Minolta Lenses on a99ii

The work brilliantly. Check for this group on Facebook to see what what folks are using and the results.

A-mount Minolta and Sony

The 24-105mm Minolta/SOny is a very useful and very compact lens which I've used a lot, but corners are very dark at the wide end. Minolta often seemed to compromise on front element size compared with Sigma's equivalent designs, though to be honest I often preferred that compromise as it made the lenses smaller.

angora wrote: for what it's worth... for some undefined reason A99 doesn't like ancient Sigma 24mm/2.8 (that once lived happily on Minolta 8000i).

Well, my Sigma 24/2.8 works perfectly fine on my A99m2 - did you use it on other digital cameras? Back in the day there were some threads about the Sigma's screw drive being slightly to tight for newer cameras. Do a search - there were solutions.

angora wrote: for some undefined reason A99 doesn't like ancient Sigma 24mm/2.8 (that once lived happily on Minolta 8000i). or is it the other way round?

I have a Sigma 24/2.8, the Superwide II in AF and MF versions - both work fine with my A99ii.

There are some lenses to be wary of - Sigmas in particular have issues. Some have the infamous Zen coating, which goes sticky and has to be removed (along with any overprinting. Some have plastic (nylon?) AF gearing that can lose a tooth or three under the increased power of later AF motors - though it hasn't happened to any of mine (yet).

Stick to Minolta and you should be okay. Avoid the very cheap kit zooms (especially the earlier 35-80s) though the very early 35-70mm f4 is a little gem.

That said early Minoltas are prone to sticky irises (oil migrates on to the iris blades) - in primes these are usually easy to clean, zooms can be more complicated. I do wonder if this is a problem we will see in the later lenses as they age.

My 24-105 (one of the more recent Minoltas) jammed the other day, I guess something has come loose in the zoom mechanism, I hope it's just a screw I can refit rather than something breaking.

For a mid-cost (inexpensive but not dirt cheap) zoom setup I'd suggest the KM 28-78mm f2.8, KM 17-35mm f2.8-4 and a beercan 70-210mm f4. If you considerably have more to spend the 17-35/3.5 G, 28-70/2.8 G and 80-200/2.8 HS APO would be nice. The 24-105 is a nice walkaround lens (when it isn't jammed).

Of course there are some even nicer Sony zooms.

TYSM, Addy!! and Phil! Matthew! for defining the reason... !!
(indeed the coating, or what's left of it, is awful).
only introduced Sigma 24/2.8 to A99 the 1st. so far. 2 or 3 times, then gave up.
it was either lots of alarming messages, like 'no lens attached' or incompatible lens (something like that, was many years ago), blocking my view, camera on strike, or blowing out pics completely. with an occasional properly exposed pic in between.

contacts looked fine, but I'm the 1st and only owner. I come from an era when people usually paid for their own gear. MP and Ebay had not been invented yet. (it hurts ;) though to see one of my lenses, M.35-105, listed as cheap, and I'm like: ouch, paid f 1000+ (guldentjes / guilders) for that one, back then still Serious money! ;)).

must add that Sigma 28/1.8, 30? years ago advertised as 'the world's fastest WA' *grin*, same -remains of a- coating, works like a charm! a wonderful addition!
And that I once heard someone 'say', believe it was Bob, that Minolta 100/2.8 macro D worked perfectly fine on his A99, the AF-D.
+ that M.100-400 APO brutally killed the AF for screw-drive lenses of A99 the 1st, after a repair. obv. the last thing you'll come across just before the camera is completely taken apart, spare parts no longer available. (THX Sony! ). ever heard a camera scream? chills to the bone!!! (SSM still fine + MF of course). a lens with an impressive motor. and heard simular stories in response.

and then there is something, an option + a reason, called 'Minolta colours', no one mentioned yet? those rich, saturated colours M. lenses can produce? https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/41985007
+ several threads on the matter on Dyxum.
and there are these legendary, almost mythical lenses. lenses with a reputation. ;)
one of those, 'the secret handshake', 'Leica killer' even , M. 28-135, is a great walk around lens. ancient, by no means lightweight and quite bulky.
(depending on your piggy bank, or what will be left of it , so are CZ 24-70 -xtremely sharp!- + CZ 16-35, both highly recommandable! a different league). but 28-135 covers a nice range.


Edited by angora - 22 May 2022 at 11:32

Howard_S wrote: I have that Sigma Super Wide II too. It works fine on the Minolta 9000 (for which I believe it was designed) but it worked with something called 'Focus Aid', i.e. a green light in the viewfinder confirmed focus. On most cameras it seems the aperture didn't stop down (apart from the A9000). I haven't put it on anything more sophisticated than an LA-EA4, and not on my A900. I'll dig it out, clean the contacts, and see what happens. The lens is described as 'programmable', but in what sense, I don't know.

You mean you have a manual focus one - picture: https://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=141051&PID=1687619&title=modification-to-lens-database-search#1687619
Maybe Phil can tell how it works on newer cameras then the 9000.

Ah, the magical "Minolta colours" - not to be confused with "Canon colours"
Minolta for a while worked together with Leica and shared some views on colours. Minolta lenses seem to prioritise colour over other characteristics, just like Leica - I read somewhere that the 17-35G/28-70G/80-200G and the G-primes were colour adjusted to match each other.

There is, of course, no AF motor in either, the AF version is screwdrive.

My MF version works reasonably on the A99ii, it does overexpose a bit, but this is not related to the aperture setting. I can happily use it in aperture priority and set whatever aperture I choose (with exposure compensation dialled in).

It does have Programable on the barrel, but I have no idea what it means in terms of function or what 'focus aid' is.