My first manual lens was definitely the Minolta MD Rokkor x 50mm f/1.7, had chosen to take the nex5n for use some legacy lenses, began to delve into photography as a hobby, I had read some reviews about this lens, good and bad, so the main porpuse was no expend to much to get a very good lens for portraits for now so searching the web I found this Rokkor and realized it was a right choice in terms of quality, also for some low-light indoor shots, so finally got a chance to use a couple times, and was a great surprise when mounted on the nex5n. Show My copy was made from 1977 to 1981, was the 2nd generation MD Rokkor-X with More plastic parts.
 This is a manual focus lens from Minolta SLR film camera with the SR bayonet lens mount and MD metered couplings for use on the XD series and X700 progammable mode cameras, so I got an adapter on ebay for about 10 bucks, so you no can use it on the NEX, MD / MC to NEX, in terms of bokeh the 50mm does a great job and can use it as artistic to be true, it offers a great contrast, sharpness and the minimum focus distance is 0.45m. I love the street photography and this lens is one of my favorites, like I said before,started as hobby, was in Chinatown last year, for the Chinese people the year 2012, which corresponds to the ”Year of the Dragon” begins January 23. In the show we could see the trends, the energies and impulses, which will print the Dragon that year in each of the signs, was a colorfull and fun day, really enjoy, so chooses to take this lens 50mm f1.7 to test it, it was mi first time in MF with the Nex5n , worked really great, all shots in jpg. I share some shots I’ve done with this lens, have made a good combo with my nex7 so far, for its light weight and image quality. The MD Rokkor-X series of lenses by Minolta tends to be the sought after lens line. It is their last metal construction lens, and has the newest coatings and optical design. The Newest MD version dropped the ‘Rokkor-X’ name, changed to an all plastic design, added a lock on the F-stop ring and switched to a locking lens shade with 49mm filters. While they have the same optical design and coatings, due to the plastic construction, they are not as sought after, but they are definitely lighter. I’ve been so fascinated with this lens I’ve got a second, MC Rokkor-X 50mm 1.4 this model were made between 1973-1977. MC Rokkor-X PG 50mm/1.4 Weight 311 grams, 46 x 63 mm (L x D) At first glance the two lenses seem to match but there are many differences, the reason for this Is that it is fast, sharp, and with brilliant contrast but the f/1.4 is more faster. The MC 50mm f/1.4 PG is a little big and heavy, I could say that’s the difference, between the late MC lenses and MD equivalents, but the MD version is considerably smaller and lighter. For some reason this is one of my favorite lenses, the focus is a dream: the pattern rubber has perfect grip, and the smooth and precise focus helicoids respond to focus so easy. 7 multicoated elements in 6 groups. 55mm filter thread. Minimum focus distance is set to 0.5m. I love the smoothness of the focus ring, and focusing using peaking and magnification with the 5n/Nex7 makes using manual, usually used the yellow peaking, it works better than white. I’m looking forward to acquiring a full set of fast manual primes hopefully before the prices going up too fast. 6 blades aperture can be stopped from f1.7 to f22. Between f1.7 and 2.8 as well as between f16 and 22, you can’t set anything between. Between f2.8 and f16, there are half click stops. Lens itself has been made in several versions, mine shown here is the latest (cheapest build quality) so called MD 3rd generation. Beside build quality and filter size reduction, optical formula is supposed to be the same among the versions. Some believes that earlier rokkors had better coatings. I have one Rokkor X 1.7, so might try it one day to see, if there is any difference in IQ. Lens and Camera: Following test shows lens character, color, contrast and out of focus rendition at most apertures. Colors are rather natural, contrast is good even wide open. Here are the 100% crops of the focus area. Also Minolta is softer wide open, but this is rather typical for most fast lenses. From f2.8 to f8, lens is very sharp across the frame. The sharpness seems very similar to the Pentax SMC 50 f1.7. In a real life situations, corners wide open are slightly better than with Pentax SMC 50mm f1.7, while center resolution is slightly weaker at all apertures. But this is really cutting the hair. Distortion If there is any, I can hardly see it. Field Shots: Bokeh Surprisingly, out of focus areas are not the strongest characteristic of this Minolta. Bokeh is not bad, but it is a bit more nervous than with Pentax SMC 50 f1.7. In that department, Yashinon 50 DX f1.7 still leads. Landscape: Once stopped down, to f5.6 or f8, all tested 50mm lenses so far, performs equally well. Looking for the differences will be pure nit picking and you should probably pay more attention to the lens hood, than to the brand itself. Wide open, there is visible purple fringing, but stopped down to f2.8 and above it is not a field relevant problem any more. Conclusion: ¨Minolta MD 50mm f1.7 is excellent value for money. In many aspects it is a lens very similar to the Pentax SMC 50 f1.7 but still somewhat cheaper. Pentax SMC 50 f1.7 is maybe overall slightly sharper lens, but Minolta has more even sharpness distribution across the frame and it is still sharp more than enough. Being made of multicoated glass, I do not expect significant problems with flare, but will test that separately, when I get a hood. Is Minolta a good lens?Orphaned mounts are in lower demand, generally, and therefore, it is less expensive to obtain lenses and accessories for them. Minolta glass is of excellent optical and build quality and equally at home on classic film SLRs or adapted for modern mirrorless digital cameras. Is Minolta MC the same as MD?The terms MC and MD relate to different series' of Minolta lenses, with different features. All of the lenses, however, use the SR mount. Another term commonly seen in relation to Minolta lenses is the term “Rokkor”. How much does a Minolta MD 50mm f1 7 weight?It weighs almost nothing: 5.8 oz. What size is a Minolta lens?List of Minolta A-mount lenses. |
