Minolta AF 400mm F4.5 HS APO G A-mount lens review by pvelz
 pvelz#3008 date: Nov-30-2007 | |
|---|---|
| sharpness: 5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | AF APO 80-200, AF APO 4/600mm and AF 100/2.8 macro |
| price paid: | 2900 Hfl in 1999 |
| positive: | Very sharp, decent opening, weigth is well manageable (compared to 2.8/300 or my 4/600mm for instance). |
| negative: | Slow AF on most bodies (except the Dynax 9 and the A700) |
| comment: | I have used this lens for some 8 years now and can only say I love it. My passion is bird photography and with the Minolta 7D (due to SSS) it also works well without a tripod, which greatly enhances the possibilities for mobile "birding" (rather than dragging a heavy tripod around and sit and wait for the bird to come close one can now actually dynamically roam the environment). On the 7D the AF is quite slow and in low light it exhibits unreliable AF, frequently leading to hunting. On the A700, however, it is a delight, much faster and very accurate AF. Rarily any trouble with hunting. I have used it with both the APO 1.4 and APO 2 converters. The 1.4 converter still allows working without the tripod in reasonable lighting conditions, but for good sharpness and contrast stopping down at least 1.5 stops is required (i.e. f/9.5 or smaller). With the 2 times converter the optimal f stop for good contrast and sharpness is about f/13. Going lower and one starts to see diffraction effects. So with the 2 times converter this lens is not versatile, but still better than nothing. |
; 12MPrating summary
- total reviews: 46
- sharpness: 4.92
- color: 4.87
- build: 4.87
- distortion: 4.96
- flare control: 4.80
- overall: 4.88