Minolta MC/MD zoom's - 70-210 F4 or.......?

[hoffy]

Morning (or should that be evening) all.

I have a couple of $$s burning a hole in my pocket and was thinking of getting a mid range zoom to go with my XE-1.

As I am a Minolta AF fan from way back, I was thinking of getting the Manual focus equivilent of the 70-210 F4 'Beercan' that I love so much.

Firstly, for this lens, what did this come under? Was it MD, MC, Rokkor, ect? I want to make sure I get the right thing.

Also, does anyone know what the going price for these are?

Finally, just in case I am missing something, is there any other alternatives that people would recommend? I would prefer to keep it Minolta, but if there is a stand out 3rd party lens, I'd be willing to listen.

Cheers

 

[Aristophanes]

I have the MD Zoom 70-210 1:4 (55mm filter) which is the beercan manual focus model. It's a push/pull zoom with stellar distance markings. Lovely glass, but a big optic, so at 210 handheld, you need some serious shutter speed for sharpness. It should come with a reversible clip-on lens hood engraved with the nomenclature.

You'll find the main list here:

http://minolta.eazypix.de/lenses/body_li.html

My understanding is the MD glass was slightly better, particularly due to superior coatings compared to the much older MC glass.

They are common and a terrific value. Under $100. I paid a pittance for mine in mint condition and just used it at the beach 2 weeks ago.

Here's one:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Minolta-MD-Z...94926923?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item27be35e24b

I find that these long zooms tend to be in better shape than shorter FL's, probably because they are so intimidating they stay in the bag!

I'd stick with the Minolta brand. Proven quality. Great prices.

Good luck.

 

[hoffy]

Cheers for that. If you think the beercan is intimidating, you should try a modern 70-200 F2.8! I have the sigma version that I use on my 7 AF camera (as well as d!g!tal) and that is massive in comparison. I actually use the beercan when I want to travel light!

My biggest hassle is I haven't seen too many of these advertised locally (locally=Australia), so I need to factor in postage (& the ebay link you posted above is quoting $70 for postage!!!!)

Cheers

 

[lightdreamer]

Yes the MD Zoom 70-210 f4 is the lens to go. It is optically identical to the Minolta AF 70-210 f4 beercan.

Make sure to get the hood with it.

Some Minolta enthusiasts prefer the MD Zoom 75-210 f4.5 and say it is a tad sharper. I own both and can tell you that my examples are nearly equal concerning sharpness, but I wood choose the f4 for better focusing.

BG lightdreamer

 

[ath]

Here's a list of the Minolta MF lenses