I have one of them and I absolutely love it. I shot a wedding with it and the client was super happy. It only takes a few adjustments in post and this thing can produce some beautiful images. BTW I like your review style because you show good work with the lenses you review. A lot of people show charts and the same style photographs....You always have a variety of quality work. I appreciate it.
This was my first Minolta I paired with my Sony nex-3 years ago and I still use it with the Minolta macrobellows for digitizing film negatives. Taken so many great shots with it on film and adapted, but have since replaced it with the 45mm f2 for casual shooting. Great video highlighting such a wonderful piece of glass.
You should try to find a ROKKOR PF 58mm F1.4 if you like those 2 lenses, It is still not as expensive as the ROKKOR PG 58mm f1.2, but it is very nearly as incredible.
Old Minoltas.. oh man you just cant help but love the colors these babies produce. I started shooting 35mm film because of this lens. Absolutely a gem!
Thanks for this review! I actually have this lens mounted on a minolta film camera in my closet. Will be dusting it off to mount on my x-T1. Excited now. Thanks again!
I had both the Md 50/1.7 & 1.4. Both with their own signature rendering. I have & also tried out over 50 vintage lenses of several companies. And very few disappoint - the 50 was a std kit lens and every company had their own signatures. These lenses really come into their own on modern mirrorless and if one can develop ones own software profiles one can get some amazing still and moving visuals. Lenses during the film era were not designed on edge to edge sharpness on widest apertures which is what makes their renderng unique with dfferent kinds of out of focus rendering - from bubble bokeh to swirls. The glass used was also different - often much warmer & can often give a special glow and flares. The build quality was also excellent & some of the lenses in my collection are 50+ years old with still excellent mechanics and optics. Also MF demands more visual composition & a visual intensity of perspective
@@damiendehorn6350 Some of the lenses tried out - Canon FD/N/F - from 50 1.2 to 1.8, Nikon 1.4 - 1.8, Takumar 50 1.4 to 55/1.8 Pentax from 1.2 to 2, Yashica 1.4 , 1.7 , 2 (CY mount is better than m42) Fuji 55/1.8 & the 2,2 (bubble bokeh), Pentacon for PB & M42 mounts (very special bokeh) Zeiss Tessar 2.8, Zeiss Pancolar, Konica Ar, Voigtlander ultron, a huge amount of Helios 58s and also 50s & also the Jupiter 50s. Some of my favorites are the canon fl, voigtlander, yashica cy (1.7 & 2) helios, the takumar 1.4, pentacon/meyeroptik & the zeiss pancolar
@@damiendehorn6350 For me the pancolar has much more character. There are some good ex soviet 50s for the nikon mount which are very cheap and sometimes have that special quality. There are also new nikons with an aperture dial that go very cheap. What I would really recommend is the Voigtlander Ultron (rollei mount - can sometimes be found cheap) Otherwise the m42 mount has tons of lenses to adapt
Great review thanks. Just got a Minolta XD5 film camera with this lens on it in a market for €30. The camera shutter seems fixed at one speed but I won't be using it. The lens is in excellent condition so I'll get an adapter for my Sony mirrorless bodies. The lens is very like my lovely old Pentax 1.7 50mm SMC and I'll be using it for nature / landscape / street shots. Focus peaking on the Sony makes it easy to use vintage lenses.
My Minolta 85 1.4 is my favorite to use on my Sony A7iii the look and feel of the images are just unique to their own! - Great video! I look forward to more!
Thank you for this great review! I found one of these super cheap with an X-300 body included and now I can't wait to use it both on that on on my digital :-) This review was really helpful.
I have the MD 50mm 1.4 and the 50mm 2.0 and use them with A7i. On the A7R4 (with LA-EA5) i use the AF 50mm 1.7 (which is the same as MD 50 1.7). Thx 4 the great video.
I am so hyped about shooting with vintage lenses on my s5. Do you have any recommendations for adapters tho? I heard good stuff about the URTH adapters.
I second the Urth brand. They are a bit more expensive than the more common, ultra-cheap adapters on Amazon like Fotasy. But, their build quality and fitment is much better and they give to a good cause! For reference, I have 4 Urth, 2 Fotodiox, and 3 Fotasy adapters. All of which are fully manual. Urth is my choice, by far!
Same optical formulation as far as I am aware. Number of aperture blades may be different though; the A mount lenses generally had more aperture blades than the SR (MD) mount lenses.
This lens was a bit of a mass produced kit lens in it's time and while build quality is not Terrible, it can be seen where money was saved on materials. where and why this lens shines is in the exceptional glass and spectacular coatings. MINOLTA, in their day, were constructing some of the most incredible lenses from Glass formulas they engineered and mixed in house for it's refractive properties they were always developing and experimenting with coatings as well. These lenses, while housed with less notable plastic components, contain exceptional elements made from outstanding glass with beautiful coatings, colours, contrast clarity and sharpness are all Stellar from this lens, much better than I would expect from a casual glance. closer inspection of a clean copy of this lens will peek interest from anyone with experience shooting vintage glass with exceptional coatings. I have quite a few lenses of exceptional reputation and regard with much better build quality and world renowned performance, a few of them earlier Rokkors as well, but this is a lens I will always keep around, it punches way above it's weight class, I shouldn't say it surprises me given where it comes from but it did the first time I looked through this lens mounted on a mirrorless camera.
@@PavSZ I would agree it's built better than Many, maybe not Most. Build quality today is really good even for a lot of the crappy lenses out there. Most of the Cad designs are really sharp with less aberrations great contrast, I find most modern lense toady are simply too sharp, too clean just too clinical, that is great sometimes. it's just not as evocative
@@sclogse1 for sure it os still a quality lense and performance speaks for it's self, if you were to compare it side by side with one of the earlier Rokkors like the Pf 50mm f1.5 or the 55mm f1.7 it would appear visually to be sub par. I've had these lenses appart for service as well and the later plastic version have the ellements in the first group sealed where the earlier metal bodied Rokkors were stacked and spaces and held in place with threaded rings. Again a newer less costly way to manufacture with less machined parts but the quality of the glass and expertise in design and construction is still evident from the fantastic optics that it offers.
I just won an ebay bid for one and it's on the way, along with an E-P5. I always thought I was pretty good at avoiding GAS, but now I'm realizing it's even worse with older equipment because the cost is lower 😬
@@PavSZ True artists work with a lovely simple light meter and mechanical shutter speed, wound in by hand. And we wait patiently for two weeks for the studio to develop our films 😜 (I have a boring Nikon D80 as a back-up, but don't tell the wife!)
OK, serious reply. I'm out on a "shooting" excursion now in a medieval town in Western Europe, I have my D80 (slightly old school digital) and Minolta SRT 303b (totally vintage analogue) with me. Admittedly I'm close to running out of film, so I'm relying more on the D80 now but... A lady approached me to ask me to get some photos of her with her "Bridge" camera that has no viewfinder, rather a flip-out screen to show what you'll be photographing. In the bright sunlight this was next to useless because I could hardly discern what I was shooting. The absence of a viewfinder was a real problem. Also, she's limited to the one lens her camera comes with, as it's an integral part. So, the moral of the story, every piece of equipment is designed for a specific purpose, and will likely fulfil that objective well. But no camera or lens is truly "one size fits all", and you need to choose what you need for the job in hand. In my case, I came with two "nifty fifty" lenses, one for each camera, and I'm sorely missing my zooms!
@@eddyhoughton6542 I agree that no camera or lens is truly "one size fits all" but ... if that's all you have, one camera and one lens, you can adapt to make it work for you
@@PavSZ okay I attached it to my 5D Mark III and it only focuses when I’m really up close to a subject (I guess that explains the infinity focus lol) but is there anyway I can help that by adding something to stretch out the focus? Also can you explain why it’s like that for DSLR’s?
@@nolani6492 @Nolani it's all to do with a flange distance - DSLR camera's mirrors make it impossible to adapt vintage lens to be right distance from the sensor for infinity focus to work - this guy explains it well here: ruclips.net/video/osjbrQ7O6I8/видео.html
@@nolani6492 You are better off with M42 mount lenses for Canon DSLR. There's just enough room to fit an adapter between the lens and the camera. Be careful though. Some (not many I think) may project too far back and will collide with the mirror. Ask other Canon fans for options.
Minolta ROKKOR 100mm f/2, ROKKOR 28mm f/2.5 and _early_ ROKKOR 58mm f/1.2 have thorium elements; no other radioactive Minolta lenses have so far been suspected/confirmed.
Не понимаю я эту минолту) Есть индустар, он меньше и дешевле. Есть meyer optics и zeiss, лучше боке и контраст соответствеено. Ну а если нужна большая дырка, есть canon fd 50mm. Посредственное стекло, имхо, эта минолта.
I'm sure it's a great lens but wouldn't recommend it for the reason that it is virtually unservicable with all the elements encased in plastic. Much better options out there in my opinion.
@@PavSZ Trust me, the one I have needs a service. Fungal spores must have been factory installed! Pentax-M 50 1.7 or (if you insist on Minolta) MC 50 F2 are equally cheap and CAN be disassembled if need be.
That is indeed one drawback of a handful of the last line of Minolta's MD lenses. The slower lenses of popular focal lengths have some cells with burnished lens mounts. They _can_ be serviced if you are careful; the burnished rim needs to be cut away, and then the lens will have to be cemented back in place; I have done so myself. If you can inspect the lens before buying of course the problem is academic.
I have one of them and I absolutely love it. I shot a wedding with it and the client was super happy. It only takes a few adjustments in post and this thing can produce some beautiful images. BTW I like your review style because you show good work with the lenses you review. A lot of people show charts and the same style photographs....You always have a variety of quality work. I appreciate it.
This was my first Minolta I paired with my Sony nex-3 years ago and I still use it with the Minolta macrobellows for digitizing film negatives. Taken so many great shots with it on film and adapted, but have since replaced it with the 45mm f2 for casual shooting. Great video highlighting such a wonderful piece of glass.
nice one!
Thanks for watching!
You should try to find a ROKKOR PF 58mm F1.4 if you like those 2 lenses, It is still not as expensive as the ROKKOR PG 58mm f1.2, but it is very nearly as incredible.
this lens cost me 15,000 dollars, it started me on an obsession of collecting vintage and using vintage lenses. Great video thank you.
NICE!!!!
It's not a bad obsession to have ;)
@@PavSZ tell that to my wife...lol
Why so much I got my second one of these for 30$ today that sounds like wayyy too much!
@@cameronmattinson2650 not so much for one lens, but 200 or more lenses.
Why?
I adore vintage rokkor lenses. I have the Minolta 58 1.2 just gorgeous character and rendering even on high MP cameras like the Sony a7riii.
You can't beat quality vintage lens
Old Minoltas.. oh man you just cant help but love the colors these babies produce. I started shooting 35mm film because of this lens. Absolutely a gem!
YES! they don't make them the same anymore
@@PavSZ so true
Thanks for this review! I actually have this lens mounted on a minolta film camera in my closet. Will be dusting it off to mount on my x-T1. Excited now. Thanks again!
Awesome! great little lens, even in today's standards
I liked the 50 1.7 so much, I purchased a spare just in case. I also highly recommend the 45 2.
😂😂 I bought 3 of them and 3 of the 50mm F2 (md3) too.
I need to try the 45 soon
I had both the Md 50/1.7 & 1.4. Both with their own signature rendering. I have & also tried out over 50 vintage lenses of several companies. And very few disappoint - the 50 was a std kit lens and every company had their own signatures. These lenses really come into their own on modern mirrorless and if one can develop ones own software profiles one can get some amazing still and moving visuals. Lenses during the film era were not designed on edge to edge sharpness on widest apertures which is what makes their renderng unique with dfferent kinds of out of focus rendering - from bubble bokeh to swirls. The glass used was also different - often much warmer & can often give a special glow and flares. The build quality was also excellent & some of the lenses in my collection are 50+ years old with still excellent mechanics and optics. Also MF demands more visual composition & a visual intensity of perspective
Which ones have you tried and what’s your favourite?
@@damiendehorn6350 Some of the lenses tried out - Canon FD/N/F - from 50 1.2 to 1.8, Nikon 1.4 - 1.8, Takumar 50 1.4 to 55/1.8 Pentax from 1.2 to 2, Yashica 1.4 , 1.7 , 2 (CY mount is better than m42) Fuji 55/1.8 & the 2,2 (bubble bokeh), Pentacon for PB & M42 mounts (very special bokeh) Zeiss Tessar 2.8, Zeiss Pancolar, Konica Ar, Voigtlander ultron, a huge amount of Helios 58s and also 50s & also the Jupiter 50s. Some of my favorites are the canon fl, voigtlander, yashica cy (1.7 & 2) helios, the takumar 1.4, pentacon/meyeroptik & the zeiss pancolar
thank you for sharing this!!
@@gitithadani wow that’s a lot, I’m looking for a decent copy of a 50mm Jena Pan. Thinking of either building a Jena or Nikkor set.
@@damiendehorn6350 For me the pancolar has much more character. There are some good ex soviet 50s for the nikon mount which are very cheap and sometimes have that special quality. There are also new nikons with an aperture dial that go very cheap. What I would really recommend is the Voigtlander Ultron (rollei mount - can sometimes be found cheap) Otherwise the m42 mount has tons of lenses to adapt
Great review thanks. Just got a Minolta XD5 film camera with this lens on it in a market for €30. The camera shutter seems fixed at one speed but I won't be using it. The lens is in excellent condition so I'll get an adapter for my Sony mirrorless bodies. The lens is very like my lovely old Pentax 1.7 50mm SMC and I'll be using it for nature / landscape / street shots. Focus peaking on the Sony makes it easy to use vintage lenses.
Beautiful images - perfectly imperfect. I’m sure I have that lens in a drawer somewhere… can’t wait to start shooting and feeding my creative soul 😉
it is a really nice little lens and I KNOW that you have one 😉
Thank you for lending me it for this review.
My Minolta 85 1.4 is my favorite to use on my Sony A7iii the look and feel of the images are just unique to their own! - Great video! I look forward to more!
Minolta the next sleeper (specially the MCs), so under rated.
they are!!
Thank you for this great review! I found one of these super cheap with an X-300 body included and now I can't wait to use it both on that on on my digital :-) This review was really helpful.
Glad I could help!
I have the MD 50mm 1.4 and the 50mm 2.0 and use them with A7i. On the A7R4 (with LA-EA5) i use the AF 50mm 1.7 (which is the same as MD 50 1.7). Thx 4 the great video.
NICE!
Thanks!
I am so hyped about shooting with vintage lenses on my s5. Do you have any recommendations for adapters tho? I heard good stuff about the URTH adapters.
Until I got S5, I always used K&F adapters but now I use Urth and they work great. I have M42 to L and MD to L - both great, no problems.
I second the Urth brand. They are a bit more expensive than the more common, ultra-cheap adapters on Amazon like Fotasy. But, their build quality and fitment is much better and they give to a good cause! For reference, I have 4 Urth, 2 Fotodiox, and 3 Fotasy adapters. All of which are fully manual. Urth is my choice, by far!
Recently found the 50mm 1.7 maxxum. Im wondering if its the same optical performance as the MD. I will need a Minolta A mount.
Same optical formulation as far as I am aware. Number of aperture blades may be different though; the A mount lenses generally had more aperture blades than the SR (MD) mount lenses.
nice one!
This lens was a bit of a mass produced kit lens in it's time and while build quality is not Terrible, it can be seen where money was saved on materials. where and why this lens shines is in the exceptional glass and spectacular coatings.
MINOLTA, in their day, were constructing some of the most incredible lenses from Glass formulas they engineered and mixed in house for it's refractive properties they were always developing and experimenting with coatings as well.
These lenses, while housed with less notable plastic components, contain exceptional elements made from outstanding glass with beautiful coatings, colours, contrast clarity and sharpness are all Stellar from this lens, much better than I would expect from a casual glance.
closer inspection of a clean copy of this lens will peek interest from anyone with experience shooting vintage glass with exceptional coatings.
I have quite a few lenses of exceptional reputation and regard with much better build quality and world renowned performance, a few of them earlier Rokkors as well, but this is a lens I will always keep around, it punches way above it's weight class, I shouldn't say it surprises me given where it comes from but it did the first time I looked through this lens mounted on a mirrorless camera.
it is still better build than most of lenses today
@@PavSZ I would agree it's built better than Many, maybe not Most.
Build quality today is really good even for a lot of the crappy lenses out there. Most of the Cad designs are really sharp with less aberrations great contrast, I find most modern lense toady are simply too sharp, too clean just too clinical, that is great sometimes. it's just not as evocative
The thing about the plastic is...there's nothing wrong with it. I just got one today, and it feels new.
It could be 40 years old.
@@sclogse1 for sure it os still a quality lense and performance speaks for it's self, if you were to compare it side by side with one of the earlier Rokkors like the Pf 50mm f1.5 or the 55mm f1.7 it would appear visually to be sub par. I've had these lenses appart for service as well and the later plastic version have the ellements in the first group sealed where the earlier metal bodied Rokkors were stacked and spaces and held in place with threaded rings. Again a newer less costly way to manufacture with less machined parts but the quality of the glass and expertise in design and construction is still evident from the fantastic optics that it offers.
I’ve never shot with a manual lens but i feel like it would be fun to use one a trip to a place I’ve never been!
it's very cheap to try if you like it shooting with a vintage manual lens
My first lens on my Minolta X300 from 1986. I re-bought one boxed and mint for £40. A nice lens review, but I’m super biased.
it is an awesome lens for the money
Thanks for the upload! 👍
thank you for watching!
I bought one of these for around $35USD and then forgot about it until I just found it again. Just ordered a MD to MFT to use it on my Olympus 😀
Cool!
I just won an ebay bid for one and it's on the way, along with an E-P5. I always thought I was pretty good at avoiding GAS, but now I'm realizing it's even worse with older equipment because the cost is lower 😬
@@jaredfromspace haha dude that is correct 😁
@@dedclownsRfunnyI bought one or two since the last comment, and now I’ve been looking at Asahi Takumar 135mm lenses. There’s no end in sight 😂
Gracias por su apreciación de este lente me ayudo mucho
Thank you
That 50 is indeed such a great & cheap prime!
hard to find one this good and this cheap
An old gentleman I lived with passed down some lenses and a Minolta 35mm camera. If I sent you some pics could you tell me what I have?
I'm not sure if I'd know. I have a very little experience with vintage lenses and only this one Minolta
Really love using manual lenses.
Me too!
I like this lens!
You'll like the Minolta MD 50mm f2 too, sharp from wide open and those Minolta colours.
thanks dude! I forgot to mention in the video - ZERO focus breathing
Can you show us how to use an Minolta md to canon camera?
you need an adapter - these are relatively cheap on Amazon or Ebay
Why put it on a boring DSLR? Mine's on my gorgeous SRT 303b, from the early '70s, and works an absolute treat!
how's the EVF and LCD screen on that?
@@PavSZ True artists work with a lovely simple light meter and mechanical shutter speed, wound in by hand. And we wait patiently for two weeks for the studio to develop our films 😜 (I have a boring Nikon D80 as a back-up, but don't tell the wife!)
OK, serious reply. I'm out on a "shooting" excursion now in a medieval town in Western Europe, I have my D80 (slightly old school digital) and Minolta SRT 303b (totally vintage analogue) with me. Admittedly I'm close to running out of film, so I'm relying more on the D80 now but... A lady approached me to ask me to get some photos of her with her "Bridge" camera that has no viewfinder, rather a flip-out screen to show what you'll be photographing. In the bright sunlight this was next to useless because I could hardly discern what I was shooting. The absence of a viewfinder was a real problem. Also, she's limited to the one lens her camera comes with, as it's an integral part. So, the moral of the story, every piece of equipment is designed for a specific purpose, and will likely fulfil that objective well. But no camera or lens is truly "one size fits all", and you need to choose what you need for the job in hand. In my case, I came with two "nifty fifty" lenses, one for each camera, and I'm sorely missing my zooms!
@@eddyhoughton6542 I agree that no camera or lens is truly "one size fits all" but ... if that's all you have, one camera and one lens, you can adapt to make it work for you
Hi, can we use it on Nikon d 3400 dx without adapter
no - it might not work on Nikon DSLR with adapter either
I got this lens today, now I only need an adapter
nice!
Fotasy adapters on ebay are 12 bucks.
yes
Is it only good for Mirrorless cameras?
I can be adapted to DSLR cameras as well but you might not get focus to infinity with Nikons
@@PavSZ okay I attached it to my 5D Mark III and it only focuses when I’m really up close to a subject (I guess that explains the infinity focus lol) but is there anyway I can help that by adding something to stretch out the focus? Also can you explain why it’s like that for DSLR’s?
@@nolani6492 @Nolani it's all to do with a flange distance - DSLR camera's mirrors make it impossible to adapt vintage lens to be right distance from the sensor for infinity focus to work - this guy explains it well here: ruclips.net/video/osjbrQ7O6I8/видео.html
@@PavSZ thank you so much!
@@nolani6492 You are better off with M42 mount lenses for Canon DSLR. There's just enough room to fit an adapter between the lens and the camera. Be careful though. Some (not many I think) may project too far back and will collide with the mirror. Ask other Canon fans for options.
well done
dzięki!
Is this lens radiative
maybe, no idea
@@PavSZ Not
Minolta ROKKOR 100mm f/2, ROKKOR 28mm f/2.5 and _early_ ROKKOR 58mm f/1.2 have thorium elements; no other radioactive Minolta lenses have so far been suspected/confirmed.
Не понимаю я эту минолту) Есть индустар, он меньше и дешевле. Есть meyer optics и zeiss, лучше боке и контраст соответствеено. Ну а если нужна большая дырка, есть canon fd 50mm. Посредственное стекло, имхо, эта минолта.
I'd love to reply to your comment but I do not speak Russian
I'm sure it's a great lens but wouldn't recommend it for the reason that it is virtually unservicable with all the elements encased in plastic. Much better options out there in my opinion.
it is cheap and easy to find. It is not a pro lens that you need to service, repair or take apart to clean. Fun lens to use, nothing else
@@PavSZ Trust me, the one I have needs a service. Fungal spores must have been factory installed! Pentax-M 50 1.7 or (if you insist on Minolta) MC 50 F2 are equally cheap and CAN be disassembled if need be.
@@hoverboverer I'd just buy another one
@@PavSZ So rich! :-) No worries: I got it free from the junk bin of my local camera shop, so can't complain.
That is indeed one drawback of a handful of the last line of Minolta's MD lenses. The slower lenses of popular focal lengths have some cells with burnished lens mounts. They _can_ be serviced if you are careful; the burnished rim needs to be cut away, and then the lens will have to be cemented back in place; I have done so myself. If you can inspect the lens before buying of course the problem is academic.