MINOLTA 24mm LENSES

"Autumn in Minneapolis", near Harriet Lake, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2005
Minolta X-700 at 1/60 with MD-1
Minolta MD W.Rokkor 24mm f2.8 at f11
Fuji Superia Reala 100 color negative film
Cokin ND Graduated filter
Copyright @ 2005 by Jakub Andrzejewski

Many think that the Minolta 24mm is the sharpest lens that Minolta ever made. And  no wonder! It is a stellar performer with very little light fall-off, and sharp results -- even at the maximum aperture. In fact, Leica liked this lens so much that they used it for their Elmarit-R 24mm. There were two versions of the 24mm made. The first version was just a regular wide-angle lens. The second was the world's first VFC (variable field curvature) lens -- and no one has ever made another lens like it (except Minolta). It has a special ring on it that allows the user to bend the field of focus toward or away from the camera.

The only drawback to the Minolta 24mm is that the wide angle of view, combined with the narrow filter threads, means that you can only use two filters at a time. Most of the time, this is not a problem, and if it is, just get a step up ring and use larger filters.

The competition

There are several alternative 24mm, but caution is advised.  Some are simply junk, like the Cambron 24mm f3.8 and the Spiratone 24mm f2.8.  The ones that are quality shooters are hard to find and nearly as expensive as the Minoltas.  The Vivitar and Kiron 24mm f2.0 lenses are almost as good and a full stop faster.

MINOLTA 24mm LENSES

LENS FEATURES	IMAGE	COMMENTS
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm f-STOPS: 2.8-16 PERIOD: 1972-1977 INSCRIPTION: EARLY STYLE: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC W. ROKKOR-X SI 1:2.8 f=24mm LATE STYLE: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC W. ROKKOR-X 1:2.8 f=24mm DESIGN: 9/7 FILTER: 55 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: yes MD: no CLOSE FOCUS: 1' SIZE: 2.0"x2.5" WEIGHT: 9.7oz.		A new lens in the MC Rokkor-X line-up. It has a floating element design and is super sharp, even when used at the maximum aperture. Many consider this to be Minolta's sharpest lens, excluding the macros. And it's built like a tank. The only shortcomings are that the filter thread rotates as the lens is focused, and the 55mm filter thread only allows two filters to be used at once. This is one of Minolta's most appreciated lenses. In fact, Leica liked this lens so much that they used it for their Elmarit-R 24mm.
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm f-STOPS: 2.8-16 PERIOD: 1972-1977 INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MC VFC ROKKOR-X 1:2.8 f=24mm DESIGN: 9/7 FILTER: 55 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: yes MD: no CLOSE FOCUS: 1' SIZE: 2.6"x2.0" WEIGHT: 12oz.		A modified MC Rokkor-X 24mm with VFC (Variable Field Curvature). Same optical design as the base model, but by moving one of the elements, the edges of the field of focus move in or out. This is usually not an issue since the 24mm has such great DOF anyway. But some people find it useful. Others see it as a strange gimmick. The lens has a separate ring to change the curveature. It adds two ounces to the weight of the lens. Floating element design. The filter thread does NOT rotates as the lens is focused.
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm f-STOPS: 2.8-22 PERIOD: 1977-1981 INSCRIPTION: EARLY STYLE: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MD W. ROKKOR-X 1:2.8 f=24mm LATE STYLE: MINOLTA MD W. ROKKOR-X 24mm 1:2.8 LENS MADE IN JAPAN ø55mm DESIGN: 9/7 FILTER: 55 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: yes MD: yes CLOSE FOCUS: 1' SIZE: 2.5"x1.9" WEIGHT: 7.5oz.		An updated version of the MC Rokkor-X 24mm with the typical changes of the MD Rokkor-X series. It retains the optical and floating element design of the original, and still has a filter thread that rotates as the lens is focused. The addition of plastic parts dropped the weight by a couple of ounces. The arly style has four rows on the focusing ring, while the later style has six rows.
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm f-STOPS: 2.8-22 PERIOD: 1977-1981 INSCRIPTION: EARLY STYLE: MINOLTA LENS MADE IN JAPAN MD VFC ROKKOR-X 1:2.8 f=24mm LATE STYLE: MINOLTA MD VFC ROKKOR-X 24mm 1:2.8 LENS MADE IN JAPAN ø55mm DESIGN: 9/7 FILTER: 55 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: yes MD: yes CLOSE FOCUS: 1' SIZE: 2.6"x2.0" WEIGHT: 12oz.		An updated version of the MC Rokkor-X 24mm VFC with the typical changes of the MD Rokkor-X series. The filter thread does NOT rotates as the lens is focused. Floating element design.
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm f-STOPS: 2.8-22 PERIOD: 1981-present INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA MD 24mm 1:2.8 JAPAN ø49mm DESIGN: 8/8 FILTER: 49 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: yes MD: yes CLOSE FOCUS: 1' SIZE: 2.5"x1.5" WEIGHT: 7.1oz.		An updated version of the MD Rokkor-X 24mm with the typical changes of the MD Minolta series. But, there were other changes as well. Not only were the internal optics changed to an 8/8 design (less glass and slightly more distortion), the filter thread was dropped to 49mm (more chance of vignetting), and it lost the floating element design (less sharpness in close-up shots). Still, on the plus-side, the lens no longer has a rotating front filter thread, and it is slightly lighter (less glass and more plastic), making it the smallest, lightest 24mm lens that Minolta made.
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm f-STOPS: 2.8-22 PERIOD: 1981-present INSCRIPTION: MINOLTA MD VFC 24mm 1:2.8 JAPAN ø55mm DESIGN: 9/7 FILTER: 55 DIAPHRAGM: auto MC: yes MD: yes CLOSE FOCUS: 1' SIZE: 2.6"x2.0" WEIGHT: 12oz.		An updated version of the MD Rokkor-X 24mm VFC with most of the typical changes of the MD Minolta series. This lens did NOT make any change to the optical system. The filter thread does NOT rotates as the lens is focused

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