Minolta AF 24-105mm F3.5-4.5 D A-mount lens review by Blame

Blame#11371 date: Oct-7-2013
sharpness: 4 color: 3 build: 5 distortion: 3 flare control: 4 overall: 3.8	tested on: film camera: APS-C: 6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP; 16MP; 20MP; 24MP full frame: 12MP; 24MP; 36MP; 42MP; 61MP
ownership:	I own this lens
compared to:	Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8.
price paid:	£45 in car boot sale
positive:	Tiny lens that always finds room in the camera bag. Matches the tamron for sharpness for all focal lengths at f/8. Decent bokeh for a zoom and better than the tamron.
negative:	Vignettes badly wide open and not perfect even at f/8. Worse with filters. Corners are not competitively sharp under f/5.6. If you are after the classical Minolta colors you will hate it. A little more CA than the tamron but still decent enough to be ignored or corrected.
comment:	Don't think of this as a cheap lens. It originally sold for good money (bar meltdowns) and is capable of excellent results. A modern lens and thus decent flare control and contrast but without the classic Minolta colors. Not a good single lens solution because it is just not fast enough for poor light. Excellent as part of a kit of lenses and reserved for sunny days when it easily justifies its modest size, weight and market price with an image quality that is every bit as good as the other options for a standard zoom. Don't add more than one thin filter. One of the few options for getting as wide as 24mm in a standard zoom.