Just got a Minolta MD 58 1.2 lens for my XK film camera. It has a great reputation, but I couldn't wait to see so I slapped it onto my M240 and took a snap of the nearest photogenic object within 10 feet of me..
I call this 'Dog on Lap demonstrating righteous 58 1.2 bokeh'
sebboh wrote:
^ nice! what do you think of the XK?
It's fun and different to use! Built to a way heavier (better?) standard than any other Minoltas I've used. My Nikon F2 of the same era has better, more natural ergos, but it wasn't until the F3 appeared that a pro Nikon had AE.
I wrote the following text on apug.org comparing the basic AE metered head with the fancier AE-S head:
I use my Minolta XK with both the AE and AE-S heads. The AE one is the original CDS celled metered head that makes the camera look like Herman Munster. So ugly I love it, and so unique too.
The AE-S head was the 'improved' design using SPD cells. Physically it is less imposing, and thus IMO lost some of the original character. But the SPD cells allow it to react to light quicker thus making it "better". It is also about a stop more sensitive. The AE-S head is much harder and more expensive to find.
So why do I prefer the old style Herman head? Several reasons:
1/ You see the entire shutter speed scale at the same time. Sounds simple enough, no? But the AE-S head shows about half of them at any time, you need to flip a switch between them.
2/ The AE head's shutter speed scale is very legible and very easy to read in most lighting conditions. The AE-S head's LEDs are invisible in bright light, and blind out the read out in dim light.
3/ Switching to manual exposure mode, the AE head uses simple and very effective match needle metering. The AE-S head shows a mechanical actual shutter speed read out in a tiny window in the top right corner of the vf, which you then need to match with the lit LED in the main read out.
4/ The AE head has an Auto Exposure Overide Control switch which allows you to seamlessly dial in exposure compensation while looking through the VF. Once you let go of it, it reverts back to the standard exposure. The AE-S head replaces that with an exposure compensation dial. Problem is there is no indication of it in the VF, so if you forget to change it back...
And now the advantages of the AE-S head:
1/ Film speed setting is harder to accidentally change.
2/ 3 position meter on switch - off, always on w/ no LEDs in VF (saves battery life), always on. The AE head has ON or OFF. Both use the sensor switch on the front of the camera.
For me, the advantages of the old AE head by far outway those of the AE-S head.
Mine at 1.2 is too dreamy...actually not very usable as sebboh's (are those wide open?), unless that's what I'm looking for... but stopped down a little, it's wonderful...I just ordered a Fuji 56/1.2, and other then WO, I seriously doubt IQ will be much better then the Rokkor...different beast though...
vallejo wrote:
Mine at 1.2 is too dreamy...actually not very usable as sebboh's (are those wide open?), unless that's what I'm looking for... but stopped down a little, it's wonderful...I just ordered a Fuji 56/1.2, and other then WO, I seriously doubt IQ will be much better then the Rokkor...different beast though...
the first 2 are at f/1.2, the third is at f/2.
there's a lot of spherical aberration wide open making it pretty dreamy (especially in bright light), but it's still pretty sharp – i had no issue using it wide open on my nex-7 that had a much higher pixel density than my current a7...
