Minolta AF 28-135mm F4-4.5 A-mount lens review by JVPsights
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 3 overall: 4.4 | tested on:
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ownership: | I used to own this lens |
compared to: | Sony 50mm f1.4 Minolta 70-210mm f4 "beercan" Sigma 10-20mm f3.5 EX HSM Sony DT 17-80mm |
price paid: | 325 |
positive: | Sharp Very rich colors Great range Macro is very cool Solid as a tank |
negative: | Heavy as a tank! MFD (but very very worth it!!!!) |
comment: | They call this lens "the secret handshake" for a reason. It's a diamond in the rough. The price/quality factor is really high on this lens. It has a great balance of sharpness and background bokeh. Colors absolutely pop out of the screen when I load them onto my computer. No color correction needed ever!! It difinately has that minolta saturated 3D effect. It's also built to last. Made of mostly metal and glass, it difinately feels sturdy in your hand. It has a military grade feel if that makes sense. It is quite heavy though. After a long shoot, you'll really notice it. Also it is very prone to lens flare. No stock hood is made for this lens. The macro feature is cool. Dispite the normal MFD, when switched into macro, the MFD is quite close. I've taken some very cool shots in this setting. There is no auto focus in macro, but come on guys, it's fun to manual focus every now and then. Plus I prefer manual in macro anyway Yeah, the 50mm is a bit sharper, but the shots I get from the 28-135mm are always more dramatic and larger than life when I'm at the 50mm range (for comparative reasons to the Sony prime). The beercan has a similar color effet (not as good though) and better bokeh, but the 28-135mm has a vibe that I can't put into words. Of course the beercan is a different range, I'm just compairing characteristics. The beercan is a great compliment to this lens. |
rating summary

- total reviews: 203
- sharpness: 4.63
- color: 4.83
- build: 4.80
- distortion: 4.41
- flare control: 3.44
- overall: 4.42