Old Minolta zooms on FF digital

[NealS]

Have any forum members used either the 28-135 or the 24-85 zoom lenses on the Sony A900? If so, how sharp were the results? I am thinking getting an A850 and own of own both of these zooms. It would be good to know if these old zooms will give truly first-class results with the A850's sensor.

Thanks in advance.

[Wes Gibbon]

Hello!

I have used the 28-135 on my A900, though I only used it in the range 28-70, where I found it to be quite sharp. I did find a bit of CA (colour fringing - see my post earlier today!). I haven't tried the 28-85, but the later 24-85 I found OK but inferior.

The 28-135 does not seem to be as sharp as my more recently acquired used Minolta 35mm f2.0 or 28mm f2.0, or the 50mm RS f1.4 which I had for some time. However, I believe the f2.0 lenses (now discountued, alas!) are fairly exceptional and the going price for each is greater than for the 28-135.

I haven't tried the Sony CZ 24-70 which is the obvious choice if you can afford it and if you don't already have suitable glass, but I think you will be pleased with the results you get from the 28-135 on FF, assuming it is a good example, and that the image quality of the A850 is not significatly inferior to the A900.

If expense is a consideration, it might also be worth canvassing the opinions of those with in-depth knowledge of the Alpha system as to whether it would be better to buy an A850 to use with your existing lenses, or an A700 (assuming you don't already have one!) + decent wide-angle zoom (e.g. CZ16-80?).

[Yagil Henkin]

Used the 28-135 and the 500/8 on the A900. Picture very sharp with the 28-135 and reasonably sharp with the 500/8.

[InTheSky]

I have sold the 500 8 when I tried it a few moment on my A900 the first time. The lens was good on the A700. But on the A900 ... I don't know really why, it not delivering good picture.

Regards,

Frank

[NealS]

Thanks for the reply Wes. No doubt prime lenses are best, but it is unlikely that my budget will stretch to an A850 and an expensive Minolta prime or CZ lens.

Once the A850 is available, I may just take my zooms and a memory card to the local dealer and run off a few frames to see how these old lenses fare on the 24MP sensor.

Hello!

I have used the 28-135 on my A900, though I only used it in the range 28-70, where I found it to be quite sharp. I did find a bit of CA (colour fringing - see my post earlier today!). I haven't tried the 28-85, but the later 24-85 I found OK but inferior.

The 28-135 does not seem to be as sharp as my more recently acquired used Minolta 35mm f2.0 or 28mm f2.0, or the 50mm RS f1.4 which I had for some time. However, I believe the f2.0 lenses (now discountued, alas!) are fairly exceptional and the going price for each is greater than for the 28-135.

I haven't tried the Sony CZ 24-70 which is the obvious choice if you can afford it and if you don't already have suitable glass, but I think you will be pleased with the results you get from the 28-135 on FF, assuming it is a good example, and that the image quality of the A850 is not significatly inferior to the A900.

If expense is a consideration, it might also be worth canvassing the opinions of those with in-depth knowledge of the Alpha system as to whether it would be better to buy an A850 to use with your existing lenses, or an A700 (assuming you don't already have one!) + decent wide-angle zoom (e.g. CZ16-80?).

[NealS]

Thanks for the reply. So it seems the the 28-135 will do tolerably well.

Used the 28-135 and the 500/8 on the A900. Picture very sharp with the 28-135 and reasonably sharp with the 500/8.

[NealS]

Thanks for the reply. I do not have a 500mm reflex lens, but I do have the old Novoflex 400 and 600 mm follow focus lenses. Must check to see if a Maxxum mount is available.

I have sold the 500 8 when I tried it a few moment on my A900 the first time. The lens was good on the A700. But on the A900 ... I don't know really why, it not delivering good picture.

Regards,

Frank

[Wes Gibbon]

Thanks for the reply Wes. No doubt prime lenses are best, but it is unlikely that my budget will stretch to an A850 and an expensive Minolta prime or CZ lens.

Once the A850 is available, I may just take my zooms and a memory card to the local dealer and run off a few frames to see how these old lenses fare on the 24MP sensor.

I think that is the most sensible approach!

Thanks for the reply. So it seems the the 28-135 will do tolerably well.

I think that the 28-135 will do better than tolerably well, just not quite as well as the very best Minolta primes, (generally, the f2.0 series). You may need to stop it down to f8, and you may find that at the longer end it is not quite so good - most people will have a tele-zoom starting at 70mm or 100mm so they probably use the 28-135 effectively as a 28-70.

If you need something longer than 135mm I recommend the 'big beercan' Minolta original AF 75-300mm f4.5-5.6, though they don't appear for sale frequently, and you need to be careful as it was replaced by a series of 75-300 f4.5-5.6 lenses (including the current Sony version) which do not have such a high reputation. Do some research on dyxum so that you can recognise the original! It seems to be susceptible to flare, so try to get one with the original hood, and it's also heavy (a few grammes short of a kilo), but the resolution is good and they usually go for about GBP230 (in the UK). I think KEH camera (http://www.KEH.com) have some for sale in the USA.