Minolta AF 28-85mm F3.5-4.5 A-mount lens review by fmajor
 fmajor#1375 date: Nov-4-2006 | |
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| sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta Rokkor Lenses (many) Minolta AF 50mm f1.7 Minolta AF 35-70mm f4 Minolta AF 70-210mm f4 "Beercan" |
| price paid: | 45 USD part of a bundle (like new) |
| positive: | - superb colors - reasonably sharp - solid build quality - smooth, creamy bokeh - good walk-about or travel lens |
| negative: | - not eye-catching sharp - small bit of purple fringing - MF ring too small - std lens hood not useful |
| comment: | EDIT: 18Nov2008 While this lens has served me very well over the years and given me hundreds (if not thousands) of wonderful pictures, i have secured it's successor/superior - a Minolta 28-135mm f4-4.5. If that lens performs to it's reputation, as i suspect it will, my dear old 28-85mm will be relegated to the "back-up" bag. However, unlike the Minolta 35-70mm f4 i had, i won't sell my 28-85mm - it remains a very good and useful lens. INITIAL REVIEW: This old lens is a pleasure to use and i use mine nearly every day. It continues to give beautiful, consistent results. I have also used it with film and while not perfect, it is still very good - especially given the modest price. This lens renders beautiful colors - neither overly saturated/rich or flat. In fact, my examples' color reproduction is equal to my Minolta 70-210mm F4's (Beercan). The out-of-focus exposure rendering is smooth, colorful and provides a lovely accent. This lens feels like what ALL lenses should feel like - in a word - SOLID. For me a deal/no deal point is sharpness and this lens simply does not have the "punch" I'd like. Also, the MF ring is really too small to use very well for quick-switches from AF to MF. The lens also struggles to focus well in lower light/contrast situations. This lens is not what i would call a fast focusing lens. Not slow, but not fast. Though nit-picky and easy to remedy, the standard lens "hood" is utterly ineffective except as protection from barrel dings. I use a lens hood from one of my extra 70-210mm F4 lenses and this works beautifully. While this lens does not have the professional attributes of G-Series lenses such as superior sharpness, constant F2.8, fast focusing, HUGE price tag, etc., it is an otherwise great performer. |
; 12MPrating summary
- total reviews: 112
- sharpness: 4.29
- color: 4.69
- build: 4.85
- distortion: 4.16
- flare control: 3.62
- overall: 4.32