THE GALLERY


Photos by Joe McGloin

various Minolta 16s

"All shots were on the same roll of film -- ILFORD FP4 at ISO 64.  The image is some trees at about 100 yards with a horizon in the background.  The sun was getting low so the contrast was pretty good.  All caneraas were placed on the same sturdy tripod.  Developed in D-76 1+1 for 5 minutes at 68 degrees.  The central portion of each negative was scanned with a Nikon coolscan at the highest resolution. The image that you see would be part an 8 inch section of a 40 inch print (at 480 x 600 pixels resolution).  

I'll let you be the judge. I think the results are pretty clear.  In my opinion, the best camera is the one that fits the type of pictures you take. If you use a camera for close-ups of people and groups -- grab shots -- you may opt for a different camera than someone who more-often-than-not shoots scenics. No matter which you choose, you'll get great results (assuming you hold the camera steady) even for enlargements.

Some cameras, like the P give good results but are limited in their applicability. Others, like the MGS are more flexible in more situations.



Consider this the baseline.  This is a shot with a Minolta 16 II at f4 and 1/500.  No filters. Fine for a small print. The fixed focus is at 9 feet so it is expected that a distance shot, such as this, would be out of focus.  Minolta lists the depth-of-field at this f-stop as 6 to 13 feet.  Despite this, the distance focus is not too bad.  In a 3x5 print it would appear pretty sharp.



This is a shot with a Minolta 16 II at f11 and 1/60.  No filters. Stopping down is the standard way to get the distance in focus with these types of cameras.  And it works.  The results are much sharper.  Minolta lists the depth-of-field at this f-stop as 4 feet to 205 feet.  



This is a shot with a Minolta 16 II at f16 and 1/30.  No filters.  A little improvement.  Minolta lists the depth-of-field at this f-stop as 3.5 feet to infinity.  Much of what is gained in depth-of-field is apparently lost in diffraction.  


This is a shot with a Minolta 16 II at f4 and 1/500. Distance #0 filter. Much sharper.  Minolta lists the depth-of-field at this f-stop with this lens as 14 feet to infinity.  The #0 filter is obviously much better than stopping down.



This is a shot with a Minolta 16 P at f8 and 1/100.  No filters. Very fine results for such an inexpensive camera.  Minolta lists the depth-of-field at this f-stop as 7 feet to infinity.  Results comparable to the 16 II with the infinity lens.  



This is a shot with a Minolta 16 QT at f 5.6 and 1/250.  No filters. Focus was set at infinity.  Results slightly sharper than the 16II with infinity lens or the P.  But this makes sense since the image size is much bigger.



This is a shot with a Minolta 16 MGS at f 8 and 1/125.  No filters. Very sharp.  Minolta lists the depth-of-field at this f-stop as 6 feet to 125 feet.  Results almost as sharp as the QT and slightly sharper than the 16II with infinity lens or the P 



This is a shot with a Minolta 16 MGS at f 11 and 1/60  No filters. Even sharper.  Results as sharp as the QT.  Minolta lists the depth-of-field at this f-stop as 5 feet to infinity.  


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COPYRIGHT @ 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 by Joe McGloin. All Rights Reserved.