The Minolta MC/MD 85mm 1:1.7 usually sells for around $210-280 at ebay.com (affiliate link).
In Germany you can buy it for 130-180€ at ebay.de (affiliate link).
Sony a7 | Minolta MC 85mm 1:1.7 | f/1.7 | full resolution
For two years I was the only author on this blog but I am very happy that I now have two co-authors who are as passionate about photography and (manual) lenses as I am. There are so many interesting lenses out there that I have no chance to cover them all alone and together we can cover a lot more lenses.
I think it is about time to introduce them after they have already published a few articles.
Jannik works as an engineer and lives in northern Gemany.
Jannik is interested in many lens systems but I would say that his focus is on two manufacturers: Zeiss and Canon FD. So far he has published reviews of the Zeiss Loxia 2.8/21, Zeiss Sonnar 3.5/100 and a comparison of 35mm Canon FD lenses.
You can follow Jannik on flickr.
Bastian lives in the south of Germany and besides his main job he runs workshops about nature and architecture photography. You can check out his web site if you are interested.
Bastian is specialized in M-mount and Nikon F-mount lenses. So far he has published reviews of the Voigtlander 2/28, Voigtlander 5.6/12 and Leica Summicron 2/90 pre-ASPH.
You can follow Bastian on flickr.
I am of course still on board and I still study and live in western Germany.
More recently I have reviewed many Zeiss lenses but I also bought my first lenses from Olympus (OM 2/100) and Pentax (SMC K 3.5/28) which I both like a lot and I look forward to exploring both systems a bit more. In the past I have reviewed many Canon FD and Minolta SR lenses and I plan to review a few more Minoltas in 2016.
The specs of the Carl Zeiss Sonnar 2.8/90 sound great: Small, cheap, it’s from Zeiss so it should be very sharp and with the right adapter it even offers AF on the a7II! So how will it actually perform? Read on if you want to know.
Thanks to Uwe for loaning me the lens and Techart adapter for this review!
Continue reading Review: Zeiss Sonnar 2.8/90 T* on Sony a7II
The Carl Zeiss Planar 1,4/50 with C/Y mount is a typical representative of the 1.4/50 class
| Diameter | 63mm |
|---|---|
| Length | 40mm |
| Filter Thread | 55mm |
| Weight | 245g |
| Max. Magnification | 1:6.6 |
| Close Focusing Distance from the sensor | 45cm |
| Close Focusing Distance from the front of the lens | 36 |
| Number of aperture blades | 6 |
| Elements/ Groups | 7 |
Price: (July 2016): about 50€ in good condition at ebay.de or $ at ebay.com (affiliate links).
Minolta made three optically different 1.4/50 lenses.
For more technical details visit the Minolta SR lens index.
Builts quality is very good, only the name plate and aperture ring are made from plastic, the rest is made from metal.
All in all it is a rather small lens and it balances very well on the Sony a7. The original lens shade is made from plastics, has a decent size and isn’t too bulky. Because the front element is rather exposed I would recommend using it.
The focusing ring travels around 100° from 45cm to 1m and a further 60° to infinity. The focusing has just the right amount of resistance but it is a bit small (8mm) for my taste.
The aperture ring has half stops from f/2.0 to f/16 and no stop between f/1.4 and f/2.0.
You can find many more samples in this flickr set.
These results are based on the use with a Sony Alpha 7.
Minolta MC 1.2/58: Quite a bit smoother bokeh and 8, not just 6 aperture blades make it a superior lens when bokeh is important. Sharpness is similar, the 1.4/50 might be a tad better. It also costs about 6 times as much and is nearly 150g heavier.
Minolta MC 1.7/55: Not as sharp at wider apertures but it has nicer bokeh and is a bit smaller.
Minolta MD 2/50: Worse bokeh but it is sharp across most of the frame from f/2, very small and only weights half of the MC 1.4/50. This is reflected in the build quality though. It is also free of lateral CA and distortion which the 1.4/50 is not.
Zeiss C/Y Planar 1.4/50: The Planar has more effective coatings which results in a much better flare resistance and higher contrast at wider apertures. The Minolta is a lot cheaper though.
Canon nFD 1.4/50: The Canon is quite a bit sharper at f/1.4 and f/2 but and it doesn’t feel nearly as solid. Price is similar.
Zeiss Loxia 2/50: A modern lens which is sharp across the frame from f/2 with high contrast and exif transmission. Bokeh is the only real weakness I found. Oh an the price of course.
Sony FE 1.8/55 ZA: The Sony is super sharp from f/1.8 and it has much smoother bokeh. Manual focus is a pain in the a** though and it is expensive.
A typical 1.4/50 lens: Rather soft wide open, good for portraits by f/2, excellent by f/2.8 but it needs to be stopped down to f/8 for landscapes.
f/2.8 or maybe f/2.4
f/4 – very good sharpness with a notable drop in the far corners
Further Reading
For more Minolta lenses check out my Minolta list.
To learn about manual lenses in general this beginners guide might be helpful.
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