MINOLTA 200mm f3.5 LENSES

MINOLTA 200mm f3.5 LENSES

"Bench", 2016
Minolta X-700
Minolta 200mm f3.5 MC Tele-Rokkor at f3.5
Kodak TYM 400
Copyright @ 2016 by Peter Elgar

Minolta made 200mm lenses in a variety of f-stops:

It's like they couldn't make up their mind. The f5.0 and f4.5 versions were always designed for the cost-conscious while the f3.5 and f2.8 are often more than most want to spend.

The competition

There are dozens of 200mm f3.5 lenses you can choose from. Most produce mediocre results, but several have "special" features designed to attract your attention, like closer focusing, smaller maximum apertures, compact size, light weight, etc. Most of these features just detract from their optical or mechanical performance. For example, a lighter weight lens means they used fewer elements or included more plastic parts -- or both!

MINOLTA 200mm f3.5 LENSES

LENS FEATURES

IMAGE

COMMENTS

FOCAL LENGTH: 200mm
f-STOPS: 3.5-22
PERIOD: 1958-1966
INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA AUTO TELE ROKKOR - QF 1:3.5 f=200mm
DESIGN: 6/4
FILTER: 67
DIAPHRAGM: semi-auto
MC: no
MD: no
CLOSE FOCUS: 8'
SIZE: 5.5"x2.7"
WEIGHT: 1lb.9oz.

This was Minolta first 200mm lens, and it appeared in 1959. While it was very fast, it had a semi-automatic diaphragm -- even though the lens says "Auto" on the front. It is one of very few Minolta lenses to have this "feature". Here's how it works. After you advance the film (which also cocks the shutter), the lens aperture remains in the "uncocked" position. In other words, the lens is still stopped-down at the set f-stop. The lens has a large tab on the outside that is pushed, after the film is advanced, which locks the aperture at its maximum setting. It is released at the moment of exposure by a tab in the lens that is held in place by the stop-down lever in the camera. This only gives you an "automatic" lens, of sorts, since the lens will not return to the full aperture setting until you have advanced the film again AND cocked the lens as well. Certainly a slow method, but all that was available at the time. One problem with these semi-automatic lenses lies with the internal tab in the lens that links the shutter release to the aperture. When the film is advanced, this tab is moved beyond the diameter of the lensmount of the camera. Should the lens be removed after the film is advanced, this tab is easily broken. In this case, you end up with a very expensive manual diaphragm lens. (The tab retracts once the shutter release is pressed, so if you need to remove one of these lenses after advancing the film, just waste a shot BEFORE removing the lens.) These lenses are hard to find and often in a broken state (although they are still usable in manual mode). The lens has LV numbers, a locking f-stop tab, and a DOF button -- but unlike other DOF buttons, this one fully releases the aperture. The lens is not reset to the auto-aperture state by releasing the DOF button -- it is necessary to recock the lens. Oddly, the lens has half-stop aperture settings between f4 and f11, and the aperture ring is in the middle of the lens so the f-stops will not appear in camera viewfinders. You will find this lens with slight variations over time -- until the next model came along -- below.

FOCAL LENGTH: 200mm
f-STOPS: 3.5-22
PERIOD: 1958-1966
INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA AUTO TELE ROKKOR - QF 1:3.5 f=200mm
DESIGN: 6/4
FILTER: 67
DIAPHRAGM: auto
MC: no
MD: no
CLOSE FOCUS: 8'
SIZE: 5.5"x2.7"
WEIGHT: 1lb.9oz.

A updated version of the Rokkor 200mm 3.5, with an automatic diaphragm. Like all of Minolta's 200mm f3.5 lenses, it is large and heavy, but the auto-diaphragm is a big improvement. The aperture ring is in the middle of the lens so the f-stops will not appear in camera viewfinders. This lens has a DOF lever and DOF scale, but lacks any half-stop aperture clicks.

FOCAL LENGTH: 200mm
f-STOPS: 3.5-22
PERIOD: 1966-1972
INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC TELE ROKKOR - QF 1:3.5 f=200mm
DESIGN: 6/4
FILTER: 62
DIAPHRAGM: auto
MC: yes
MD: no
CLOSE FOCUS: 8'
SIZE: 2.8"x5.5"
WEIGHT: 1lb. 9.4oz.

This is a continuation of the 200mm f3.5 from the Auto Rokkor series. The main differences are that the f-stop ring is now moved to the lens mount so the Meter Coupling function can work, and the filter thread is reduced to 62mm.

FOCAL LENGTH: 200mm
f-STOPS: 3.5-22
PERIOD: 1972-1977
INSCRIPTION:
EARLY STYLE: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC TELE ROKKOR-X QF 1:3.5 f=200mm
LATE STYLE: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC TELE ROKKOR-X 1:3.5 f=200mm
DESIGN: 6/4
FILTER: 62
DIAPHRAGM: auto
MC: yes
MD: no
CLOSE FOCUS: 8'
SIZE: 3.0"x5.4"
WEIGHT: 1lbs. 11.4oz.

An updated version of the MC Rokkor 200mm 3.5 with the improved cosmetics and lenses coating of the MC Rokkor-X series. This was the last of a line of great f3.5 200mm lenses from Minolta. At this point, Minolta decided to added a new, faster f2.8 200mm -- great, if you can afford it!

**MINOLTA 200mm f3.5 LENSES**
LENS FEATURES	IMAGE	COMMENTS
FOCAL LENGTH: 200mm f-STOPS: 3.5-22 PERIOD: 1958-1966 INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA AUTO TELE ROKKOR - QF 1:3.5 f=200mm DESIGN: 6/4 FILTER: 67 DIAPHRAGM: semi-auto MC: no MD: no CLOSE FOCUS: 8' SIZE: 5.5"x2.7" WEIGHT: 1lb.9oz.		This was Minolta first 200mm lens, and it appeared in 1959. While it was very fast, it had a semi-automatic diaphragm -- even though the lens says "Auto" on the front. It is one of very few Minolta lenses to have this "feature". Here's how it works. After you advance the film (which also cocks the shutter), the lens aperture remains in the "uncocked" position. In other words, the lens is still stopped-down at the set f-stop. The lens has a large tab on the outside that is pushed, after the film is advanced, which locks the aperture at its maximum setting. It is released at the moment of exposure by a tab in the lens that is held in place by the stop-down lever in the camera. This only gives you an "automatic" lens, of sorts, since the lens will not return to the full aperture setting until you have advanced the film again AND cocked the lens as well. Certainly a slow method, but all that was available at the time. One problem with these semi-automatic lenses lies with the internal tab in the lens that links the shutter release to the aperture. When the film is advanced, this tab is moved beyond the diameter of the lensmount of the camera. Should the lens be removed after the film is advanced, this tab is easily broken. In this case, you end up with a very expensive manual diaphragm lens. (The tab retracts once the shutter release is pressed, so if you need to remove one of these lenses after advancing the film, just waste a shot BEFORE removing the lens.) These lenses are hard to find and often in a broken state (although they are still usable in manual mode). The lens has LV numbers, a locking f-stop tab, and a DOF button -- but unlike other DOF buttons, this one fully releases the aperture. The lens is not reset to the auto-aperture state by releasing the DOF button -- it is necessary to recock the lens. Oddly, the lens has half-stop aperture settings between f4 and f11, and the aperture ring is in the middle of the lens so the f-stops will not appear in camera viewfinders. You will find this lens with slight variations over time -- until the next model came along -- below.
FOCAL LENGTH: 200mm f-STOPS: 3.5-22 PERIOD: 1958-1966 INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA AUTO TELE ROKKOR - QF 1:3.5 f=200mm DESIGN: 6/4 FILTER: 67 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: no MD: no CLOSE FOCUS: 8' SIZE: 5.5"x2.7" WEIGHT: 1lb.9oz.		A updated version of the Rokkor 200mm 3.5, with an automatic diaphragm. Like all of Minolta's 200mm f3.5 lenses, it is large and heavy, but the auto-diaphragm is a big improvement. The aperture ring is in the middle of the lens so the f-stops will not appear in camera viewfinders. This lens has a DOF lever and DOF scale, but lacks any half-stop aperture clicks.
FOCAL LENGTH: 200mm f-STOPS: 3.5-22 PERIOD: 1966-1972 INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC TELE ROKKOR - QF 1:3.5 f=200mm DESIGN: 6/4 FILTER: 62 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: yes MD: no CLOSE FOCUS: 8' SIZE: 2.8"x5.5" WEIGHT: 1lb. 9.4oz.		This is a continuation of the 200mm f3.5 from the Auto Rokkor series. The main differences are that the f-stop ring is now moved to the lens mount so the Meter Coupling function can work, and the filter thread is reduced to 62mm.
FOCAL LENGTH: 200mm f-STOPS: 3.5-22 PERIOD: 1972-1977 INSCRIPTION: EARLY STYLE: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC TELE ROKKOR-X QF 1:3.5 f=200mm LATE STYLE: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC TELE ROKKOR-X 1:3.5 f=200mm DESIGN: 6/4 FILTER: 62 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: yes MD: no CLOSE FOCUS: 8' SIZE: 3.0"x5.4" WEIGHT: 1lbs. 11.4oz.		An updated version of the MC Rokkor 200mm 3.5 with the improved cosmetics and lenses coating of the MC Rokkor-X series. This was the last of a line of great f3.5 200mm lenses from Minolta. At this point, Minolta decided to added a new, faster f2.8 200mm -- great, if you can afford it!

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The material on this website is protected by US Federal copyright laws. It cannot be copied or used in any manner without specific approval from the owner.