The Minolta 35-70mm macro looks to be a very good lens, reputably designed/made in collaboration with Leitz.
Mine came fitted to my old Minolta X300, bought new in about 1984.
I am currently adapting the lens to fit my Canon 40d.
As you probably know, to fit this lens to a Canon EOS mount, and focus to infinity, off-the-shelf adaptors incorporate an additional lens, but that ruins the IQ.
However, it looks possible to replace the original bayonet unit of the Minolta 35-70mm macro lens with a modified off-the-shelf EOS adaptor that does not have an additional lens.
Basically, the whole lens is moved 0.5mm nearer the Canon.
ok, last night i actually removed the aperture stop at 35mm so it opens up to f/2.8ish and today i finally took a little bit to actually shoot with the lens.
the lens is very good stopped down and definitely competitive with many minolta primes (at least on aps-c). i'm not sure giving it a wider aperture on the wide end was really worth it, it's pretty glowy at f/2.8 though resolution is still good centrally. haven't gotten a chance to try any flower shots or other close up stuff with it yet. i'm not really sure carrying this lens makes sense to me on aps-c. it's big and slow and it covers a range that i would usually cover with just a single smaller prime.
Hi,
Thanks for all the posts, they look really awesome! I recently picked up a copy of the Macro version of this lens, I have haven't really had a chance to use it properly yet..
I just had a really quick question and I hope its not too stoopid
When switching to Macro Mode, it essentially doesn't matter what focal length you have it set to? ie there isn't a Macro mode for 35mm and then a separate one for 50mm and 70mm right? Macro mode is just Macro mode?
Just picked one of these up from Millsart...Going to compare it to my C/Y 35-70. Images look fantastic for a mid range zoom that is priced really great. Lens arrives this week...I'll be posting some examples later!
Gregg
Ah summer, when love blooms between a man and his lens.
Inspired by Philip Reeves' images, I got an MD 35-70mm f3.5 macro about a month ago. Unfortunately after an initial try-out it's been neglected because I fell hard for it's sibling, the Minolta AF 35-70mm f4 macro.
Here are a few images from when I first got it. This thread will definitely inspire more use!
I picked up one of these (MD Macro f3.5 version) based on the wonderful images I was seeing from Dale, Smitty and Phillip and others over in the A7(r) image thread. Fantastic images from a budget lens, I paid $57 for mine in pristine condition (and they included an adapter for Sony E in the price).
I walked around a very large park with my wife yesterday and although wasn't using this lens for the majority of the time (come on gimme a break .. I've only just received my Zeiss Makro Planar 100/2 !) I forced myself to use it for the last 15-20 mins and was delighted at the macro ability, sharpness and rendering. I think I'm going to really like this lens (bar the focusing ring which is a bit thin and fiddly).
Frogfish wrote:
I picked up one of these (MD Macro f3.5 version) based on the wonderful images I was seeing from Dale, Smitty and Phillip and others over in the A7(r) image thread. Fantastic images from a budget lens, I paid $57 for mine in pristine condition (and they included an adapter for Sony E in the price).
I walked around a very large park with my wife yesterday and although wasn't using this lens for the majority of the time (come on gimme a break .. I've only just received my Zeiss Makro Planar 100/2 !) I forced myself to use it for the last 15-20 mins and was delighted at the macro ability, sharpness and rendering. I think I'm going to really like this lens (bar the focusing ring which is a bit thin and fiddly)....Show more →
Very cool I'll give you a break though, the Zeiss 100/2 is one of my lusts, so I'd certainly have a hard time using the 35-70/3.5 over the Zeiss for sure! I just love how the MP 100 renders - so awesome.
I get my Pentax - NEX adapter today, so I might do a little shoot-off between the Minolta 35-70/3.5 macro and my Kalimar (Korean) 28-70/f3.5 macro lenses - They're of very similar specs, so I'm curious to see how they perform and how the Kalimar renders. The Kalimar's "macro" goes to 1:5 though, not 1:4 like the Minolta.
I might actually like the handling of the Kalimar more, though - it's a push-pull zoom, no fiddly small zoom ring or macro switch required (zooming in to 70mm and then twisting the focus lets you enter 'macro' mode).
Very nice macros Jeremy! Nice images Frogfish!
Couple from our recent trip to Big Sur and used my new to me 35-70 macro! These might be cross posted in the A7 thread...
Gregg
