Minolta AF 28-135mm F4-4.5 A-mount lens review by PeteMag
 PeteMag#6885 date: Feb-9-2010 | |
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| sharpness: 5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Tokina 20-35 AFII Beercan Big beercan Kit lens 18-70 Minolta 100mm f2 Tamron 28-75 f2.8 Minolta 50mm f1.7 Minolta 50mm f1.4 Minolta 80mm-200mm HS G |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Sharp when open Great range on FF Build Quality Colours Macro added value Internal focus in rear |
| negative: | Flare Soft corners FF at 28mm f4 sometimes not enough No hood Minimum focus distance Rear focus can get in the way |
| comment: | There is plenty to love about this lens, but before you buy you should consider the negatives. The Minimum focus of 1.5m is too long and often causes a hinderance. If you want a zoom to cover low light then any 2.8 might be a better option. There's flare thats sometimes difficult to control - especially as it came without a hood. The rubber hood I have shows in the corners of the image on FF up to around 35/40mm. Rear focus although quick can get in the way of how I hold the lens. On FF I have noticed two versions of the lens exhibiting soft corners at 28mm wide open. This is unlikely to pose a problem in real life use - when do you use it at 28mm and f4 and want sharp corners? Thats the faults out of the way, but the positives are well documented. Sharpness of a G lens is a fair comment, build quality and engineering is amazing - just look at the way the zoom moves for a start! Focusing is quick due to the rear focus. At 28mm its sharp wide open in the middle, getting sharp in the corners from f8/11, from 40/50mm up its sharp all over at f4/4.5, the macro is useful (including to focus shorter than 1.5m!). The range is brilliant on the a900, a true perfect lens in good light for what people call walkabout (or I call don't want to bother switching lenses all the time). Colour is good, although not quite up to the 100mm f2 or 80-200 HS G. Its a bargain at todays prices, if Sony released this now they'd call it a G and my guess would be L600-800. |
; 12MPrating summary
- total reviews: 203
- sharpness: 4.63
- color: 4.83
- build: 4.80
- distortion: 4.41
- flare control: 3.44
- overall: 4.42