Minolta AF 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 D A-mount lens review by eldonito

eldonito#1915 date: Mar-6-2007
sharpness: 2.5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.1	tested on: film camera: APS-C: 6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP; 16MP; 20MP; 24MP full frame: 12MP; 24MP; 36MP; 42MP; 61MP
ownership:	I own this lens
compared to:	Minolta AF 70-210 F4 (beercan) Cosina 100 F3.5 Macro Sigma EX DG 85 F1.4 HSM
price paid:	[gift]
positive:	Price Nice bokeh Long reach Lightweight Metal mount D lens -> v. good with flash Better MF control than older AF lenses "makes you look like a pro" (friend's comment)
negative:	Softish Purple fringing Focus hunting in indoor light levels or less when zoomed in.
comment:	Nice and lightweight, but doesn't feel cheap. Pleasant colours and good for portraits on sunny days. No problems for MF. Much less CA than the beercan wide open, but soft nonetheless and evident purple fringing, e.g. on flash shots. The softness persists beyond f/8 at longer f-lengths: would recommend f/11 for 300 mm. Hampered by small aperture ratio at the long end, it hunts a lot, especially in low light / indoors. At 10 MP, cropped beercan shots from 210mm had more detail than uncropped 300 mm shots from this lens. Hmmm, a bit of a toy lens, but you get what you pay for!