Category Archives: lenses

lenses, Uncategorized

Old against New: Zeiss 2.8/28 vs Sony FE 2/28 vs Minolta MC 2/28

70 Comments

I wanted to see how my new FE 2/28 compares against my older manual lenses, so I ran a comparison between four lenses:

  • The Minolta MD 2.8/28 is very small, light and affordable
  • The Carl Zeiss Distagon 2.8/28 T* enjoys a very good reputation and it is a bit more expensive at around 250€.
  • The Minolta MC 2/28 is the oldest and fastest of the bunch, it was introduced in 1975. My copy has some fungus in it and other copies might be better.
  • The Sony FE 2/28 is brand new and the most expensive one at 450€.
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Minolta MD 2.8/28 | Zeiss 2.8/28 | Sony FE 2/28 | Minolta MC 2/28

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lenses, Minolta SR mount

The rated List of Minolta MD/MC Lenses on the Sony a7

139 Comments

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)

  • MC16f2p8f/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)

  • MD20At 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)

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camera, lenses, Sony Alpha 7

Tokina AT-X Macro 90mm 1:2.5 Review

150 Comments
In this review I have a look at this popular manual macro lens from the 80’s and test whether it can defend it’s reputation as one of the best macro lenses ever in the digital age.

product

Introduction

The Tokina AT-X 90mm 1:2.5 Macro is a manual focus lens, with a maximal magnification of 1:2. It is well know for it’s supposedly great bokeh, it was even nicknamed Bokina because of this.

It was produced in any major mount like Canon FD, Nikon F etc., my copy has a Minolta SR mount.

Their wide range of applications make macro lenses in the 100mm range quite popular, so I will show you in this review if the Tokina AT-X Macro 90 mm 1:2.5 could be a good option for you.

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Accessories, Canon FD-Mount, lenses, Review, Sony Alpha 7

Novoflex Adapter E-Mount Review

73 Comments

Is the Novoflex adapter worth a three digit figure when I can get one from China for 10 bucks? That was the question I had in mind when I bought it.

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Currently I don’t own a single lens with an E-mount for my Sony Alpha 7,  so every lens I use is adapted and I use adapters all the time. Over the last three years I have gained some experience with  cheap adapters but I hadn’t used one of the more expensive ones. So I decided to buy a Novoflex NEX/CAN adapter,  which was made in Germany and put it to the test. Continue reading Novoflex Adapter E-Mount Review →

Canon FD-Mount, lenses, Sony Alpha 7

Canon FD 300mm 1:4 L Review

102 Comments

This is a review of the Canon FD 4/300 L, a 35 years old professional tele lens which gives really nice results on todays mirrorless cameras.

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Introduction

I think the FD 300mm 1:4 L is a great lens, it’s optical performance is close to excellent, it isn’t that big nor too expensive and the handling on the Sony Alpha 7 is quite good.

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