Minolta AF 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 D A-mount lens reviews
 Aresee#1556 date: Dec-22-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 3 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sigma 28-200 Sigma 24-135 KM 18-70 |
| price paid: | $129 new |
| positive: | A good long range zoom Not real expensive Can be sharp is stepped down Lightweight |
| negative: | Plastic mount Kind of cheap build Not real sharp @ 300 |
| comment: | This is the longest lens I have or can afford at this time. I use it for wildlife photos and it does OK. It would be nice to get something with more reach, but this lens is light enough to carry on long hikes. It can be quite sharp in the right light. Well worth the cost. |
; 10MP| mio-km#1276 date: Oct-6-2006 | |
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sharpness: 3 color: 4 build: 3 distortion: 3 flare control: 4 overall: 3.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | AF DT 18-70 |
| price paid: | 200 |
| positive: | Nice bokeeh, fairly sharp however not at maximum focal length |
| negative: | Not so fast, lot of focus hunting, slow focus |
| comment: | My first lens review. I only have two lenses so far, the 18-70 and the 75-300. Hope soom to expand with 50mm plus a 28-75 |
| dogears#1199 date: Sep-18-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 3 distortion: 3 flare control: 3 overall: 3.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | 70-210/4 |
| price paid: | nil |
| positive: | Sharp at the wide end |
| negative: | Big time purple fringing |
| comment: | Before I got the kit lens and the 70-210 beercan, I used this lens a lot (over the 50/1.7 and 35-105/3.5-4.5). It's unusually sharp on the wide end and gets softer at the long end. Used it a lot to take snapshots of my kids indoor using onboard flash. Best used from f/6.7 to f/8 when taking bird photos as f/5.6 suffers from a bit of backfocus but I still managed to get descent focus in manual mode. Compared with the beercan, this lens is a bit warmer - yellow is more emphasized and other colors seems washed out. On PF - one must be conscious to avoid heavy contrast situations. I really didn't have the chance to check how it handles flare. Make sure your visit a thread I started at the forum section: http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6614&PN=1 |
| nbearoz#1149 date: Aug-31-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 3 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 70-210 F4 |
| price paid: | 268 AUD (new) |
| positive: | Sharpness (better than expected) Good colour Lightness Price |
| negative: | No distance scale Lens shade fiddly to attach/remove Zoom ring somewhat stiff Focus could be more precise close up Feels plasticky compared to the Beercan |
| comment: | I bought this lens shortly after getting my Alpha 100. I already had a Beercan (had it for 16 years, I think) and wanted something longer. I have been very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the images it produces, considering the price. Although the focus does hunt about somewhat as others have said, I have had some success shooting aircraft at an air show and with the image stabilization, I have got sharp moon pictures, hand-held. Focus at close distances can be inaccurate, so it isn't my first choice for macro shooting. The Beercan does it better! |
| Revolver#1101 date: Aug-21-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | 120€ |
| positive: | Good colour Good bokeh Feels sturdy |
| negative: | Not that sharp wide open Focus hunt in low light |
| comment: | My first tele zoom so nothing to compare to, sorry. Wide open the lens is not that sharp but if you raise it to f8 the results are nice. Colour and bokeh are pleasing. In low light some focus hunting occurs, I usually help out with MF and then switch back to AF for the final focus. For the price I think you get a good starter tele-zoom. |
| Reddevil#1067 date: Aug-6-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | € 145 |
| positive: | cheap, good pictures |
| negative: | slow AF, sun cap is not well attached |
| comment: | I think this lens is a good value for money, the photos are good in sharpness. The AF is a bit slow and the sun cap is not well attached. |
| Roger Rex#968 date: Jul-3-2006 | |
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sharpness: 3.5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 3.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Relatively fast focus, good build, very reliable |
| negative: | perhaps not fast enough at long end for some uses |
| comment: | I used this lens on a Minolta film camera (Dynax 800si) for 3 years exclusively to shoot sports. I was shooting in a demanding situation (i.e., hockey, high speed action, poor indoor lighting) with flash (Sunpak 555) almost always at 300mm. The results in terms of color and action being frozen were very good as was image quality. The focusing speed with flash was extremely good. I have briefly tested this lens on my 7D in not as demanding situations and it has performed adequately. If you want a fast focusing, modestly priced lens for sport shooting I can strongly recommend this lens. Edited comments concerning focus speed: relative to lenses of its age (I purchased the lens approximately 8 years ago) it is a fast focusing lens, however, compared to newer lenses (e.g., KM 28-75) it is slower. |
| garykohs#890 date: Jun-7-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 3 distortion: 3 flare control: 5 overall: 3.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Great low cost sports lens |
| negative: | AF hunts at extremely low light. Zoom control dial is sticky and feels cheap. |
| comment: | I've taken over 8,000 pics on my 5D since 12/05. The vast majority with this lens shooting our high school baseball team. Combined with ISO 3200 (are you listening, Sony?) the results have been wonderful. See them at www.kleinoakbaseball.com/media.shtml. I've only had AF hunting problems in situations where I'm trying to take ISO 3200 pics in such low light that I'm being flashed at by my viewfinder. For the money, though, you can't beat this lens! |
| Bob J#830 date: May-22-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 3.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 50mm 1.7, Tokina 70-210 f4-5.6, 18-70, Minolta 70-210 f4.0 |
| price paid: | Ł85 (new) |
| positive: | Cheap, sharp, Wide range, metal bayonet, D lens |
| negative: | Slow |
| comment: | Another of those lenses (like the 18-70 kit lens) that doesn't get the credit it deserves. More robust than the kit lens, it focuses down to 1.7m. Like the kit lens it loses max app early in the zoom range -only stays at f4.5 until 89mm, manages f5.0 until 119mm and f5.6 from 120mm all the way to 300mm. Having recently acquired a 70-210 f4.0 “beercan” I found myself inevitably comparing the two, which seems a little unfair as the beercan is faster, sharper and built like a tank - however the following also needs to be borne in mind: At its slowest, this lens is only one stop behind the beercan and, although the beercan is sharper, this lens still performs very creditably. Add that the 75-300 is lighter, longer and easier to obtain/replace and you come to the conclusion that this is a very good value lens. In summary this is a good, cheap and versatile lens – well worth the money and very usable. It is sharp at short an medium focal lengths (with a nice “sweet spot” at 75mm/f5.6) – even at 300mm if performs well, with just a little fall-off at the edges – even then the edges at 300mm are quite good. My full observed results are as follows: 75mm f4.5 centre=4(sharp)/edge=4(sharp), f5.6 4.5(v.sharp)/4.5(v.sharp), f8.0 4/4, f11 4/4 150mm f5.6 4/4, f8.0 4/4, f11 4/4 300mm f5.6 4/3.5, f8.0 4/3.5, f11 4/3.5 |
| Labas#804 date: May-18-2006 | |
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sharpness: 3.5 color: 4 build: 3 distortion: 3 flare control: 4 overall: 3.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Cheap |
| negative: | Feels cheap |
| comment: | If you're on a tight budget this is a great lens |
| KMKonvert#754 date: May-6-2006 | |
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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 have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | 18-70 kit, 70-210/4 "Beercan" |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Lightweight, surprisingly good optics for the money, very good color and contrast. |
| negative: | Very few for the price |
| comment: | This lens reminds me of the 18-70 kit lens. It is similar in build quality and feel. Though a bit plasticky, it is surprisingly substantial in the hands and balances well on a 5D. The AF is loud but reasonably quick and fast. It hunts a bit at 300mm. Like the kit lens, its best quality is the surprisingly good results. This is a pleasing lens when the price is taken into consideration. Great bang for the buck. It is capable of "wow" pics (which is that much more fun when you know how little you paid for it.) |
| amflmnt#673 date: Apr-7-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.3 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | KM 18-70mm DT Kit lens |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Faithful color transmition. Good in bright light. |
| negative: | Slower lens. Stiff zoom collar-enough to rock the lens in the mount when adjusting. |
| comment: | Annoyances with the lens are physical rather than optical. Since it's not a DT lens, I think it performs better but this needs further testing and use experience. (I suspect DT tolerances may be more a-tuned to the lab rather than real-world dynamics.) Color abberations are also a function of the sensor, so I'm not convinced results are just a lens' transmition qualities. Sharpness is the better test. |
| cricalix#670 date: Apr-6-2006 | |
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sharpness: 3.5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 3.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | Kit 18-70 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Gift :) Decent range. |
| negative: | Chromatic aberration, slow AF at far end in low light, seems soft at wide-open f-stop. |
| comment: | Far end AF hunts a lot in low light, and in good light. Hinting to the AF by twisting the ring can help, as can stepping back (for macro). Several pixels worth of purple fringing on bright white lines (edges of doors etc), and some green chromatic aberration on metallic surfaces in the sun. Colour appears to be good. |
| wingedpower#538 date: Feb-25-2006 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 3 distortion: 3 flare control: 3 overall: 3.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | n/a |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Long zoom(300mm w/1.5x on a 7D). ADI(d-type lens). Macro capable. Circular blades lends to some decent bokeh(out of focus softening) |
| negative: | Zoom ring is tight/stiff on zoom out and zoom in. Lens tube extends a good deal forward while zooming. |
| comment: | Bought this used from B&H Photo for like $90, so it was a budget long telezoom to add to my small collection of glass. I chose it because it gave a long zoom, was ADI compatible, and was circular bladed. Initial use with it proves the zoom to be stiff in handling and less than ideal when it comes to zooming with camera up to the eye. Perhaps this will improve with time, but right now, it is quiet annoying. The focus ring is good. I can get decent manual focusing, though autofocus in available light(afternoon lit room, with curtains)_ is a bit slow. The AF hunts forward and backwards, leaving me with the feeling that in anything but strong outdoor sunlight, I will want to stick with manual focusing. The focusing on the lens is also quite loud. This lens has me wishing that I had the funds and the access to the 70mm-200mm f2.8 HSM. :| Compatibility with AS is great. At max zoom(300mm on 7D), I was able to take a sharp hand held photo of a box of clips on a shelf across the room in fairly dim light. Still, for $90, I'm getting what I paid for. We'll see how well it works. Update: I eventually sold this lens. The weak ability to bring in light and slow AF resulted in very dim images in the optical view finder. |
| hanugro#508 date: Feb-16-2006 | |
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sharpness: 3.5 color: 4 build: 3 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 3.7 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | 50 AF f/1.7 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | convenience long zoom cheap |
| negative: | 200-300 hunting a lot hard zoom ring |
| comment: | Bought this one because I can't get 100-300 APO D. It cost me $116 from Adorama as demo unit. With enough light the performance justified the price. The 200-300 range AF is not great though and it sometime (esp indoor) unable to lock on subject. Zoom ring is hard to zoom in but easy to zoom out, and become better as you use it more. I am waiting for Sony dSLR announcement before buying better lenses. |
| tarabelle#477 date: Feb-10-2006 | |
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sharpness: 3.5 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 3 flare control: 3 overall: 3.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | 70-210 4.5-5.6 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | -Inexpensive -Good color -relatively quick AF |
| negative: | -Feels cheap |
| comment: | Lens feels cheap but is much sturdier than you may think. Lens survived a 4 foot drop onto concrete with only a slight dent to the attached filter, no other ill effects. AF is pretty fast with this in good light. Don't bother with AF in low light conditions. |
| samir#132 date: Oct-5-2005 | |
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sharpness: 3 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 3 flare control: 4 overall: 3.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | - it is cheap |
| negative: | - well, it is cheap ;) |
| comment: | This lens is not bad at all on digital camera if some care is taken. The biggest problem is color fringing around bright highlights, it was there on my film scans, but with digital it seems to be even more pronounced. Other than that it is quite OK (of course having it's price in mind), with nice color and relatively fast AF. I was able to track RC cars speeding around with this lens on 7D. added later: A few days ago I have sold my first picture (enlarged to 4353x2894), and it was taken with this lens at 75mm, f14 and 2sec timer with 7D, it really gave me something to think about, as this is the "worst" lens in my small collection |
rating summary
- total reviews: 47
- sharpness: 3.89
- color: 4.17
- build: 3.66
- distortion: 3.98
- flare control: 3.74
- overall: 3.89
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