Band and concert photography and video
MINOLTA LENSES AND SONY CAMERAS
ABOUT MINOLTA LENSES FOR SONY DSLRs
WE USED TO SELL LEGENDARY
MINOLTA LENSES
Fortunately our wedding and concert photography businesses have grown so much we have not been able to maintain our lens business.
If you bought a new SONY CAMERA with all that fabulous new technology and you have been using an “18-55 or 18-70MM kit” LENS that came with it or a secondary manufacturer LENS , you are not even close to realizing the full potential of the beautiful pictures you could be taking. I wish I wouldn't have wasted my time with some of the new plastic LENSES and gone with MINOLTA LENSES in the 1st place. You can’t match the quality per dollar of MINOLTA against any other brand including a lot of SONY'S own LENSES!
In summary, If you are not shooting with 1 of these fabulous LENSES, buy 1! Resell your current LENS(ES) on ebay to offset your cost. If the 28-135MM LENS that usually goes for only $350-$450 is too much for your budget, buy one of our combo LENS sets that cover a wide range and usually go for only $99-150. Definitely put the MINOLTA 28-135 LENS or Sony 18-135 on your wish list, and as soon as you can afford 1 it will be the best walk around LENS you will ever own! Give me a call and I'll help you pick the right lenses for your needs and budget!
IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY SHOPPING FOR A FABULOUS NEW SONY DSLR DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF A PLASTIC kit LENS... Buy the camera body and get yourself a great MINOLTA LENS or some of Sony's better lenses!
ABOUT US AND MINOLTA LENSES
We own Florida’s and possibly the U.S.'s largest WEDDING DJ, video, WEDDING AND CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY company. We personally shoot over 200,000 photos a year! We were loyal PENTAX users until 2010 when 1 of the eBay sellers we bought a PENTAX CAMERA from didn’t ship after 2 weeks… and right at the point in time all of our WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY magazines were talking about the new SONY A-55 being the 2010 CAMERA of the year.
After reading the articles, reviews, and checking out the online info we decided to get a refund and buy 1 and check it out. Within a month of receiving it we sold all of our PENTAX gear and replaced it all with SONY'S new technology. Several of our other WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS followed suit, so all of the sudden we had a huge demand for great LENSES.
We got started selling MINOLTA LENSES sort of by accident because of the results our extensive search for the best LENSES for our SONY ALPHA CAMERAS yielded some great sources. We chose MINOLTA LENSES because of their legendary sharpness, fantastic color reproduction, and solid build. They also outperformed all of the other LENSES we tested them against.
Our favorite LENS to sell WAS the MINOLTA 28-135 1:4 LENS, the same LENS we used exclusively on two of our primary CAMERAS. In a head to head test against primes in its range it was equal to or better than them as far as photo sharpness and color. SONY LENSES that yield the same type of photo quality and sharpness as the MINOLTA 28-135MM LENSES we sell are called the “G” series. They start at $800 and go as high as thosands! These 28-135 MINOLTA LENSES are also comparable to famous Carl Zeiss LENSES! We also loved selling our 2 LENS kit which gave you the opportunity to get high quality photos for about the same price or less than after market LENSES that will not! Update 2012- we have now replaced out Minolta 28-135 lenses with a Sony 18-135 (see our review http://www.abetterdj.net/SONY-18-135-Minolta-28-135.html
We personally tested every MINOLTA LENS we sold on our own SONY A77s. We have 10 exact shots that we shoot consistently to get a true comparison example. The LENSES are carefully inspected and any that appear to have minor scratches or dust are put through my “blue sky” test. We lock on a cloud and then shoot 4 shots of the blue sky, then load them into the computer to check for flaws. Any flaws in the photos will be noted in the description. After testing them we thoroughly cleaned the glass and any dirt or dust from the LENS body.
WHY SONY DSLRS?
Another reason SONY bought MINOLTA'S CAMERA division was to break into the digital SLR market. Of course you already know that MINOLTA is legendary among PHOTOGRAPHY buffs and was the pioneer of a lot of today’s DIGITAL CAMERA technology.After being devoted PENTAX users for over 20 years and working our way up to their top rated DSLRs for our wedding photography division, you know it would take something really special to make us change our loyalties. So we decided to try the new SONY SLTs out.
WOW! The 1st one that came in rocked my world! I couldn’t believe how many features the A33 had that our PENTAX CAMERAS did not, and how much easier it was to master SONY'S simple menus. We decided to buy another one and sell my wife’s PENTAX, keeping 1 last PENTAX for back-up.
She really missed her PENTAX because she was so used to it and shortly that after we re-sold her SONY A33 and she went back to PENTAX. Then I bought our 1st Minolta lens, a 28-135MM “secret handshake” lens for my SONY A33. The photos were phenomenal!
About 3 weddings later she was editing a WEDDING that we shot together… my pictures were perfect and hers needed a lot of work. (By the way she is one of the top WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS in Florida) We decided to get her a SONY A55 with the same MINOLTA 28-135MM that I shoot with. I loved her SONY A55 so much I got myself one, and soon after another one as our back-up camera that we used strictly with a wide angle prime 17-35MM 2.8 MINOLTA LENS for big group shots and extreme close-ups. Now she wouldn’t part with her SONY A55/Minolta 28-135 combo for anything! (yeah, until the SONY A65/A77s came in LOL) As of 6-1-12 we now have 3 SONY A77s... it wasn't too hard to get her to let go of her SONY A55 once she saw the photos from the SONY A77!
After sharing our photo results with many of our WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS (we have over 1,000) a lot of them have given up their Canon, Nikon, PENTAX, and other brands and switched over to SONY CAMERAS with MINOLTA and SONY LENSES. All of the sudden we had a huge demand for great MINOLTA LENSES.
In my searches for MINOLTA LENSES for their CAMERAS I came up with some great sources and started a MINOLTA LENS business on the side, selling on eBay. In my search for LENSES I also found some great sources for SONY CAMERAS… and there you have it! I have been impressed with every SONY DSLR I have tested and we are proud of every item we sell. I know that you will be proud to own one of them!
ABOUT REFURBISHED ITEMS
When you purchase a refurbished item it doesn't mean it was defective and repaired, usually quite the opposite.
Have you ever purchased and item, used it for a little while, decided you didn't want it and returned it to the store? Those items get returned to the manufacturer.
The manufacturer runs more complete tests on it than they did when it was new, put a refurbished sticker on it, repackage it, and it's sold as a refurbished item at a discount.
WE REFURBISHED EVERY ITEM WE Sold
As far as LENSES we have a series of test shots we put them through, clean them, and make sure that they have at least rear caps. We personally test every MINOLTA LENS we sell on our own SONY A77s. We have 10 exact shots that we shoot consistently to get a true comparison example. We make sure if there are any minute scratches or "cleaning marks" on the front element that they do not show up in any photos. Any that appear to have minor scratches or dust are put through my “blue sky” test. We lock on a cloud and then shoot 4 shots of the blue sky, then load them into the computer to check for flaws. Any flaws in the lenses or test photos will be noted in the description. After testing them we thoroughly clean the glass and clean any dirt or dust from the camera body. All of our lenses come with a 3 day satisfaction guarantee… shoot with them and if you are not thrilled with the results simply return them for a refund.
As far as CAMERAS we have a series of test shots we put them through to make sure every feature works correctly, clean them, make sure they have the basics as far as straps, batteries, and chargers, and upgrade the lenses from the kit lens that usually comes with them. We clean the CAMERA body and store it with our lenses in a smoke free room.
Visit this page often... I will be updating weekly with CAMERA and LENS reviews, photos, as well as listing our stock for sale. We usually have 50-100 MINOLTA LENSES in stock at any given time.
Our most recommended Sony Lenses
35MM 1.8
50MM 1.8
16-50 2.8
18-135MM
Our most recommended Minolta lenses
20MM 2.8
17-35MM
24MM 2.8
28-85MM
28-135MM
35-70MM metal version
50MM 1.7
50MM 1.4
70-210 beercan
70-201 3.5
80-200 APO 2.8
100-300 APO
500MM AF
Current Minolta stock
SOLD OUT!
Our DJ, photographer, and video business has grow so much that unfortunately we no longer have time to shop for and re-sell lenses. We may from time to time help people get new cameras at below retail prices. Call 321-412-3878 if you are looking for a new Sony A77!
Our personal armory now contains:
3 Sony A77s
Sony A55
Tokina 11-16 2.8 ( the best brand for a super wide lens)
SONY 16-50 2.8 (awesome low end zoom, great for video)
Sony 18-135 (great walk around lens, great outdoor photos)
Sony 35MM 1.8 (great low light and video)
Sony 50MM 1.8 (great low light and video)
Minolta 80-200 2.8 (my favorite lens)
With the telephoto button on the A77 we are covered from 11MM to 400MM!
To see some of the photos we have taken with our gear visit
http://www.abetterdj.net/WEDDING-PHOTO-SAMPLES.html
Http://www.rocklegendsphotographers.com
