Winter Wonderland Walking with this lens, a drone and my phone. The experience shooting with this lens on the first photowalk of 2021 has earned it a special place in my SLR lens loving heart. *49mm filter thread, not 45, no clue why I said 45mm*
@@blake.crosby i had this conversation with Paul lol. The XL1 intro was never meant to be part of it, it was after recording bull shit, in the end i liked that version better than my regular intro so made the call. I mention 1.7 a few seconds after the intro, throughout the video and in the title so figured story/performance in this case would trump continuity. I also state 45mm filter thread instead of 49, but that's because i'm a totally FKN idiot and have no excuse for missing that shit. If paid professionals in feature films can get things wrong sometimes, me getting paid pennies on the hours can get them wrong sometimes too lol. Won't ever happen again, it's eating me up inside, thanks for throwing acid on it Crosby, what are old friends for right lol. (all good, just to be clear) :)
@@blake.crosby dude i expect you to find the flaws, it's ALL good. It means. you're paying attention, because I wasn't (at the 45mm filter thread part) lol. Like i said the 1.8 was a concession for performance and shortly after reconciled by the appropriate. What i should have done was cut in 1.7 from a previous take, but found the delivery was too different....a la simpsons Homer SWEET SWEET CAN
Not trying hard to be funny, I’m not a RU-vidr. I just so happen to make videos on vintage lenses and have fun doing it. Good luck with your search, hope you find what you’re looking for
Minolta lenses are my favorite vintage lenses. You really can't beat their value, as other mounts have exploded in price while MD lenses have largely stayed the same. Rokkor 4 Life!
Building a set is tough. 85mm, 24mm are now very expensive. If you find a decent quality 24mm - 35mm constant zoom or the 35mm - 70mm constant zoom, buy it. They are compact, sharp and par-focal.
this is the third and last version of the minolta 50mm 1.7 md, that was released in the early to mid 80's. Minolta was making their A-mount lenses during the 90's
Yes, definitely why I want to try the older ones. Apparently based on serial this one physically was produced in 90/91 before the full transition occurred. Hard to really pin point it, it’s still a millennial lens 😂
@@MarkHoltze Minolta was the first company to successfully market an auto focusing slr (screw type adopted by many) in 1985 with the Maxxum 7000 and a series of AF lenses and AF mount that was eventually used by Sony in dslr's when they purchased Minolta. MD lenses date back to the seventies and pretty well died out with the introduction of of the Maxxum Af lenses (called Dynax in Europe). The MD version of the 50mm f1.7 was introduced in 1985 as an AF lens for the new Maxxum 7000.
The 50mm f1.7 and 135mm f2.8 are my two of favorite lenses. There is something about them that always draw me back to them. Also really cheap depending on the version. You can get them for 70€-90€ combined in great conditions.
Nice video, I have a Minolta 58mm 1.4 from 1960s paired with my Sony a6300, colour tones are the most unique I’ve seen out of a lens, my go to for portraits, and fun for landscapes. Happy your trying Minoltas!
Finally some Minolta love! Minolta was my gateway drug into vintage lenses, their rendering was always very unique and pleasant. I'm not surprised the Zeiss outperformed the Minolta in sharpness and aberration correction, the Zeiss has one more corrective glass element at the rear compared to the Minolta.
Hi Mark, thanks for sharing these thoughts and experience. And to tell that play in the editing, the shots, and all that makes even more pleasant ! Thanks !
Hi Mark, since I dicovered your videos, I always watch your new comming ones with close attention. I purchased an A7 just for the purpose of being able shoot the way I used to do with a film camera. And the first lense a friend had borowed me to try out on my MarkIII, (the canon, I mean), to sit on the A7 has been the 55 1.8 M42 by our beloved Japanese manufacturing company, which immediately revealed it's magic - at least to my eye ( I have two but use only one) - and there it was !!! Hooked up , and so pleasingly !!! So, therefor, all your experiments, points of view (...), and work you're sharing are kind of a blessing. Thank you ! You help me building up ideas, maybe also because I was already experimenting similar ideas over 30 years ago with a film camera, maybe 40... I'm almost the age of the lenses.... E Mmmmm. I was about to say a word... Never mind (I am starting do do though) It is a rich adventure, this one that helps us getting all that light in our eyes and mind !!!! What is magic all about, if not using a couple of, maybe cheap, but very thoughtfull tricks. Cheers !
For its price, this lens is quite good. I think a Minolta Rokkor set could be useful if you want a backup set or simply to try something different, maybe for a personal/passion project or for a street filmmaking session
everyone with a mirrorless camera should one day try out one of the orginal nifty fifties from the 80s-90s (canon fd, minolta md, etc). It's quite spectacular how those lenses perform especially stopped down and at infinity focus. Even on 42MP they perform well in terms of sharpness.
I’m going to be super interested on what you make of this. I had this lens on my first camera, a Minolta X300 back in ‘86 and I bought a copy mint for £40 and I’ve been very pleased with it on a modern FF mirrorless. The focus throw is just right and is super smooth... I think my version had time travelled well, still in its box!
Superb episode Mr H, especially interesting to hear the historical aspects about Minolta, and of course the footage and photo samples are typically sublime. As I eatch your videos I marvel at how much work and style you put into them, truly brilliant. Diamond geezer!
It never ceases to amaze me how many 'old' lenses still look outstanding today. Another excellent video as always! I hope you and your family are well. Loving the regular videos you're pumping out. Boom!
I personally think the Minota held up very well against the Contax/Zeiss, but I may be biased. I was crazy excited for this review, because I kinda have a "thing" for old Minolta lenses. I have the 50 f/1.4 Rokkor-X version and I still haven't purchased a modern 50mm lens because of it, because I think it's that good. No AF is a drag, but I mostly shoot landscape anyway. If you ever want to do a review on a Minolta telephoto lens, I could lend you my relatively rare Rokkor-x 200mm f/2.8. That lens is a tank, and a sheer joy to use!
I’m such a sucker for the history part of your Videos - it’s so epic edited!!🤩 Amazing vintage lens review as always Mark! 👍 Since you now tested a bunch of 50mm Vintage lenses from different price categories, would be interesting to see a comparison video and what your favourite 50mm vintage lens would be today 🤗
I think so too, I need charts though, it's so hard to frame up the same shot for each lens to match everything for a proper comparison. I can talk for days about user experience, but to show optical differences I think that will need to be the way. Real world examples plus the scientific ones.
The quality of your videos is amazing. I'm not an expert in the subject, but I'm enjoying every single video. They are pleasing to the eye, informative, funny and a font of inspiration. Keep it up your great work please! Greetings from Italy.
Thank you for putting a little time into the content and the editing process instead of pooping out a video every other day. It pops out. Some people notice......and you were able to use the xl1 dinosaur in a very creative way.
I just sold this exact lens for $30 on Kijiji. I prefer all my other 50's, takumar 55, mamiya/sekor, zeiss jena tessar. But it was one of my first lenses and enjoyed it for awhile. Great review like always!
Thanks mate, i guess imdb.com my name will give you some productions i've worked on. Hard to say where those live indefinitely, networks and their airdates etc.
Some fantastic shots in the snow-covered forest, Mark! I got this lens a few years ago, it came together with a banged-up Minolta SRT-101, and I've started using it on digital cameras only recently. I like it a lot. It looks like a solid all-round performer. -Cheers, Rick
You did very wise not to pronounce that original Minolta's name but LOVED the history told here. My take: Great lens for price. Sharpness and contrast, wide open, is a tad below Zeiss but to me the bokeh is far better with Minolta. The sadest part, Sony bought Minolta to kill it! and wished we still had their innovative productions. Though the clip is old but my first time watching it and loved it. Please never stop producing your great clips and hope you can put hand on most of the vintage and may be rare lenses out there that deserve an ingenious photographer to explore and present them to us. HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR and many many returns of the day and the year my friend.
I use a Minolta 50mm 1.7 on my Canon M50, i actually picked it up after watching your videos and learning about vintage to mirrorless. I picked up the lens for $40 and I must say, it produces some of the best photo's i've ever taken. Due to the crop factor on the canon it makes it a 80mm, but man it's fantastic. Solid video and I forgot to hit the subscribe button in the past (doing so now).
People forget how good these lenses are. I see more people making excuses for its lack or “sharpness” but even when I’ve compared them to modern lenses thr differences don’t not come close to justifying the cost delta. They’re not as easy to use as you can’t rely on auto focus but that’s on the photographer, not the lens.
@@MarkHoltze oh 1000% ! The cost of lenses can easily deter anyone from wanting to get into photography/videography, but the cost of vintage lenses with adapters makes it a perfect opportunity with a unique style. Not to mention you can find them easily on any garage sale sites like fb marketplace. Keep up the fantastic work man!
Great video! I’ve been collecting these old Minolta lenses for my cameras and I’m more than happy! I just ordered this lens and can’t wait to use it. Thanks for the video!
Amongst my Minolta collection I have the MD 50mm F2, which I understand has the same optics as the 50mm F1.7. It’s quite good, as is the 45mm F2. Keep up the good work here!
I didn't realize the MD Rokkor-x was so different. Mine is metal and made in 1977-78, with a 55mm filter thread. I shot with the same lens in high school photography class. My dad bought it with his XG7 the year it came out, for our family vacation to Hawaii (1979). My sister has that lens and camera now. I did my college photography with it, and she did her program at Ryerson with it. Now my niece is learning with it. I bought a XG7 just as some nostalgia a year ago for the shelf ($60), and it came with a mint Rokkor-X 50mm 1.7. I'm using it once and awhile now on my Sony FX30.
One small thing that doesn't take anything away from your enjoyable and informative video. The MD 50mm F1.7 was introduced as early as 1981, making it a typical Eighties lens. In fact my first-ever camera, a Minolta X-700, which I got in late 1983, came with this lens.
The lens would be made over the course of a number of years. The one I have based on the serial was made at the advised timeline. Not the first ever. It’s accurate based on the specific lens I’m using; not the invention of said lens with that optical formula. Introduction of a lens doesn’t mean all of them are made that year. Hence serial numbers. I should have made that more clear in the video. ✊
Yes the kens was introduced at the time, but versions of the lens would be made for a number of years after. Based on my research on serial numbers the lens I’m using in the review is slated for the given year. I should have made that more clear. I was referring to the physical/specific lens in hand, not in general. ✊
@@MarkHoltze No need to sweat it, Mark. Release year vs. actual-copy production year. If the lens rocks, and we as photographers are skilled enough to make it sing, those data become totally academic. I fondly remember the MD 50mm F1.7 being a solid performer on film, a great learning tool when I started my photographic journey, and giving me the first photographs that I was proud of at the time. But, then again, it should be kind of a challenge to find a nifty fifty from the era that doesn't potentially do great images, even by today's standards.
woah I did not expect such entertainment as I was just looking for info on this lens, this might be by far the best lens review I have ever watched. Complete, detailed, interesting and neat.
Thanks to following your channel I’ve built a modest collection of vintage lenses and now I’m even trying Astro with some of them! I have used an old Optomax 135mm on a tracker and shot the Orion Nebula with great success for a first time try at Astro!
PROPER astro setup mate, I'd love to look into that. Got some nice shots of Neowise back in June, plus Jupiter and it's moons, but would love to get a Nebula.
@@MarkHoltze Orion is your easiest target, even without a tracker you can shoot your super Takumar 50mm 1.4 with your Sony A7Sii and use an intervalometer to set up a couple of hundred shots at 7 or 8 seconds long (see how long you can go without star trailing) then stack the images in sequator on pc
Man, every video you post is better than the previous, every time there's something different and new. I know I sound like a fanboy and, heck, maybe I am, but you keep inspiring me to create more and better content! So, just, thank you!
I have been shooting with Minolta lenses and I must admit, I’m in love with the older all metal MC lenses. Btw in case most didn’t know this, Minolta is the vintage/retro roots of Sony.
Thank you. I've owned the mc Rokkor f1.7 back in the 70's and found the lens delivered what you just described. I still own the F1.4 Contax Zeiss planar and I'm still impresses with the character images that I am able to capture with the Zeiss. I should consider getting another 50mm Rokkor perhaps this time an f1.4
Got lucky with the weather too, it's been over cast and kind of mild the last two weeks. Yesterday the actual SUN came out for a bit lol. I was hoping to get some sunny samples, but i waited and waited and it just never popped from behind the clouds.
Excellent vid. I have a soft spot for Minolta, as the X700 was a big purchase or me in ‘85. The 50mm F2 kit lens it came with is now living on my Fuji mirrorless. I’ve got a few other lenses including the Fuji kit, but the Minolta looks so freakin’ good on it.
I'm considering a little fuji upgrade for my pocket shooter, the Sii is getting a little long in the tooth and I have the S1H....the Fuji I would use entirely with my SLR lenses. you're right though, these lenses look SO good on those cameras :)
I've got a set on loan coming by soon(ish). They're still a good price but i suspect as FD's, Contax, Leica prices continue to rise, these will become the new rage! DO IT! ;)
Wikipedia has the Minolta 1.7/50 design as a Double-Gauss. My copy came attached to a bellows for macro. It revealed something interesting in the "0" found in the lower left corner 20 on the twenty dollar bill.
YOOOO I OWN THE EXACT SAME WIDE ANGLE ADAPTER THAT IS ON THE XL1! I mounted it to various mirrorless/dslr lenses and found that if your lens have a close enough focusing distance it can create some very distinct and funky look, especially when you are at 50mm or above, I highly recommend you to get a step down ring to mount it on your sigma 24-70, super funky look that makes it look almost like a lens baby.
Awesome review, this is one of my. favorite lenses. Loved the History part of Minolta and great editing on that- like seeing a secret file on Godzilla or something.
Yes!!! Minolta has totally been my gateway drug! (just got this lens, along with a 24mm and a 200mm a few days ago.... and then i stumble across this video haha Perfect!)
I bought that lens for my intro to photography class back in February of last year. I took all of 30 photos with it, and since my nearest photo lab is 40 miles away (and the campus lab has stayed shut since March 13, 2020), those pictures remain undeveloped. At least it was cheap!
I’ve been planning on building a set of these, they’re affordable, good quality, and they’re literally everywhere. I got a Contax Zeiss 50/1.7 shortly before people started buying them up for cinema modding leading the price to slowly but steadily rise, and now as a small time videographer essentially crippled into being a hobbyist by the pandemic, I can’t afford to drop upwards of $200 per lens. But if I look hard enough I could probably build an extended Minolta MD set from the local 2nd hand market in my country for the price of one CZ 50/1.4 😆
I’ve got a Minolta loaner set coming my way, they’re all modded, they look pretty great! Get on that mate! I got the 50 1.7 for $65 Canadian, I just sold it for 185 usd. Great lens but I use the 1.4 more. Contax are a great set for sure but as you said, very well known now so their market value is quite inflated. Minolta’s I suspect will get more attention as prices continue to rise on contax, Leica Rs and FD’s...although I don’t see why FD’s are so high, they’re alright but the mount is a bit of a pain.
@@MarkHoltze shower cap & chamois cloth in a zip lock takes up no space in the bag. 1st thing I did after watching this was google that tasty Minolta 35
Great review, I guess I should get mine on the camera and take some shots. Minolta lenses are incredible bargains. They have beautiful color and the subjects have incredible pop. Thanks
Nifty fifty that costs about $50 spotted!! Also mark, becuase this is from the 90’s does that make us all vintage too?! I’m asking mainly for Pete as he is the elder statesman now🤣 loved the video, the vintage lens files are just ace. Glad they’ve stayed.
I love your videos Mark! I have a set of vintage Russian Lenses that I use as my “Cinema Lens Kit” hopefully I’ll be doing plenty of videos with and about them!
I just ordered the Mir 28 and 20 off ebay ;) when those come in, expect reviews lol. Ultimately going to have those re-housed, but want to first test them in their photo form.
Enjoyed the Minolta history. I bought one of these attached to a Minolta X500 back in the day. Loved that camera and still have it. I more recently tried this 50mm on a Samsung NX1 and it was pretty awful, but after seeing your results I'm wondering if the adapter was at fault. I have an S5 arriving tomorrow so I think I may get an MD to L-mount adaptor and give the Rokkor another go.
It looks pretty good! For the money you can't go wrong with it, but I prefer the Canon FD 50mm F1.8...it's damn close to the Summicron R 50mm for 10 times less money. Great video Mark, I enjoyed it as always!
I found a Minolta X-370 with one of these on it for $10 at a thrift store. Haven't used it yet, but it feels quite nice, so I'm looking forward to it. If I want to use it on my DSLR, I'll have to get a converter to Nikon F mount.
So much info in this video. Well done. Going to look for more lenses from the 90s as they have good Chromatic Aberration control combined with s-log would create that elegant edge look IMO....after grading and correction adjustments of course. Keep it up man 👍🏻
Its from the 80's my Dad had the one without the switch. I also have the one with the switch. But the one you have might be from the 80's or 90's. Yours can be into P mode. Its a good lens but wide open the image is soft. But sometimes soft lens are nice for portraits. Todays lens are getting way to sharp for some peoples faces now. I took a photo with this lens and it got half a million views. I took it with my Olympus PEN E-PL1.
Really cool production / editing as usual 😎. You edit like a pro, but wait, you are a pro! 😁 The Minolta 50/1,7 is pretty good for its price but I prefer the Zeiss 50/1,7 in every situation. One lens that really blew me away recently was the Zeiss Jena Sonnar 135/3,5 M42. Not especially expensive at all but really, really amazing. Btw, love the ”historylessons”, makes it even more interesting 👍
I accidentally came across this video, I checked my X700 Pelican Case, and I chuckled at the fact that I have an MD Rokkor-X 50mm 1:1.7. Eventually, I’ll get my hands on a Full Frame and use these lens once more.
@@MarkHoltze I have a Sigma SD Quattro H, if only Sigma made Minolta MD Adapters, I’d be using them. Fortunately though, M42 Lenses are equally wonderful
Love this lens. I always go back to this lens over my takumars.... only use it for photos and my version is really sharp... prefers it over my Minolta md 50mm 1.4
I just got a whole set of Rokkor's on loan, 21 to 200 all modded for video, they're something special that's for sure. Going to be doing something with them moving forward, but just so many lenses lol.
Gotta say only one thing: I loved it!!! Great video man. I couldn’t believe the price of that lens and the results (mostly with video)! Wow. Yes, I love my nifty 50!!! Thank you for leaving those Japanese names pristine 😂👍
Thanks mate! I got lucky with this one for sure. Glad I held off though, something told me I needed to do a video with it and if I hadn’t of listened I would have missed this.
Fun as always! I’d love to see some more content on wider and longer vintage lenses. There’s so many 50mm options out there… how about some more eBay gem 35mm, 85mm, and so-on options? By the way I got the DJI 3D Focus system… it came Thursday. Shot a video about it and will hopefully release that on Monday. It’s pretty amazing. Not perfect… but it’s amazing.
50's are just so.....affordable....but ya 35 for sure, it's my fav focal length. I got my takumar 35 and now the contax carl Zeiss 35 1.4 so looking at doing a bit of a comparison there. The tak is $135 the Zeiss goes for $900 so fun way to see the two even though it's not quite an apples to apples comparison. F/2 vs F/1.4, but the concessions I think might be where it gets spiced up a bit. Can't wait to see that mate, notifications ON. I was busy buying a Mir 28mm F/3.5 and 20mm F/3.5 for eventual re-housings lol....but wanted to do a video on the photo style of those bodies first. 85's are amazing, but tough to organize a people shoot as we're in full lockdown here in Toronto area and the 85 is such a portrait lens, to not have people/models in it would be painful lol. I have quite a few of those I'd love to compare as well, Tak, Zeiss and Jupiter. Looking forward to your 3D focus system video mate.
@@MarkHoltze I’d love to see those 35s compared for sure! Totally get it on portraits / 85mm. This first video on the 3-D focus is a “1st look“, but I’m trying to organize a proper shoot with it. The musician a shot for my ATEM Mini Pro ISO video wants me to shoot a music video for her, so if the timing works that’s where I’ll do it.
I've played with this lens back in the day, and I'm pretty sure it's the same optical formula like earlier MC variant which I still own, just with added features, better coating and slightly different design...
Your production quality is off the charts again, wow! Still especially compared to the Meyer lenses, this one has less three-dimensional rendering and does not impress me too much. Thankfully that means I dont need another adapter and can stick to my Oreston 1.8 (pentacon) ;)
I just got a 50 1.4 for 20 bucksein mint condition and original packaging. I paired it with a 1/4 mist filter and I will never take it off my A7III again. Absolutely amazing lenses
I purchased this lens for ~$30 to go on an SRT 202 I've been playing with. It's a good lens across the board: sharpness, color, vignetting, CA. That said, there are other ~50mm lenses in my collection I prefer: Helios 44-2 (58mm f2 in m42), Chinon 55mm f1.4 (Tomioka design in m42), and even the very plastic Auto Chinon 50mm f1.9 (PK). I'd place the IQ as similar to my Ricoh Rikenon 50mm f2 P lens, albeit with higher build quality.
3 года назад
Always fun to watch your videos. I own an MD Rokkor 50mm f/1.4 which is also a very very good lens. A lot of snow in Montreal as well ;-)
Oh man thank you. If you get the opportunity to do a review on more modern lenses you should totally do some a mount lenses. Would love to see those they apparently share a very similar mount to Minolta because Sony purchased them.
WARNING, don't buy a Minolta MDs with any hint of fungus. The glass groups are held together by plastic and CANNOT, be cleaned if the fungus gets in between the lens group.
This is good info! Thanks mate I hadn’t any idea. I tend to air on don’t buy glass with any fungus but it can be cleaned...with the exception of these. Now I know, now we all know! Respect ✊
In addition to the aperture ring, some internal parts of the New MD lenses are also plastic. All the 50mm New MD (Or "plain MD" or "MDIII") lenses are quite great, possibly the best being the f/1.4.
@@MarkHoltze I guess it would have added up. However, it barely affects their build quality... As all Minolta lenses do, these feel really good too despite having like 3 platic parts instead of 2.
@Mark Holtze Took one apart, the front bezel, appature ring and focus ring is hard plastic. The rest is metal, however the the lens groups are held together by plastic that cannot be disassembled for cleaning, so if there's fungus in-between then the whole lens is toast.
I own the MD iii 50mm in 1.4, 1.7, and 2.0 The 1.7 seems like a decidedly lower quality lens and I really don't like how it looks. The 1.4 I just the most and isn't bad (I use it mostly on film- I still prefer my Canon nFD 50mm 1.4 but I like my XG-M film body) The 2.0 is imho the best rendering of the lenses but the weight savings are so minimal that I usually just carry the 1.4 with me.
I recently bought a Rokkor 50mm 1.4 for quite a good price due to a bit of mould. Unfortunately my efforts to clean it have hit a bit of a wall as I need a tiny Japanese screwdriver to take it apart. Hoping the 0.5mm one I have just ordered of eBay will do the trick.
@@MarkHoltze for sure! Even so, prices are starting to rise quite a bit...I'm on the hunt for an XD11, and it costs $200-250CAD for a typical clean example. Not Leica prices, certainly, but starting to rise.
M50 i think, better auto focus. Some learning there from the GO Pro's which are just point and shoot, I edit with Premiere mostly, but Resolve is FREE and the free version is super powerful.
Really cool review and as always a superb video worthwhile watching. Unfortunately Rokkor lenses do not fit on my K-70. The flange focal length is too short (as with most lensrs not desinged for PK or M42 Mount) :S
That's a bummer, I guess the good news is just leaves you open to explore the other ones lol. Or it will be patiently waiting for the possibility you get a new camera ;)
@@MarkHoltze Actually I kinda like my Pentax K70 and there are still lenses to explore. For Christmas my brother got me an adapter for Nikon F (with additional glass element though) so I can explore some Nikon lenses. I especially like the look of the early lenses (Nippon Kogaku) which are more rare hiwever than those with m42 screwmount
either way, still millennial lens lol. Did a serial serach and cross referenced it, 1990-1992 was what I got. biggest issue with this is finding properly annotated information. I've seen a few sources say 90's as well. I think they were still running this manuals off assembly lines and selling them, not everybody had auto focus capable cameras at the time nor wanted to pay the delta in price.
@@mumtazkhan9042 for sure? I spent a bunch of time looking into this and a few sources indicated early 90's based on serial. Auto focus was a think, but they were still selling manual focus lenses for older systems. Initially made in the 80's but sold through until the early 90's is what I found, based on markings on lens. Who knows how accurate that is though, so always a degree of "I don't have all the info" in these lens videos :)
@@MarkHoltze Yeah the design of the MDs were from the 80's, design esthetics borrowed from the Leica's of the time. Minolta made different brands for different markets, Rokkor, Rokkor X for mainly the US market, their "low cost Celtic line", and the MD line. They even worked with Leica for a short while, hence you see the resembleance between the Leica R's and the MD's (they have even been called the poor mans Leica's). Ever wondered how the Minolta red dot is so familiar to Leica's?
@@MarkHoltze As I said not saying your wrong. Old timer here, from 1985 to 1991 worked evenings for extra $ at a camera store to put the last of my 4 through college. Remember with Minolta first, auto focus came on the seen then EOS canons and the manual focus stuff became a very hard sell. In the 1990s I picked up at garage sales many manual focus cameras and lenses for $1.00 to $5.00 as you couldn't hardly give them away. Of course mirrorless changed all that. Enjoy your lens back stories.
Recent US legalization of Kinder eggs has reduced the smuggling between our borders. Perhaps one day Canada will do the same for Minolta to L Mount adapters.
