Minolta AF 300mm F2.8 APO A-mount lens review by Burt
 Burt#6204 date: Oct-8-2009 | |
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| sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 70-200mm f2.8 sigma 400mm f5.6 apo tele macro |
| price paid: | 1800euro |
| positive: | Sharpness. Even wideopen fast af! solid build hood nice case |
| negative: | big and expensive front filter small tripd mount |
| comment: | This lens is a dream! Autofocus is faster than I imagined, the lens NOt being the Hs-version. Though I haven't used that HS-lens, I can't imagine the focussing speed being much faster. it isn't as fast as the 70-200mm f2.8 ssm though. On the other hand, it is almost as silent! Af is fast enough to track a flying bird at about 20 meters away With the sony 2x teleconverter (sal20tc), sharpness is still extremely good! Wideopen, there appears to be a little bit softness. Everything above f4 is sharp as a newly sharpened pencil! Important: the latest teleconverters (from minolta apo II onwards) have a lower speed gearing, so putting a sony teleconverter on the lens actually slows down the lens Af motor by half. It is better to use the original minolta apo teleconverters, but I find the lens+ sal20tc still usable. the lens comes with a nice case and some drop-in filters. the tripod collar seems a bit short to me. the weight is reasonable for a lens this size. It is usable handheld at 300mm, not at 600mm. You'd need a decent tripod and a decent ballhead for that. the front filter is really big and really axpensive (and not easy to find) This version of the 300mm f2.8 lens is cheaper that the Hs-version and I would recommend buyign this one and saving a couple of 100ds of euro. the Hs version's Af is probably faster, but maybe faster that you'll ever need. |
; 14MPrating summary
- total reviews: 15
- sharpness: 4.77
- color: 4.93
- build: 4.93
- distortion: 4.93
- flare control: 4.80
- overall: 4.87