Underwhelming: Cosina AF Zoom 28-70 f3.5-4.5 MC

  Cost: $29.9 (market price around $25)

   

As this lens was manufactured by Cosinon under license by Minolta, it should be very comparable in quality to a Minolta Maxum lens of the same era. Indeed, the lens feels very solid and has a nice quality feel to it. It kind of pushes me to collect more Cosino lenses.

But in use, I did feel a little underwhelmed. Even though the auto focus worked with the "Monster Adapter", the focus was rarely accurate, and even when in focus I thought it could be a lot sharper. 

Colors are accurate, but not very rich. 

There wasn't much to find online about this lens, but the few reviews I found thought it to be pretty good for an early auto zoom lens, on par with some of the better kit lenses. this was not the case for me, but it could have been the adapter instead of the lens. 

I will probably keep it as it is a little rare, but don't expect it will be used much.

Lens Specification:

Focal Length: 28-70mm
Maximum Aperture: F3.5-4.5
Minimum Aperture: 
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: Minolta AF
Optics: 7 elements, 7 groups (?)
Blades: 8
Focusing: Auto 
Minimum Focus: 0.8m
Filter Size: 52mm
Weight: 335g
Length: 79-mm
Production: 1990's?
Serial Number: 99073018
Made in: Japan, licensed by Minolta

More information on Cosina

Samples:

1/50 sec - f20 - 62mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/50 sec - f20 - 50mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/50 sec - f13 - 40mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/50 sec - f8 - 62mm - ISO100 - Handheld

1/80 sec - f4.5 - 62mm - ISO125 - Handheld