up. Sometime i get nice crisp sharp photos and othertimes i may may as well be using a £30 cheap compact camera, And sadly the poor pictures are more often than the good picture. Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
Sony A200 with Minolta AF Zoom 75-300mm 608622

Sony A200 with Minolta AF Zoom 75-300mm 608622

PS Nice to no its not just me with this problem. Sony A200 with Minolta AF Zoom 75-300mm 876664

Location : Durham. UK Spotter Watch Member : no

I have made this point before about zoom lenses. If you shoot at the full extent of the zoom at wide open aperture most, if not all, tele zoom lenses are soft. I always close my lens by at least one stop and also move the zoom back just a tad. On a fully extended zoom the focus can be off a bit as well as well. I have a Sigma 18-200 zoom on one of my small NIkon's and it will not even operate the focus when fully zoomed up, so I bring it back just a bit and it works fine. Try doing this on a still subject like a parked car and experiment with the lens, then what works for you on the ground should work in the air. Does your camera have a continuous focus setting, will it track a moving object?

Location : Middlesbrough Spotter Watch Member : no

I have a a200 with the 70-300mm G-series lens and mine did this a couple of times over the summer.
A friend of mine had the same trouble with his Pentax it kept going out of focus.He told me that his batteries were not fully charged in the camera...might be worth a try guys.