Review: Minolta MD 50mm f/2 And Sony NEX-6 (thru RainbowImaging Adapter)
Jay at Sonyalphalab posted a nice review about using the Minolta MD 50mm f/2 lens with a Sony NEX-6 (price & specs). Try out slidoo.com to easily find the lens at a bargain price. To use the Minolta with the NEX-6 a RainbowImaging adapter was used (click here to see it on Amazon).
The Minolta is a good old school lens. Jay writes:
Minolta MD Old School lenses are in another league of build quality compared to what we see today. They are heavier, beefier, simpler, and engineering excellence in my opinion. The fact that this lens is so old and it still works flawlessly is a sure sign of a well made product. It also means it was well maintained and not left in a garage somewhere for years.
The really cool thing is the focus peaking feature of the NEX-6. As Jay puts it:
As I said above in the into, the fully manual Minolta MD 50mm f/2 Lens is an absolute blast to use on the Sony Nex-6 thanks to the Focus Peaking feature!! It makes manual focusing cake, and I could not stop taking pictures of stuff in total newbie amazement
Be sure to check the pic he shot with the NEX-6 & Minolta 50mm combo (there are a lot of them to see).
Sony NEX-6 price check: Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay
Shot with the NEX-6 and the Minolta 50mm. Image credits: sonyalphalab
[via sonyalphalab]
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David Van
6 months ago |I use minolta lenses on my NEX-7 also! :O
I have the Minolta 58mm f/1.2 (Full Metal Body version) :p
Nagendra
6 months ago |I mostly use the classic Minolta and Pentax lenses on my NEX-3. To be frank, once I acquired these classic lenses from ebay I haven’t touched the SEL1855 (the kit lens).
Samples using Minolta MC Rokkor F1.4 (1982 model)
http://nklightart.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/95365-sleeping/
http://nklightart.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/96365-pop-out/
http://nklightart.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/94365-frets/
I also own Minolta MD W.Rokkor 35mm F2.8 and Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm F1.7. With the focus peaking and focus magnification features supported by NEX, these classic lenses are an absolute treat to use with.
lifeispixels
6 months ago |I have the Minolta MD 45mm f2 pancake that looks the same. It’s a very nice lens in a small package.
weedee
6 months ago |+1 nice lens :-p
pixypig
6 months ago |This guy has some good review videos for nex cameras with Minolta glass.
135mm f2.8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIeZHWiXn2E
50mm f1.7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Squ7781XQ
Don Cox
6 months ago |I get excellent results from a 50mm f/2 Nikkor, made in 1969.
The main advantage of the NEX series is the ability to use thousands of lenses from the past fifty years. This is why a full-frame model would be so useful – almost all SLR lenses cover full frame. (Pen-F being the main exception.)
The only problem is that the price of old lenses is going up.
ingo
6 months ago |I’m right now using MD Rokkor 50f1.4, MD Rokkor 35f2.8, MD 28 f2.8 and since I’ve got my hands on a Sel-24f18z really cheap (560 € ^^) only at the beginning MD Rokkor 24f2.8.
The 24 is by far the most expensive one of my old ones but right now the Zeiss is just… WOW! This is so SHARP!!!
Dennis
6 months ago |I have a Minolta Maxxum zoom xi 100-300mm. Can I use this adapter for the NEX-6? How is the aperture adjusted?
Frank
6 months ago |That is a A-mount lens that would work on any Sony dSLR/SLT. There is already a Sony adapter to mount that on a NEX. Not worth the cost though if that is the only lens you want on it.
Dennis
6 months ago |Yes, I do feel that the Sony adapter is too expensive just for one lens, but a $20 Fotodiox or Rainbow would be a
reasonable experiment, if it works.
John Maverick
6 months ago |I am using about 6 different manual lens brands. Haven’t tried Minolta yet, but I’ve had my eye on a MC 58/1.2 for a while.
Wayne summers
6 months ago |Its a shame really,but all lenses from that long ago have better build quality and in most cases better optics than todays kit lens. I use the konica hexanon 40mm 1.8, minolta af 50mm 1.7 ,olympus om 50mm macro and I few others I can’t remember at the moment. I had the 45mm and 50mm md but solt them when I got the hexanon.
Hans
6 months ago |Everything was better in the past! Marilyn Monroe also had better build quality than Lady Gaga…
Homer
6 months ago |dont compare those two, come on, monroe was a woman, I still dont even know what the hell gaga is.
Don Cox
6 months ago |Kit lenses are normally zooms. Old zoom lenses are seldom good, but primes naturally outperform zoom lenses.
The one way even cheap kit lenses are better than old lenses is that the coatings used now give little or no flare.
Rob
6 months ago |Which is not necessarily a good thing, especially if you like to play with creative use of flare, which is sometimes very dynamic and interesting with these older lenses, as I did with this shot using the Minolta 50/1.7 lens:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29537131@N07/8100571974/in/set-72157631800311162/
Shindig
6 months ago |Regarding construction dont forget those days there was no AF technology to worry about.Manual lenses where simply easier to build and metal prices then was not as expensive as it is today either. Also, lenses people deem soft may not neccesarrily be bad, as IQ is subjective. Not everyone want tack sharp lenses with no character or certain colors or contrast. Minolta lenses were popular for its colors and contrast. Not everyone needs or wants lenses so sharp the bokeh isnt smooth but platlettes of sharp 2d zones. Its never just about sharp sharp sharp….maybe for sharp collectors.
Olam
6 months ago |I have the original manual focus beercan, 70-210 f4 with a fotodiox adapter on a nex-6.
I love that setup!…great glass and yes the yellow focus peaking is awsome and easy to work.
Wheelus
6 months ago |I don’t know the exact difference between MC and MD lenses, but this adapter will work on both. There may not be enough E-mount lenses out there for some people but the RainbowImaging website lists 45 different adapters out there for everything from 110 lenses to Canon and Nikon tilt lenses. It would be interesting for someone out there to calculate how many lenses could be used on NEX cameras.
Minolta
6 months ago |Mc came before th emd lenses. Often if not always the mc lenses had more metal construction and the md lenses had a rubber focus bands, the mc lenses had metal focus collars, some scalloped shaped like the 58mm 1.2. the mc lenses had coatings but the md lenses had more modern coatings, though the optical formulas are said to be the same. Lter md construction was more of a plastic afair where as earlier md lenses where solid with metal and plastic. It all depends on the time period those lenses were made. The minolta celtic lenses back in the nc days where a lesser cost built lens, although the lens formula was also said to be the same.
widdershins
6 months ago |A good place to read up on Minolta manual focus lenses and cameras is Rokkorfiles. Here is a link to their wonderful history of Minolta lenses. Explains all about the MC and MD stuff. http://rokkorfiles.com/Lens%20History.html
I have been using old Rokkors on my NEX 7 ever since I got it. Minolta lenses are simply amazing. Here is a link to my flickr folder with all my NEX 7 stuff, most of it shot on old Minolta lenses. Along with some M42′s, Contax/Yashica and even some Minolta AF lenses using the sony adapter.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8539414@N07/sets/72157629936411965/
The MD 35/2.8 is a brilliant lens. As is the MC Rokkor PF 55/1.7, with its all metal build and scalloped focus ring. More good Minolta info can be found here. LOTS of good stuff in this article.
https://sites.google.com/site/seevve/historical-perspective-on-minolta-lens-design-philosophy