Specifications
| 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).
Versions
Minolta made three optically different 1.4/50 lenses.
- The MC Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 PG is the oldest one with the nicest built quality and very good image quality
- The MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 with 55mm filter thread. It is 60gramms lighter than the MC and the close focusing distance decreased from 50cm to 45cm. This page is about this lens.
- The MD (Rokkor) 50mm 1:1.4 with 49mm filter thread.
For more technical details visit the Minolta SR lens index.
Build quality and handling
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.
Image Samples in low resolution
You can find many more samples in this flickr set.
Optical performance
These results are based on the use with a Sony Alpha 7.
Bokeh
Chromatic Aberrations
Sharpness
Alternatives
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.
Conclusion
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.
Images Samples in high resolution
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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