Minolta AF 50mm F3.5 Macro A-mount lens review by QuietOC
 QuietOC#20410 date: Nov-5-2015 | |
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| sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony DT 30 F2.8 Macro SAM Sony FE 50mm F2.8 Macro Sony A 50 F2.8 Macro Minolta AF 50 F2.8 Macro RS Minolta Macro Rokkor-X 50 F3.5 Tamron SP 60 F2 Macro Sigma EX 70 F2.8 DG Macro Tamron SP 90 F2.5 Macro Minolta AF 100 F2.8 Macro RS Vivitar 135 F2.8 Close Focusing |
| price paid: | 37 USD (used) |
| positive: | Nice smooth bokeh Decent rubber focus ring Curved aperture blades 55 mm filter size |
| negative: | f/3.5 1:2 (0.5x) Inaccurate AF Poor at 1:1 using extensions. |
| comment: | I purchased two of these a couple of years apart. The first wasn't very sharp, but I liked the rendering. I cleaned some crud off of the front element of the second copy. The mechanism would sometimes catch just before 1:2. This lens was $200 when released in 1994 just over $100 cheaper than the 50/2.8. Cosmetically it matches the other RS series lenses. It uses a different optical formula (5/5 vs 6/4) than the older, manual focus Minolta 50mm F3.5 1:2 Macro lenses dating from 1961. This is the simplest A-mount lens in terms of actual parts. "JAPAN" The larger body is used to accommodate a deep fixed hood. The working distance is fairly large because of the fairly low 1:2 maximum reproduction ratio. The field-of-view is slightly narrower than the faster Minolta 50's and significantly narrower than the APS-C 50's. The field-of-view is just slightly wider than the long end of the 18-55 SAM II. This lens is sharper than the old MD 50 F3.5. As far as I know there is no matched extension for 1:1 like there was for MD lens. The 50 F2.8 RS has much more CA even stopped down. |
; 10MPrating summary
- total reviews: 63
- sharpness: 4.93
- color: 4.95
- build: 4.60
- distortion: 4.94
- flare control: 4.68
- overall: 4.82