Minolta AF 24-50mm F4 A-mount lens review by Cougar66
 Cougar66#6916 date: Feb-16-2010 | |
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| sharpness: 4.5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.3 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 24mm f2.8 Sony 28mm f2.8 Tamron 28mm f2.8 Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f2.4 Pentax 50 f1.8 m42 Minolta 50mm f3.5 macro |
| price paid: | 260 USD |
| positive: | sharp minimal CA low distortion good colours balance well built nice filter size |
| negative: | cost lens hood too small slow (f4) |
| comment: | In a search for a high quality walkaround for my Sony a700 it seems that at last I have found one. Many of the options either cost the earth (cz 24-70) or have huge filter sizes. This lens is sharp from 24mm to 50mm from centre to corner especially at f8 and f11 where it gains maximum definition. It is quite sharp wide open at f4. It is NOT as critically sharp at the CZJ 35mm, the Minolta 50mm, the Minolta 24mm or the Pentax 50mm m42 but there is not much in it. CA is just visible at all apertues and focal lengths but is very well controlled. THere is noticeably less CA than with the Minolta 24mm. Rectilinear distortion is well controlled being mild at 24mm, dissapearing by 30mm. This lens has just enough range to make it a good walkaround lens. It is sharp enough for that purpose and exhibits well saturated but natural colors. It is well constructed and has rapid focusing. It has a sensible filter size (of 55mm) and balances well on a Sony A700. It has taken me 6 months to find a lens that I can leave on my camera most of the time and used in combination with a WA zoom (such as a 10-20), a tele zoom (such as a 55-200) and a porttrait lens (such as an 85mm f1.7) makes an excellent all round mid range zoom. It makes a good alternative to the Sony CZ 16-80 which suffers from vignetting and marked CA wide open and is more costly. The restricted focal range of the Minolta 24-50 is solved by the other lenses that will complement it (as above). This lens is under rated and often not considered. It should be. Note the higher prices it is starting to command on Ebay. |
; 14MPrating summary
- total reviews: 51
- sharpness: 4.36
- color: 4.84
- build: 4.55
- distortion: 4.39
- flare control: 3.82
- overall: 4.39