{"id":12275,"date":"2016-02-15T22:40:52","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T21:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=12275"},"modified":"2026-01-14T08:50:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T07:50:05","slug":"minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4"},"content":{"rendered":"
under construction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Specifications\"Minolta<\/h1>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Diameter<\/th>63mm<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Length<\/td>40mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Filter Thread<\/td>55mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/td>245g<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Max. Magnification<\/td>1:6.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Close Focusing Distance from the sensor<\/td>45cm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Close Focusing Distance from the front of the lens<\/td>36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Number of aperture blades<\/td>6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elements\/ Groups<\/td>7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Price: \u00a0(July\u00a0 2016): about 50\u20ac in good condition at ebay.de<\/a> or $ at ebay.com<\/a> (affiliate links).<\/p>\n

Versions<\/h1>\n

Minolta made three optically\u00a0different 1.4\/50 lenses.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The MC Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 PG<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the oldest one with the nicest built quality and very good image quality<\/li>\n
  2. The MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4<\/strong>\u00a0with 55mm filter thread.\u00a0It is 60gramms lighter than the MC and the close focusing distance decreased from 50cm to 45cm. \u00a0This page is about this lens.<\/li>\n
  3. The\u00a0MD (Rokkor) 50mm 1:1.4 <\/strong>with 49mm filter thread.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For more technical details visit the Minolta SR lens index<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Build quality and handling<\/h1>\n

    Builts quality is very good, only the name plate and aperture ring are made from plastic, the rest is made from metal.<\/p>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    The focusing ring\u00a0travels around 100\u00b0 from 45cm to 1m and a further 60\u00b0 to infinity.\u00a0The focusing\u00a0has just the right amount of resistance but it is a bit small (8mm) for my taste.<\/p>\n

    The aperture ring has half stops from f\/2.0 to f\/16 and no stop between f\/1.4 and f\/2.0.
    \n    \"MD50f1p4-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n<\/address>\n

    \u00a0Image Samples in low resolution<\/h1>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"weekend\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    \"winter<\/a><\/p>\n

    \"return<\/a><\/p>\n

    \"the<\/a>
    \nYou can find many more samples in     this flickr set<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Optical performance<\/h1>\n

    These results are based on the use with a Sony Alpha 7.<\/p>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    Bokeh<\/h2>\n
    \"Minolta<\/a>
    f\/1.4: rather defined outlines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \"Minolta<\/a>
    f\/2: still defined outline but noticeably less<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \"Minolta<\/a>
    f\/2.8: much less defined outlines but visible hexagons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Chromatic Aberrations
    \n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Sharpness<\/strong>
    \n    \"Minolta_MD_50mmf14<\/a><\/h2>\n

    Alternatives<\/h1>\n

    Minolta MC 1.2\/58<\/a>: <\/strong>Quite a bit\u00a0smoother 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.<\/p>\n

    Minolta MC 1.7\/55<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>Not as sharp at wider apertures but it has nicer bokeh and is a bit smaller.<\/p>\n

    Minolta MD 2\/50<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>Worse bokeh but\u00a0it is sharp across most of the frame from f\/2,\u00a0very 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.<\/p>\n

    Zeiss C\/Y Planar 1.4\/50<\/a>: <\/strong>The Planar has more effective coatings which results in a much better flare resistance and higher contrast at wider apertures.\u00a0The Minolta is a lot cheaper though.<\/p>\n

    Canon nFD 1.4\/50:<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>The Canon is quite a bit sharper at f\/1.4 and f\/2 but \u00a0and it doesn\u2019t feel nearly as solid. Price is similar.<\/p>\n

    Zeiss Loxia 2\/50<\/strong>:<\/a>\u00a0A modern lens which is sharp across the frame from f\/2\u00a0with high contrast and exif transmission. Bokeh is the only real weakness I found. Oh an the price of course.<\/p>\n

    Sony FE 1.8\/55 ZA<\/strong><\/a>: 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.<\/p>\n

    Conclusion<\/h1>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    Images Samples in high resolution<\/h2>\n
    \"Minolta<\/a>
    f\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \"Minolta<\/a><\/p>\n

    f\/2.8 or maybe f\/2.4<\/p>\n

    \"Minolta<\/a><\/p>\n

    f\/4 – very good sharpness with a notable drop in the far corners<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Minolta<\/a>
    f\/5.6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Minolta<\/a>
    f\/8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Further Reading<\/p>\n

    For more Minolta lenses check out my Minolta list<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    To learn about manual lenses in general this beginners guide<\/a>\u00a0might be helpful.<\/p>\n

    This site contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using any of the links marked as affiliate links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps support the creation of future content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    under construction Specifications Price: \u00a0(July\u00a0 2016): about 50\u20ac in good condition at ebay.de or $ at ebay.com (affiliate links). Versions Minolta made three optically\u00a0different 1.4\/50 lenses. The MC Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 PG\u00a0is the oldest one with the nicest built quality and very good image quality The MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4\u00a0with 55mm filter thread.\u00a0It is 60gramms … Continue reading Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,419],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-minolta-sr-mount","category-vintage"],"yoast_head":"\nMinolta MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 - phillipreeve.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 - phillipreeve.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"under construction Specifications Price: \u00a0(July\u00a0 2016): about 50\u20ac in good condition at ebay.de or $ at ebay.com (affiliate links). Versions Minolta made three optically\u00a0different 1.4\/50 lenses. The MC Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 PG\u00a0is the oldest one with the nicest built quality and very good image quality The MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4\u00a0with 55mm filter thread.\u00a0It is 60gramms … Continue reading Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"phillipreeve.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-15T21:40:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-14T07:50:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/MD50f1p4-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"605\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Phillip Reeve\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phillip Reeve\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/\",\"name\":\"Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4 - phillipreeve.net\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/MD50f1p4-2-227x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-15T21:40:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-14T07:50:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d875e9fd60a43e24a1abc265963ed021\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/MD50f1p4-2-227x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/MD50f1p4-2-227x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/minolta-md-rokkor-50mm-11-4\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm 1:1.4\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"phillipreeve.net\",\"description\":\"Sony \u03b1 | Leica M | Nikon Z\/F New articles every week\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d875e9fd60a43e24a1abc265963ed021\",\"name\":\"Phillip Reeve\",\"description\":\"I have two hobbies: Photography and photographic gear. 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