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

DavidBo#1142 date: Aug-30-2006
sharpness: 3.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 3 flare control: 3 overall: 3.7	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:	Minolta AF 100-300 f/4,5-5,6 APO . SONY 70-200 f/2,8 G SSM.
price paid:	600 €
positive:	Very usefull zoom range. Fast and reliable focusing on KM 7D. SONY A700, and SONY A900. OK colors. Stopped down to f/5,6(f/8)-f/11 it's really great on APS-C.
negative:	Some cromatic abberation. Especially at the long end. A lot worse than my minolta 100-300 APO and SONY 70-200G. Some distortion at wide end(barrel). Not sharp wide open especially at the long end. Not recommendable on the A900(FF) because of severe vignetting and very soft corners.
comment:	I had mine sent in for repair. The focusring locked and the zoomring was thight when reaching ca 50mm. It has worked fine eversince. It's possible to print close to the A3 format with the A900 and this lens, but only in certain situations. If you are making a close up and need the whole frame to be sharp then forget this lens on A900. It's of limited use on A900 because of the lack of sharpness especially at the longer focal lengths. I really enjoy using this lens on APS-C.