Minolta MD and MC Lenses

maxr

@nomad heartfelt thank you for fast and hyper-concise yet detailed feedback =)
The 21 surely is something nice to hold in the hand • I'll see if somewhere in comings weeks I can kidnap both grandpas and try to make some quick and dirty tests... this guy knows glass alright. Thank U again mate

nomad

The 28mm is great, one of the best 28mm vintage lenses I ever tried (and I tried a few). Only the much more expensive Zeiss Contax 28mm f2.0 (nicknamed Hollywood) is better, but much heavier too. Stopped down to 2.8 the Minolta is sharper than it's sibling, the 28mm f2.8 WO. Much better than the famed Kiron too, BTW.

The 21mm in it's time was second only to the Zeiss Contax Distagon 21mm (which goes well beyond 1K$ these days). It has some complex mustache distortion (which you can find to a minor degree in the Zeiss too) and is great for landscape if stopped down. Soft corners on FF until 5.6-ish, but around 8 it can hold it's own even on the Sony A7R! Plus beautiful craftsmanship and built to last.

maxr

@fredfred27 Real nice work compa, also in the arrangement ,-)
I have a neighbour that totally deserves such a zega-tele treatment... I bet I could see eclipses every night, je je... on the other hand I'd have even more trouble sleeping.

A guy I know is trying to sell me a MC 21mm f2.8 and (or) the 28mm f2. Though the 21 is a superbly beautiful looking and a substantial piece of equipment - the metal cinema-like hood just emphasises it - I'm pretty sure he's gonna ask for the souls of my kids and I don't have kids :P

Does anyone have either some kid's soul spare or feedback on the before mentioned lenses?. Mucho appreciado

http://digitalrokkor.altervista.org/minoltalens_wide_21mm.html
second on page
http://digitalrokkor.altervista.org/minoltalens_wide_28mm.html

fredfred27

The Blood Moon over Texas on 4/14-15/2014. Panasonic GH2, Minolta 600mm f/5.6 Tele Rokkor-TD, Minolta 200-L 2X Teleconverter, Fotodiox MD to m4/3 Adapter. The phases overlap because I had to expose for the dark and light sides seperately.

maxr

Hi there minoltos :P

I'd like to add to the common database a great bang for the buck, the minolta MD 50mm f2. small, light and compact, sharp wide open and nice bokeh. The thing is that because of the (well earned) reputation of its 50&58mm older rokkor bros - which also makes prices go up a bit - this guy is cheap, cheap, cheap. Actually the cheapest lens I ever bought, I payed 15€, please have in mind I don't buy through the internet, I like to meet people personally, talk to them and know their stories =)

The throw is a nice 180º, 45cm minimum focus distance, 49mm filter thread, super flare resistant, CA's much less than older 50mm models, front and rear elements are quite embedded in the body so it's harder to fuck them up, actually no need for filter

Some so-so examples, video grabs are SOC, unbalanced and a bit late, light wise =)

umla

in stock ... but the price is much tooo heavy ;( ... http://www.metabones.com/products/details/MB_SPMD-m43-BM1

hellrazor

@fredfred27 shortening the aperture mechanism does the trick 100%.

DrDave

I liked the use of the light in the video, but I wouldn't say it is sharp--but of course it just shows that it isn't all about the sharpness, it is the artistry.

thepalalias

Most of this music was shot with MC/MD mount lenses: a Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 and a Tokina 28mm f/2.8.

http://songwriter.revimage.com/channels/JoannaStClaire

Here's a breakdown of which shots used what camera or lens.

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/comment/147520#Comment_147520

nomad

If you want sharp, get the 50mm 1.4 PG version. It's up there with Leica or Zeiss, but the bokeh is a bit harsh.

DrDave

@panystac IMHO The 58 is not as sharp as the 50, and it is not great in the corners. Missing from your list is the Vivitar 55 in Minolta mount which is sharper than the 58. The 58 has excellent bokeh.

fredfred27

@hellrazor I am finding that some of my Minoltas are having aperture problems with the MFT SB. My 35-70 is one that will not stop down. I am currently out of town working, but when I get back home in a few weeks, I plan on figuring this out. It might involve filing the aperture mechanism that usually mates with the film bodies.

hellrazor

I just found the Issue. It appears on all 3 35-70mm: >= f8, the manual closing does not work when attached to the SB (neither does stopping further down). most probably, as with the 135mm f3.5, the aperture closing thingy on the lens is too long and touches the SB interior, stopping the lens internal aperture mechanism to work properly.

hellrazor

I see on all 3 versions of 35-70mm f3.5 attached to the speed booster a light loss of at least 1 f stop while zooming in. This does not happen with my stupid m43 to MD Adapter. Any idea what is causing this and how to fix? There is a manual mechanic in the lenses opening the apperture when zooming in. It works with the lens in the SB.

fredfred27

See this post concerning Minolta manual focus primes...http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/8076/festival-bumper-filmed-with-the-gh2-and-minolta-rokkor-prime-lenses.

fredfred27

Here is the same moon shot with a Minolta 600mm f/5.6 Tele Rokkor-TD (built around 1959).

fredfred27

Here is a short time lapse of the last "Blue Moon" shot with the GH2 and a Minolta 800mm MD RF Rokkor-X.

bumsklumpen

@panystac thanks a lot, this is really helpful and that's quite a lot of lenses you got there!

panystac

I also have a couple of the FD (New FD) 85mm F1.8 I'm currently attempting a mount conversion with one of these to Canon EF. I will try to do comparison test with this an the Monolta MD 85mm F2 at some stage.

There is also the FD 85mm SSC F1.8, which is the model before.

See here for FD resources. http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/fdlenses/

. .

In my opinion, one of the best 50mm F1.4 lenses is the Canon FD 50mm SSC F1.4 To summarise some 50mm F1.4 & F1.8 lenses that I've actually tested, the best in my opinion are(wide open): . .

For centre sharpness, in order, but pretty much most of these are very even

Konica AR 50mm F1.7
Canon FD 50mm SSC F1.4
Olympus OM 50mm F1.8 ("Made in Japan")
Minolta MC rokkor 50mm F1.4
Minolta MD rokkor 50mm F1.4
Minolta MC rokkor 58mm F1.4
Nikon Nikkor Ai-s 50mm F1.4
Olympus OM 50mm F1.4
Pentax Takumar 50mm SMC F1.4
Konica AR 57mm F1.4
Pentax Super Takumar 50mm F1.4

For corner sharpness, in order:

Canon FD 50mm SSC F1.4
Minolta MC rokkor 58mm F1.4
Minolta MD rokkor 50mm F1.4
Minolta MC rokkor 50mm F1.4
Nikon Nikkor Ai-s 50mm F1.4
Olympus OM 50mm F1.8 (Made in Japan)
Olympus OM 50mm F1.4
Konica AR 50mm F1.7
Pentax Takumar 50mm SMC F1.4
Konica AR 57mm F1.4
Pentax Super Takumar 50mm F1.4

For Contrast, in order:

Canon FD 50mm SSC F1.4
Minolta MD rokkor 50mm F1.4
Minolta MC rokkor 50mm F1.4
Olympus OM 50mm F1.8 (Made in Japan)
Olympus OM 50mm F1.4
Konica AR 50mm F1.7
Nikon Nikkor Ai-s 50mm F1.4
Konica AR 57mm F1.4
Pentax Takumar 50mm SMC F1.4
Pentax Super Takumar 50mm F1.4
Minolta MC rokkor 58mm F1.4

For least Chromatic Aberration in the corners, in order:

Minolta MC rokkor 58mm F1.4
Canon FD 50mm SSC F1.4
Minolta MD rokkor 50mm F1.4
Minolta MC rokkor 50mm F1.4
Nikon Nikkor Ai-s 50mm F1.4
Konica AR 50mm F1.7
Konica AR 57mm F1.4
Pentax Takumar 50mm SMC F1.4
Pentax Super Takumar 50mm F1.4
Olympus OM 50mm F1.8 (Made in Japan)
Olympus OM 50mm F1.4

I haven't done a Bokeh test, but by reputation, some of the best are the Minoltas, and the Pentax Takumars.

In the end it comes down to what you want in a lens. My favorites are:

Canon FD 50mm SSC F1.4
Minolta MC rokkor 58mm F1.4
Minolta MD rokkor 50mm F1.4
Minolta MC rokkor 50mm F1.4
Pentax Takumar 50mm SMC F1.4

With the Minolta MC rokkor 58mm F1.4, you need to be aware that it displays coma (or halo) when the subject is strongly lit or back lit, wide open. So you need to be aware of this trait.

I currently live in Japan, so I have access to a lot of these Japanese lenses. Many of them, I find with fungus or haze, or stuck apertures, so I clean/repair them and resell on ebay. Some I pick up for as little as $10, but (for example the Takumar lenses, you sometimes need 2-3 lenses to make one good one, as fungus can damage lens elements, so you need to swap these out.(these are more than 50 years old, after all!!)

I also fix DSLRs & and mirrorless cameras.

tetakpatak

@ivanlee I can't tell you, I don't own any EF lens. The FD 85mm f/1.8 is also very sharp stopped down.

ivanlee

@nomad Nice, I think I'm going to seek for a 85 f/2 MD... all the Minolta f/2 lenses are VERY good, including the AF Maxxum lenses... I have a Minolta AF 35mm f/2 that is a unbelievable performer... VERY sharp WO with nice bokeh also, and there is the AF 100mm f/2 that I never used, but i've heard amazing things about it...

Going back to the Rokkors, there is a Rokkor 135mm f/2 that is very rare, but should be nice...

@tetakpatak I have some experience with the Canon 85mm f/1.8 EF version, any similarity between the EF and the FD? because the EF is very very sharp WO...

tetakpatak

Yes, all Pana lenses are boosted by the in-camera sharpening, and also by in-camera lens distortion correction. Both these processes result in more moiré than necessary. Sharpening and correction are impossible to disable.

The Canon FD 85mm f/1.8 is an interesting alternative for the 85mm Rokkors. It is a wonderful and not so famous vintage lens so it costs often even less than the Rokkors 85mm. If used wide open it has beautiful, creamy bokeh and it is soft but not unsharp. Great for the portaiture wide open. Stopped down to f/4 it already gets impressively sharp, by f/5.6 it is razor sharp. I must admit that I've begun to collect Rokkors recently (nomad inspired me....) but I don't own any 85mm Rokkor so I can't compare them with the FD. But this FD lens in combination with my beloved Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 gives me all I can only wish and I need no other lenses in this focal length.

The performance of the FD 85mm f/1.8 is in a way comparable to the Rokkor 58mm f/1.2 in terms of dreamy bokeh wide open and sharp stopped down. But saying this, please keep in mind that the Rokkor 58/1.2 is an unique lens and no other lens produces such looking image.

nomad

@ivanlee I had both the 85mm 1.7 and the 2.0 at a time and compared them carefully. I was never so impressed with their bokeh (even if the 1.7 is famed for it). It was always harsher than the 58mm 1.2.

But since the 85mm 2.0 is tack sharp even WO and much smaller, I sold the softer 1.7. Funny I got a much better price for it than I paid for the 2.0 — the cult effect.

The 24 is very good for a vintage lens, but I have no doubts that the Panny 20mm is sharper. Too sharp IMHO, because of in-camera sharpening.

DrDave

For the 50mm I prefer the color of my MD Rokkor X to the MC, as well as the overall feel of the lens. For video, the color balance is way more important than the tiny differences in sharpness, which also varies over the frame. However with these lenses there are many different formulas as well as sample variations. For example, on the 135 you have to look for an orange triangle on the lens to get the best formula, and so, kind of arcane. BTW the 50/1.7 is even cheaper and quite sharp. Of course you are talking $20 vs $40.

@kavadni I'm a big fan of the 24mm, but none that I have tried is as sharp as the Panny 20mm, I even prefer the 14mm in terms of sharpness. However, you may have an awesome sample! If you have the 14 or the 20, would be interested in some comparison photos .

A couple of lenses not often mentioned are the CLE 40 and the Himatic 40, both Rokkors http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122025

They make nice portrait lenses. The CLE is multicoated, as opposed to the CL. Of course, there is also the Olly 45..............I would get the Himatic if I saw a good deal on it. The CLE is a very sleek looking lens.

ivanlee

@panystac, nice... never used the 85 f/2, only the 85 f/1.7 and I was not very impressed... but I've heard that the 85 MD is very sharp but the bokeh isn't so good... do you confirm that? what's your opinion?

I have also the 100 f/2.5 and I like it... and I agree with everyone that the Rokkor 50 1.4 PG is the best fifty... too bad mine was stolen =/

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

Tags in Topic

Top Posters