Minolta AF 100-300mm F4.5-5.6 D APO A-mount lens review by QuietOC
 QuietOC#27608 date: Jun-14-2016 | |
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| sharpness: 3 color: 4 build: 3 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 3.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Tamron 18-250 Tokina 35-300 Sony DT 55-300 SAM Sony 70-300 G SSM II Tamron 70-300 USD Minolta AF 75-300 "Big Beercan" Minolta / Sony 75-300 D Minolta AF 100-200 F4.5 Minolta AF 100-300 APO Minolta AF 100-400 APO |
| price paid: | 138 USD (used) |
| positive: | Small when retracted Quick AF Minimal Axial CA Focus ring doesn't move in AF Circular aperture Supports DMF on the Maxxum 70 55 mm filter diameter |
| negative: | Misalignment/variation Curved focal plane Lateral CA Stiff focus ring Rotating lens front Fragile hood 100 mm Bokeh rather busy |
| comment: | The first copy I won seller didn't properly package. The hood cracked and the lens may have suffered internal damage during shipment. There was no other visible damage on the lens and everything seems to work, but it was quite soft at all focal lengths. The second copy is somewhat sharper. This one didn't come with a hood, so I purchased one separately and found it also cracked. I purchased a third like-new copy with complete retail packaging. "JAPAN" It is a rather small lens even when fully extended and quite light. The zoom action doesn't have the smoothness of the older Beercans, but it feels comparable to the DT zooms. None of the copies exhibits the zoom creep that afflicted my first non-D APO version. Operation is similar to the DT zooms. The lens extends but does not rotate while zooming. The front element extends and rotates while focusing. AF works well with the 1.4X Kenko DGX teleconverter and even works with the 2X DGX teleconverter at the short end of the zoom range. The apertures and focal lengths are properly corrected with both teleconverters. The 100 mm minimum focal length is limiting especially on APS-C cameras. It performs similarly to the 100-200 F4.5--except the focal plane is a bit flatter at 100 mm than the 100-200 F4.5. A well-aligned copy of this lens should go along nicely with the 24-105 D for Minolta SLRs. It doesn't purple fringe like the Minolta 75-300's. The Sony A 70-300 G SSM II and Tamron 70-300 USD are considerably larger and heavier. The new, light Tamron 70-300 RXD is an all-around better zoom for E-mount. Test chart comparison |
; 10MPrating summary
- total reviews: 59
- sharpness: 4.42
- color: 4.73
- build: 4.19
- distortion: 4.69
- flare control: 4.27
- overall: 4.46