MINOLTA WIDE-TO-TELE ZOOM LENSES
"Drummer", 2016
Minolta X-700
Minolta 35-70mm MD Zoom at f3.5
Kodak TYM 400
Copyright @ 2016 by Peter Elgar
Let's make one thing perfectly clear. Fixed focal length lenses produce better results than zoom lenses -- all things being equal. And it makes sense. With a fixed focal length lens, the light has to pass through 8 or 10 glass-to-air surfaces, but with zoom lenses this can increase to 28 or 30 glass-to-air surfaces! And each glass-to-air surface degrades the image to some extent. But zoom lenses save a lot of weight and size. A 24-50mm zoom can replace a 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm lens -- even though it is likely to cost as much as all of them bought separately!
If you are a landscape photographer who needs to cut down on weight and size, such as a backpacker, one of these Minolta wide-angle zooms might be just the ticket. Unlike most of the competition, many of these Minolta lenses have constant apertures at all focal lengths. Which zoom to purchase depends on several factors, such as which focal lengths are most important to you, cost of the lens, what other lenses you already have, weight of the lens, and other factors. Just remember that the shorter the zoom range, the better the results -- and the less it will cost. The 35-70mm zoom gives better results than the 35-135mm, but that doesn't mean that the 35-135mm isn't perfect for some people.
Minolta also made other zoom lenses in the wide-angle zoom and normal-to-tele zoom range that you might want to consider. Sometimes two zooms can be better than one. And, as I mentioned, fixed focal length lenses produce the best results.
All of Minolta's wide-to-tele zoom lenses are MD optics meaning they will work on any Minolta SLR camera. They will have some trouble with the very earliest cameras, however.
The competition
There are a thousand and one third-party zoom lenses to choose from in this range. There is no way that we can list all of them here, but you basically get what you pay for. You can buy a 35-70mm zoom for $20, but you'll have to live with the crappy results. There are a few that deserve mention, such as the Vivitar 35-85mm f2.8 Series 1 but it is a parafocal, variable-focus zoom lens. Every time you change the focal length, you have to refocus the lens -- major drawback. Others, like the Vivitar 35-105mm f3.5 zoom is nothing to write home about, but it will save you a few bucks. Is it worth it? The Sigma 35-85mm f2.8/4.0 has a dramatically variable aperture with a focusing ring that runs the opposite of Minolta's lenses. But it's nice and small! Sigma made several lenses in the 28-70mm and 35-70mm f3.5/4.5 choices, but some of these are just modified auto-focus lenses that are difficult to focus in the manual conversions. Tokina has a 35-70mm f3.5/4.8 and a 28-70mm f3.5/4.5. They are both compact, and the former is a one-touch, but the enormous change in aperture, as you zoom, is a tremendous drawback. Tamron makes a 35-80mm f2.8/3.5 zoom with a macro option, but the results are less than stellar.
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LENS FEATURES |
IMAGE |
COMMENTS |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 28-70mm |
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A new lens to the Minolta line-up of SLR lenses in the MD Minolta series. It's a two-touch zoom with a variable aperture. Made by Cosina. It's a quality shooter, but you have to put up with a variable aperture lens and a two-touch optical system. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 28-85mm |
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A new lens to the Minolta line-up of SLR lenses in the MD Minolta series. It's a two-touch zoom with a variable aperture and was made by Tokina. It's a quality shooter, but you have to put up with a variable aperture lens and a two-touch optical system. Tokina also sold it under the Tokina label (for Minolta and other cameras) but for their Tokina-labeled version, it moved the shutter-priority (f22) locking tab to the other side of the lens. It also changed the rubber on the focusing and zooming grips, and increased the filter thread to 62mm -- the Minolta version stuck with a 55mm filter thread. The good news is that you can get it for less the the Minolta-branded version. Tokina made other 28-85mm lenses, so watch out! |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 35-70mm |
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A new lens to the Minolta line-up of SLR lenses in the MD Rokkor-X series. A two-touch, super-quality zoom that Leica liked so much they sold it as the Leitz Vario-Elmar R 35-70 f3.5. Its main limitation is its limited close-focusing ability. Since it is a two-touch zoom, it's not too convenient to use, but the quality makes up for its other deficiencies. An idiosyncratic feature of this lens is that it has separate filter and lens shade threads, similar to the Rokkor 40-80mm f2.8 zoom and the Rokkor 35mm f2.8 Shift CA lenses. This feature was dropped on subsequent models. It is also the only Minolta 35-70mm lens with the Rokkor name! |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 35-70mm |
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An updated version of the MD Rokkor-X 35-70mm zoom with the typical changes of the MD Minolta series -- like dropping the "Rokkor" name. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 35-70mm |
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An updated version with the same optical formula, but improved close-up capability to 2.6'. It adds a close-up button -- it's called "macro" on the lens" -- that allows focusing to 1:4 (1/4th life size) at the 70mm setting. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 35-70mm |
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Yet another updated version. The only change is the addition of the X-600 lug, so they are pretty difficult to tell apart. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 35-70mm |
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An updated opotical design with even better close-up capability. But it now has a variable aperture. The lens keeps the 55mm filter thread of its predecessors, yet manages to be smaller, much lighter and less expensive -- but the results are not quite equal to its predecessors. Still, you might want to consider it. Made by Cosina. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 35-105mm |
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A new lens to the Minolta line-up of SLR lenses in the MD Minolta series. It's a one-touch zoom with a variable aperture. "Macro" can be selected at any focal length -- by simply adding a little extension at the rear of the lens. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 35-105mm |
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Just one year later, Minolta produced an updated version of the MINOLTA MD ZOOM 35-105mm 1:3.5/4.5 that is slightly smaller, slightly lighter, and focuses slightly closer than the original. The optical formula is also different, but it's still a one-touch zoom with a variable aperture. The macro mode on this model can ONLY be selected at the maximum focal length -- unlike the original. It is nearly identical to the Minolta 35-135mm (which, like this lens, was also made by Tokina) and they both have a macro switch in the same location for focusing to 1/4 life-size. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 35-135mm |
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A new lens to the Minolta line-up of SLR lenses in the MD Minolta series. It's similar in size and appearance to the Minolta 50-135mm zoom because it's a one-touch zoom, but there are FOUR big differences. First, this has a variable aperture as you zoom. Secondly, it has a "macro" setting to 1/4 life-size. Third, the zooming is the opposite of the 50-135mm; the focal length increases as you zoom out, not in! Lastly, it was made by Tokina, not Minolta. |
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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.
