Minolta MC vs MD differences and camera compatibility

[Tomwlkr]

I'm sure I knew this 40 yrs ago but I'm 76 and my memory isnt what it used to be.. I have a working Minolta SRT 101, even the meter worked a couple yrs ago. I gave all my lenses to my Daughter for her X700 several years ago. I'm left with 2 lenses; a MC Rokker 55 mm f1.7 PF and a Minolta MD 50mm f1.7. Whats the difference? And will the MD lens work on the 101? I know the MC Rokker came on the camera

 

[BobD]

MD lenses work fine on the SRT cameras and all other Minolta manual focus SLRs.

 

[MattKing]

May I respectfully suggest that if you include at least a clue in your thread title as to what your question is, you will be more likely to get more attention to it.
For example: MD and MC lenses on a Minolta SRT 101 - which ones work?

 

[ant!]

As mentioned above: On the SRT, both MC and MD are fine. MD lenses are needed for shutter priority on the XD generation and P-mode (X700), but there are also reports that MC would work as well for those.

 

[ant!]

and they are "Rokkor", not "Rokker".

 

[Tomwlkr]

and they are "Rokkor", not "Rokker".

Typo, I'm a two finger hunt and peck typer

 

[Dustin McAmera]

The MC 55mm is shown as a diagram in this flickr image:


The MD 50mm is shown here:

Minolta MD 50mm 1:1.7 tests and review- Lens QA Works

Minolta MD 50mm 1:1.7 (MD III) lens review: full description; sharpness, resolution, aberrations tests; comparisons; technical details; historical notes

lens.ws

..and they look very similar to me. I think it's the same lens, recalculated to be a 50 because that's what most people wanted in a standard lens. Camerawiki says the MD lenses just add the facility for the camera body to set the aperture (so that would make sense wrt shutter-priority AE).

 

[xkaes]

a MC Rokker 55 mm f1.7 PF and a Minolta MD 50mm f1.7. Whats the difference?

Here's your answer:

http://www.subclub.org/minman/5017.htm

 

[Sirius Glass]

The MD is a new model lens than the MC; both are good.

 

[koraks]

May I respectfully suggest

Good suggestion; I've helped along and changed the thread title. I agree that it helps to have more descriptive thread titles, not in the least because more people with relevant knowledge will chime in!

 

[Helge]

That’s one of the many things Minolta did right. Impeccable lens compatibility for over forty years.

 

[Chan Tran]

The MD lenses were introduced with the XD-11 and in the XD-11 manual it said that you should only use the MC lenses in A or M mode and not S.

 

[xkaes]

The MD lenses were introduced with the XD-11 and in the XD-11 manual it said that you should only use the MC lenses in A or M mode and not S.

I'll add another common misunderstanding -- that MC lenses can't be used in P mode (which, of course, only applies to the X-700).

None of these "incompatibilities" are actually factual. Minolta stated to only use MD lenses, because they couldn't guarantee that it would work with MC lenses -- and they wanted to sell their MD lenses. MC lenses, and even earlier Rokkor lenses, can be used in different auto-exposure modes (M,A,P,S), but it depends on the lens, and the camera, and the mode used.

All you need to do is try any combination out and see if it works. You will probably be pleasantly surprised.

One way to help address the incompatibility is to "super glue" an MD tab onto your non-MD lenses in the appropriate spot on the aperture ring. All this does is indicate to the metering system what the minimum aperture is -- f16/22/32.

 

[DF]

For the most complete chart of ALL the 'ole MC, MC Rokkor, & MD lenses, go here: https://www.minolta.easypix.de/lenses/

I'm also a fond user - shooter of my ever-so-trustworthy SRT 101 I've had for two years now, as well as my X700 I got back in '84.

 

[Chan Tran]

I'll add another common misunderstanding -- that MC lenses can't be used in P mode (which, of course, only applies to the X-700).

None of these "incompatibilities" are actually factual. Minolta stated to only use MD lenses, because they couldn't guarantee that it would work with MC lenses -- and they wanted to sell their MD lenses. MC lenses, and even earlier Rokkor lenses, can be used in different auto-exposure modes (M,A,P,S), but it depends on the lens, and the camera, and the mode used.

All you need to do is try any combination out and see if it works. You will probably be pleasantly surprised.

One way to help address the incompatibility is to "super glue" an MD tab onto your non-MD lenses in the appropriate spot on the aperture ring. All this does is indicate to the metering system what the minimum aperture is -- f16/22/32.

I have an XD-11 and MD and MC lenses but I didn't notice anything perhaps because I never use S mode. I will have to try it out and see.

 

[xkaes]

For the most complete chart of ALL the 'ole MC, MC Rokkor, & MD lenses, go here: https://www.minolta.easypix.de/lenses/

I'm also a fond user - shooter of my ever-so-trustworthy SRT 101 I've had for two years now, as well as my X700 I got back in '84.

Dennis has done an admirable job with his table, of course, but you can find additional information about each specific lens at:

http://www.subclub.org/minman/length.htm

Have you tried out any on your MC lenses on your X-700 in S or P mode?

 

[xkaes]

I have an XD-11 and MD and MC lenses but I didn't notice anything perhaps because I never use S mode. I will have to try it out and see.

One thing to keep in mind with any non-MD lens is that in S or P mode, you have to set the lens to the minimum f-stop -- just like you do with an MD lens on an XD-11 or X-700.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I used MC lens and MD lens on many Minolta camera versions.

 

[Chan Tran]

I now know the differences. The MD lenses have a tab that indicate the minimum aperture of the lens so that the camera can display the aperture in the viewfinder. With MC lenses when in S mode it doesn't display the aperture the camera selected. I knew all of these back in 79 but I don't have the XD-11 until the early part of the 21st century.

 

[grain elevator]

Another thing about these two lenses specifically, I recall seeing on Philipp Reeve's website that the 55 has particularly nice bokeh, not that I care much, my most used 50 is the MD III 50 2.0 because it's light and very rectilinear, despite its allegedly terrible bokeh.
I would also expect the newer lens to have slightly better coatings.

 

[xkaes]

I now know the differences. The MD lenses have a tab that indicate the minimum aperture of the lens so that the camera can display the aperture in the viewfinder. With MC lenses when in S mode it doesn't display the aperture the camera selected. I knew all of these back in 79 but I don't have the XD-11 until the early part of the 21st century.

If you want the viewfinder display to appear with PRE-MD lenses, you can super-glue a small plastic or metal of the right size, in the right place on the aperture right to press the MD tab on the camera body the correct distance when the aperture is set to the minimum -- very little for f16, in the middle for f22, or all the way for f32

 

[xkaes]

Another thing about these two lenses specifically, I recall seeing on Philipp Reeve's website that the 55 has particularly nice bokeh, not that I care much, my most used 50 is the MD III 50 2.0 because it's light and very rectilinear, despite its allegedly terrible bokeh.
I would also expect the newer lens to have slightly better coatings.

My favorite is the 50mm f2.0 MC Rokkor-X, although the MD Rokkor-X version is really the same -- just adds the MD tab. The MD Rokkor-X is harder to find because it was short lived, and quickly replaced by the single-coated 45mm f2.0. Very nice lens as well, which I use a lot, but it sells at ludicrous prices for some reason -- despite being single-coated.

Compared to the Rokkor-X 50mm 2.0 models, the later Minolta MD 50mm f2.0 is smaller (with a 49mm filter thread) and lighter (thanks to plastic parts) but is not for me.

I think Minolta's multi-coating was perfected with the MC Rokkor-X series.

 

[ant!]

Beside the added tab on the MD, I read somewhere that the aperture on MD lenses was made lighter to open faster, which they seemed was needed for shutter priority. This might have only been a problem on very few MC lenses, which could explain why most others work fine. Or maybe it was just marketing to sell more MD lenses...

 

[xkaes]

I read somewhere that.....

That won't hold up in court.

 

[Chan Tran]

Beside the added tab on the MD, I read somewhere that the aperture on MD lenses was made lighter to open faster, which they seemed was needed for shutter priority. This might have only been a problem on very few MC lenses, which could explain why most others work fine. Or maybe it was just marketing to sell more MD lenses...

I think it's not lighter but the movement of the aperture stop down lever and the f/stop is more linear so the camera can stop the lens down correctly. I read that the camera would do a stop down metering and adjust the shutter speed if the aperture isn't the correct aperture.
I have the XD-11 for 20 years now but I never shot in shutter priority mode.