Minolta AF 70-210mm F4 (beercan) A-mount lens review by QuietOC
 QuietOC#16282 date: Jun-27-2015 | |
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| sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.2 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Tamron 28-200 RXD Tokina AF 35-200 SD Minolta MD 50-135 F3.5 Sigma 50-150 F2.8 EX DC HSM II Sony DT 55-200 SAM Vivitar 70-150 F3.8 Tamron 70-180 F2.8 VXD Sigma 70-200 F2.8 EX DG OS HSM Sigma 70-200 F2.8 EX DG APO Sony FE 70-200 F4 G OSS Canon EF 70-200 F4 L USM Vivitar S1 70-210 F3.5 I & II Minolta AF 70-210 F3.5-4.5 Minolta AF 80-200 F2.8 HS APO G Minolta AF 80-200 F2.8 APO G Tokina 80-200 F2.8 AT-X Pro Vivitar 85-205 F3.8 Minolta AF 100-200 F4.5 Minolta AF 135 F2.8 Canon EF 135 F2.8 Softfocus Canon EF 200 F2.8 L USM Minolta AF 200 F2.8 APO G Minolta AF 200 F2.8 HS APO G |
| price paid: | 40 USD (used) |
| positive: | Price Internal zoom Smooth zoom and focus actions 55 mm filter thread |
| negative: | Weight and length Lateral and axial CA Small, hard focus ring Rotating and extending front element for focus |
| comment: | I purchased my first used copy of this lens with my A58 at a steep discount from a local store. It was in clean condition with both original caps and original metal hood and had a price tag of $125. I've bought eight other copies of various conditions. All have been quite similar optically. "JAPAN" This was originally a fairly inexpensive lens having a suggested list price of $263 in 1985, half the cost of the 28-135 zoom and even cheaper than the standard 28-85. This lens continued to be sold at a discount after the Minolta AF 70-210 F3.5-4.5 was released. I've also picked up a few copies of the respected Vivitar Series 1 70-210 F3.5 in MD mount, and the Minolta is certainly better. I also picked up a Minolta MD 70-210 F4 which seems to have identical optics to the AF lens just in a manual one-touch zoom. The more recent Canon EF 70-200 F4 L USM and Sony FE 70-200 F4 G OSS have much less chromatic aberrations. It has a fairly flat focus plane and little distortion. The more recent zooms have more center sharpness and better CA control. Image quality is more consistent than the later Minolta AF 100-200 f/4.5, 70-210 f/3.5-4.5, and 70-210 f/4.5-5.6 zooms. The 1986 Minolta 75-300 F4.5-5.6 is a bit sharper with less CA. The focus shifts more with zoom than the DT 55-200 and 55-300 lenses, but for HD video it is probably close enough to be considered parfocal. The front element can be adjusted to maintain focus at the zoom ends. Size and weight make it uncomfortable for sustained hand held use with the little Sony SLT-A58. I prefer using the lighter DT SAM telephoto zooms. The zoom and focus mechanisms are both very smooth but rather loose. Forget about manual focus. The hard plastic focus grip is way out on the end of the lens and extends with the front elements. The non-extending, rubber focus grips on the later lenses are better except for the sunken, stiff one on the 70-210 f/3.5-4.5. The metal and plastic hoods are identical to those found on the 75-300. The similar clip-on hoods from the 70-210 f/4.5-4.5 and 100-300 lenses will attach in normal orientation to this lens, but interfere with the focus ring when reversed for storage. The little Sony ALC-SH111 and larger ALC-SH102 hoods also fit--the later a bit loosely. Overall a bargain-priced but quality zoom that works well enough. |
; 10MPrating summary
- total reviews: 397
- sharpness: 4.49
- color: 4.78
- build: 4.84
- distortion: 4.56
- flare control: 3.98
- overall: 4.53