Playing With Lenses: 2020

Wednesday 30 December 2020

A lens with character: UV Topcor 1:3.5 f=35mm Tokyo Kogaku

Cost: $20 (market price $20 or more)

After testing a few of the Minolta Maxxum auto focus lenses, it was a pleasure to play around with a manual lens again. And with the UV Topcor lenses, not having an aperture ring on the lens itself, but on the body or in this case the adapter, making it even more manual, as the adapter did not include any markings for f-stop. Most of the pictures were taken with the f-stop somewhere in the middle, like f8 or f12.

The lens itself is good looking, with a clean black and brushed metal look. I expressed my admiration on of the earlier reviews of UV Topcor lenses of the nice uniform look across the range.

The lens itself provides good image quality, something I did not see in the UV Topcor tele lenses. Rich colors, ok sharpness and some color aberration, but noting Lightroom could not fix.

Bokeh is rather unique and nice, but what really set this lens apart is the flares when shooting in the light. Some will say this is very bad for a lens, but in this case, it was a very specific flare, giving this lens all the character it can handle.

It's not a great lens, but it's interesting enough to have a special place when such flares are desired.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 35mm

Maximum Aperture: F3.5
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: UV Topcor
Optics: unknown
Blades: 5 blades
Focusing: Manual
Minimum Focus: +/- 0.35m
Filter Size: 49mm
Weight: 152g
Length: 40-45mm
Production: 1960's
Serial Number: 9636373

More information on: Topcon

Samples:

1/800 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/200 sec - ISO100 - Handheld - Cropped

1/250 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/160 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/800 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/320 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/2000 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

1/800 sec - ISO100 - Handheld

Sources:

All Photo Lenses

Monday 16 November 2020

An updated beercan: Maxxum AF Zoom 70-210 1:3.5(22)-4.5

Cost: $25 (average cost: $30)

As the successor of the famed "beercan" Minolta Maxxum AF Zoom 70-210 F4, it came with high expectations. Not only is it a little faster with a variable aperture (half a stop in the wide range), it's a heck of a lot smaller and lighter then the original "beercan". But if that comes at the cost of image quality, is it really progress?

Without having tested the original beercan, I can't really say that is the case. I was actually pretty pleased with this lens. Light, easy to use, fast focus across the range, and decent image quality. It's sharp across the image, and across the full range. It has rich colors, and I did not notice any significant colors aberration beyond what you would expect from an older lens, aside from some purple when pointing in the direction of the light. It is strongly recommended though to use the included hood, in order to avoid flares.

Aside from the good performance, I also liked the look of the lens. Not as solid as other older Minolta Maxxum AF lenses, but it still oozed quality with it's looks, while looking nimble for the range, and the fact it's an auto focus lens. Compare that to the beast of modern zoom lenses.

The "hold" button is use to hold focus or DOF, but only works with compatible camera's and my Sony is not.

As a warning, I did hear that not all copies of this lens performed as good, but if you can find a good copy, as I did, you might be very lucky.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 70-210mm
Maximum Aperture: F3.5-4.5
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: Minolta AF
Optics: 12 elements, 12 groups
Blades: 9
Focusing: Auto (+ Manual)
Minimum Focus: 1.1m

Filter Size: 55mm
Weight: 423g
Length: 96-160mm
Production: 1988
Serial Number: 37301601
Made in: Japan

More information on Minolta

Samples:

1/250 sec. f/4.5 210mm ISO400

1/200 sec. f/4.5 70mm ISO400

1/100 sec. f/5 70mm ISO100

1/250 sec. f/5.6 160mm ISO100

1/400 sec. f/6.3 70mm ISO100

1/200 sec. f/6.3 135mm ISO100

1/250 sec. f/10 70mm ISO100

1/400 sec. f/8 210mm ISO100

1/250 sec. f/8 150mm ISO100

1/500 sec. f/6.3 210mm ISO100

Sources:

Kurt Munger

dyxum.com

Monday 2 November 2020

Does weight predict quality? Maxxum AF Zoom 28-135mm 1:4 (22) - 4.5

Cost: $25 (average cost: $50, to over $500 if in perfect condition)

I expected much more of this lens after the glowing reviews by Ken Rockwell or Kurt Munger, but I can't really say it followed the expectation. In all fairness, my copy had a dent at the front, so maybe it did have some internal damage. But autofocus was still working.

This lens was one of the first Minolta auto-focus zoom lenses with the AF mount. Being almost all metal, it feels very solid. But in practice, it also makes it very heavy to use. I had it on a small tripod for a moment, and it just kept falling over.

The lens is also know as the "secret handshake" lens, with the idea that it was the result of a secret partnership between Minolta and Leica and sold by Minolta at a lower cost to say thanks to their customers. There is however no proof of this, and pretty unlikely to be true. The rumor is persistent though and refuses to go away.

For looks, it aligns with most other Maxxum AF lenses. The range is very nice from wide to a reasonable zoom. Perfect for a nice nature walk, but who want to carry such a heavy lens with him. The lens has a Macro setting (losing the auto-focus capability), and although it did work, I was not able to take one Macro picture I was pleased with.

For the rest of the image quality, I found the lens to be very soft (to soft) when wide open, creating a soft glow. It's sharper when dropping a few stops, but I still found the pictures dull and not as sharp as other reviewers were raving about. also be very careful for the sun, as the flares are heavy in this one. It is weird that it was never sold with a hood, as a hood is strongly recommended to control flares.

Can it take good pictures? Yes, but in most cases I was wondering how much nicer the picture would have been with a better lens.

Again, it might be just my copy of this lens. As a Minolta collector, you need to have this lens. With the (mis)nomer of the "secret handshake" lens, it's a collectors item. And maybe one day, I will buy another one to see if I can find why it's liked that much.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 28-135mm
Maximum Aperture: F4-4.5
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: Minolta AF
Optics: 16 elements, 13 groups
Blades: 7
Focusing: Auto (+ Manual)
Minimum Focus: 2.44m in Macro
Filter Size: 72mm
Weight: 762g
Length: 110-144mm
Production: 1985
Serial Number: 1023419
Made in: Japan

More information on Minolta

Samples:

1/250 sec. f/4.5 100mm ISO100

1/160 sec. f/11 100mm ISO100

1/160 sec. f/4.5 135mm ISO100

1/200 sec. f/6.3 135mm ISO100

1/100 sec. f/8 45mm ISO100

1/60 sec. f/4.5 55mm ISO100

1/100 sec. f/4.5 90mm ISO100

1/250 sec. f/4.5 90mm ISO100

1/160 sec. f/4.5 85mm ISO100

1/160 sec. f/10 70mm ISO100

1/160 sec. f/4.5 135mm ISO100

1/250 sec. f/4.5 90mm ISO100

Sources:

Kurt Munger

Ken Rockwell

dyxum.com

Thursday 10 September 2020

Wider range but average in quality: Minolta Maxxum AF Zoom 35-105mm 1:3.5(22)-4.5

Cost: $25 (average cost: $30)

With a much more useful range then the 35-70mm, it's much more fun to shoot with the 35-105mm. I would prefer a little wider on the wide angle side but it's close to a good all purpose lens.

It feels solid, but it's actually very compact for a lens with this range. Combined with the Sony A7II, it's a real small and elegant solution. It's not that good for Macro or any close range pictures, especially at wide open apertures, but it does reach very good sharpness for longer distance and around an apperture stop of 10. Very sharp in fact.

Color rendition is nice and truthful with little color aberration. Sharpness, when it's there, is across the whole lens. This is my third Maxxum lens, and another hit. Quality is maybe a little less then the superb previously mentioned 35-70mm, but with the extended range it a real good lens to have in your arsenal.

And again a reminder that these older Maxxum lenses can be found for almost nothing, but when used the right adapter, remain a full auto-focus lens on a new body.

More examples on Flikr.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 35-105mm
Maximum Aperture: F3.5-4.5
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: Minolta AF
Optics: 12 elements, 10 groups
Blades: 7
Focusing: Auto (+ Manual)
Minimum Focus: 0.85m
Filter Size: 55mm
Weight: 293g
Length: 60-83mm
Production: 1988
Serial Number: 14116777
Made in: Japan

More information on Minolta

Service Manual Minolta Maxxum AF Zoom 35-105mm

Samples: