Despite it’s age of more than 45 years the Minolta MC 2.5/100 is a very good lens with great built quality and bokeh for a very affordable price.
Sample Images
Minolta MC Tele Rokkor 100mm 1:2.5 – Review
Category Archives: Minolta SR mount
Test: $20 Minolta MC 1.7/55 vs $1000 Zeiss 1.8/55
In this comparison I want to compare two very different lenses.
The Minolta MC Rokkor-PF 55mm 1:1.7 was introduced in 1968 and it was always an affordable lens. Today it usually sells for around $20 at ebay.com (affiliate link).
I like it because it has very nice bokeh, the nice focusing feel and the small size. I is not one of my sharpest manual lenses, the Canon FD 1.4/50 for example is noticeably sharper but it has very nice character, not far away from the much heavier and more expensive Minolta MC 1.2/58.
The Sony FE 1.8/55 ZA was introduced 45 years later in 2013 and it costs around $1000 or 50 times as much as the Minolta. It has received very positive reviews and is considered to be one of the best normal lenses available today.
The question I try to answer with this test is: How different are the results I can expect from the lenses? I will look at smaller images optimized for the web but also at 100% crops to judge print quality.
All images are developed from raw and I used a tripod unless I mention otherwise. Please click on them to see them in full size (1500px wide).
Scene 1: Bokeh and Sharpness in the center wide open
The same settings applied to the image taken with the Minolta 1.7/55
Continue reading Test: $20 Minolta MC 1.7/55 vs $1000 Zeiss 1.8/55
Minolta MD Zoom 35-70mm 1: 3.5 – Review
The Minolta MD 35-70mm 1:3.5 is an very affordable, light weight zoom with a very good performance in a limited but handy focal range
Specifications
| Diameter | 69 mm |
| Length | 68.5 mm |
| Filter Thread | 55mm |
| Weight | 365g |
| Max. Magnification | 0.1 0.25 (Macro Mode) |
| Close Focusing Distance from the sensor | 80cm 33cm (Macro Mode) |
| Number of aperture blades | 7 |
| Elements/ Groups | 8/7 |
Check current prices at ebay.de
Also check out my Minolta SR-mount adapter guide.
Image Samples
Minolta MD 50mm 1:2 Review
The Minolta MD 50mm 1:2 is one of the smallest and cheapest Minolta lenses and most importantly it is also an excellent lens for landscape photography.
Specifications
| Diameter | 64 mm |
| Length | 36 mm |
| Filter Thread | 49 mm |
| Weight | 150g |
| Max. Magnification | 0.15 |
| Close Focusing Distance from the sensor | 45cm |
| Number of aperture blades | 6 |
| Elements/ Groups | 6/5 |
Check current prices at ebay.de
Image Samples
The rated List of Minolta MD/MC Lenses on the Sony a7
I like and use Minolta SR lenses a lot and this is a growing database of them.
Please read my about lens ratings page to understand how the ratings are to be read.
All ratings are based on my experience with these lenses on my fullframe Sony Alpha 7.
If you purchase the lens through one of the affiliate-links in this article we get a small compensation with no additional cost to you.
Wide-Angle lenses
Minolta MD FISH-EYE Rokkor 16mm 1:2.8 (3-3.5/5)
f/2.8: The center is excellent, and most of the image sharp enough, midframe sharpness is actually lower than near corner sharpness wile the far corners are unsharp. Vignetting is surprisingly low.- f/5.6: noticeably better than f/4, most of the image is very sharp, only the far corners are unsharp
- f/11: very good sharpness across the frame. Flare resistance is average and CA pronounced.
- A rather heavy lens with integrated filters and lens hood. Built quality is excellent
Fisheye lenses are very hard to master, I wasn’t really succesfull at it. But this is a good lens, so good in fact that it also came in Leica R-mount and the same optical design is still used by the current Sony 2.8/16 Fisheye.
There is a younger MD version which is supposedly not as good.
full resolution samples | test
Get the lens at ebay.de | ebay.com | ebay.co.uk (affiliate links)
Minolta MD 20mm 1:2.8 (2/5)
At f/2.8 a small central region is sharp, bokeh is ugly and vignetting very noticeable- The lens suffers from a very pronounced midzone dip so important parts of the image are unsharp, even stopped down.
- Ergonomics are great, it is very small and light
It might be that the copy I tested had an issue with the floating elements design which caused the midzone dip.
flickr set | full resolution samples | test | review
Get the lens at ebay.de | ebay.com | ebay.co.uk (affiliate links)
Continue reading The rated List of Minolta MD/MC Lenses on the Sony a7