Category Archives: lenses

Minolta MD 50mm 1:2 Review

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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
Price (June 2015): $10-30 in good condition.
Check current prices at ebay.de or ebay.com (affiliate links).

Image Samples

 

the last beer
Sony Alpha 7 | Minolta MD 50mm 1:2 | f/2
Spring
Sony Alpha 7 | Minolta MD 50mm 1:2 | f/2
SonnigerMorgen
Sony Alpha 7 | Minolta MD 50mm 1:2 | f/8

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Canon FD 20mm 1:2.8 Review

The Canon FD 20mm 2.8 is an affordable wideangle lens (around $200 mid 2015) which performs well on the Alpha 7. I have owned and used my copy for more than a year now and wanted to share my experience with you.

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Canon FD 20mm 1:2.8 | Novoflex E-mount adapter attached

Sample Images

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Sony a7 | f/11
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Sony a7 | f/2.8
Untitled
Sony a7 | f/5.6
Rursee in Flammen
Sony a7 | f8
Lake District
Sony a7 | f/11

 Specifications

 
CANON FD 20 2.8
Length 62mm
Diameter 78mm
Weight 305g
Filter Thread 72mm
Aperture Blades 6
Short focusing distance 25cm

The Canon FD 2.8/20 at ebay.de | ebay.com (affiliate links)

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

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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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)

  • 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)

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

Tokina AT-X Macro 90mm 1:2.5 Review

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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