Superb vintage 35mm lens!!! One of the BEST!! 

That's awesome you got one for free! Lucky you! :) Isn't it just amazing how good this little lens is?!!

I agree! There are so many amazing Minolta lenses out there! Thank you!!

Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much Radu! It’s a great lens for sure!!

Thank you so much!! Glad you enjoyed the mountain shots! I love being out in nature and I always bring some vintage lenses with me 😁 Great to know that you are happy with the bokeh from your 28mm f2.8 Rokkor. There so many wonderful Minolta lenses out there!

Thank you so much!!

You are welcome! Yes, the new MD version has the same optical design. Very sharp indeed! Enjoy!

That’s awesome!! Thank you!!

There's MC W-Rokkor that is also the same lens as this one (with same a bit cheaper build than the older Minolta MC lenses). Otherwise this lens performs much better than the "true" MC 35mm (most noticeably outside of the center of the frame), but I like the MC rendering as well (it's definitely got more interesting bokeh). Minolta's made so many great lenses and in opinion they, on average, outperform Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Olympus lenses from the era; but are still more affordable. I hope they remain more affordable, I still need a few.

I completely agree that Minolta made so many amazing lenses, and many of them are still under the radar and can be found quite cheaply. And just like you I also hope that their prices remain low. That way a lot more people can afford them and try out these wonderful vintage lenses!!

Thank you!! I appreciate it!

Wow, that is an incredible deal for this lens Larry! It is my favorite 35mm lens for sure. I hope you’ll enjoy shooting with it. Cheers!!

That's awesome you got the MD III version! Totally agree with you!! This lens is amazing!!

Thank you!! This is really one of my favorites! I can highly recommend it if you like this focal length.

Hey, I'm thinking between those two lenses. if you came to minolta what do you have to say about them comparing them? Thanks

That's great you got this awesome lens! I hope you'll enjoy it. It's a real gem!

It’s great to hear that you also appreciate this wonderful little lens! It’s amazing how good it is. It’s also one of my favorites! A true gem!

Wow you got such an amazing deal for this lens! It’s true that certain Minolta lenses are much cheaper when compared to other big name manufacturers. Hopefully the prices will stay low, because I’m a huge Minolta fan!

You are welcome! Glad to hear you got one of these spectacular lenses for such a low price. Enjoy it!

Sounds great!

Glad to hear that you also appreciate this fantastic lens! I agree - with the 75-150 zoom, it becomes a perfect travel kit! Cheers!

Same here, I own only MD III lenses, the 75-150 is unbelievable. Another gem is 100mm 2.5

Muchas gracias!

Thank you so much! It's really nice to hear that you enjoyed the video. I agree - Minolta lenses produce great images, and the 35mm f2.8 is amazing! I also have the 24mm f2.8 and it's indeed a stellar performer! I understand that finding a zoom that starts at 24mm and goes to telephoto territory can be difficult. The longer the distance between focal lengths, the more problems arise with the optics. Which is why zooms with shorter focal length range perform better. I hope that you'll be able to find something that you'll be happy with. Cheers!

@@VintageOptiks Hi there, do you have a video about your 24mm f2.8?

Hi, I don’t have a video about the 24mm yet. Sometime in the future.

Thank you!! Yeah it’s weird how some lenses are so well regarded and others not so much, even though they are just as good if not even better. But as you mentioned is probably for the best since the prices stay low and more people can afford them. I recently picked up the 35mm FD lens. Looking forward to testing in the future. Cheers!

You are welcome! Did you mean the Minolta MD 45mm f2? There is a Minolta 45mm f2.8 but that was a rangefinder lens - the Chiyoko Super Rokkor.

@@VintageOptiks, yes, the f 2, you are correct. Sharp with great color and cheap

@@ice9phil Thank you for clarifying. I've seen it around but still haven't tried it. 45mm is a great focal length! Would be fun to test it!

Yeah I have the 45 f2 and the 50 f2. I love using the 45 on my Sony zv e10 when out for walks. It makes a great small run and gun for street.

Wow, you found one!!! That’s amazing! So excited for you to shot with this magical lens! Enjoy it!!

Interesting. It’s great information for others who are looking for this rare lens! Thank you for sharing.

Yeah I've heard form others that the Minolta to Fuji-X helicoid adapters are really hard to find. And there is only one expensive option by Kipon that I've seen. Hopefully some company out there will make more affordable ones.

Yeah definitely! The f1.8 version is on my “to buy” list. 😁 I’m super excited to try it out! I’ve heard so many great things about it.

Thank you!!

Thank you so much!! It's great to hear that you also appreciate the amazing Rokkor lenses! Their colors are definitely special and unique. I fell in love with them as soon as I tried the Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm f2! I couldn't believe the saturation and contrast! And ever since then every Rokkor lens I've tried has been fantastic! Looking forward to reviewing many more Minoltas in the future. Take care and happy shooting!

@@VintageOptiks Thanx, will do :) Back then, when I got myself into this, I did quite a bit of research and found that not all of the Minolta glass is that great! Some interations/generations/models are just.. soso, or not to recommend. The quality is not as consistent as with the AI and AI-S Nikkors, so make sure to do some research, luckily there is a lot of information out there, ... I'm sure you know the drill :) Cheers

​@@artoffighting06 Sure. There isn't a single company that only made great lenses :) And I don't expect Minolta to have only gems, but so far I've been very impressed with the lenses I've tried. And that's part of the fun of testing vintage lenses - you never know what you gonna get. :) Cheers

@@VintageOptiks Mhm, I totally agree. Whether it depends on the model or even on a particular copy of a model, some quirks can give an image character and unique style. My ROKKORs all have some amount of halation wide open, most so the fast 50mm, and I like it. It's kind of 'best of both' cause stopped they get super sharp yet they have this creative almost abstract thing going when open :) I also usually don't correct the slight warm green-ish color cast (of mine), gives me a sweet nostalgic vintage feel :) I was suprised to see that your copy of the 35mm is so pristine and clear wide open :O I also have MD ROKKOR 28mm f/3.5 with a defect. Not sure if the seller didn't know or if I got scammed, but it produces a weird tunnel effect, like one gets sucked into a glitch in the space-time-continuum or something, haha. And I have taken interesting images with it nonetheless, which raises the question, what does it take to produce a compelling, pleasant to look at, "good" photograph? I like to ponder over those things.., sorry for rambling! I'm actually thinking about obtaining/trying a lens that some consider 'the worst Nikkor ever made', haha; cause I really wonder what that looks like? Anyway, have a good one..

​@@artoffighting06 I absolutely agree! Vintage lenses have a unique character of their own, which comes from the fact that they are not perfect, and that is why they are so special!! One of the main reasons why I fell in love with vintage lenses was because all the modern lenses out there make things way too sterile and perfect, and that looks really boring, at least to me. I still love looking at photos from magazines printed in the 60's and 70's because they seem so magical and different. It's really cool that you got a lens that makes space time continuum effect!! haha That's amazing! I would love to see images from it! Are you on Instagram? You should definitely try the "worst Nikkor ever made"! I love trying all types of odd lenses, because you never know what kind of fun things you might discover! Really great chatting with you! Take care.

Thank you!

That’s great to hear! Amazing lens for sure!

@@VintageOptiks Yes, it'sa fine lens. But prices went through the roof, during the past 2-3 years...bc of videos like your one here. :D

You are welcome!

Thank you! Yeah this lens will be great on APSC! Especially if you don’t need shallow depth of field. All of these vintage SLR lenses were made to cover the dimensions of a full frame (24mm x 36mm). The APSC sensor simply crops the edges of what the lens can see.

@@VintageOptiks thank you! Will look for one then, in the video it looks amazing

Which version did you get?

Awesome. Enjoy!

I love the Flektogon, but I also love this Minolta for it’s beautiful colors and amazing resolution! They are both great lenses, and it simply comes down to personal taste and the kind of work you plan to use them for.

Definitely! It’s already on the list for future reviews! 😬

Would you say the 3.5 is sharper at 3.5 than the 2.8 is at 3.5?

The 28mm f2.8 is definitely sharper at 3.5. At least from the 2 lenses I have. But the best 28mm lens from Minolta in my opinion is the 28mm f2! Absolutely incredible. Easily one of my favorite lenses.

Hi and thank you! You are definitely correct in your observation about the name of the mount. I wanted to make it easier for people who are looking for the adapters, because a lot of the adapters have MD on them (and not SR). I thought it will be confusing for people who are trying to adapt Minolta lenses. Also many people on eBay also call the mount MD and it makes it easier for people to find certain lenses. I don’t think this type of confusion exists with any other mount when it comes to classic lenses. Not sure how this happened with Minolta lenses. Cheers and thank you for your message.

@@VintageOptiks I've also seen adapters marked MD but it doesn't make it more right, but I can see why you did the choice you did as many misuse the MD phrasing. Maybe write "SR-mount (aka MD)" or something like that to try to come somewhere in the middle. I don't know either how it happened. What differs the Auto, MC and MD lens lines are that Auto has a stop down lever from the body for the set aperture, MC got the meter coupling for wide open focusing and metering and MD got the possibility to control the aperture from the body for the P and S modes. None of these functions are supported by the adapters I ever have seen so it is just wrongful marketing to put MD on them.

@@lattesweden That sounds like a good idea. Thanks for your input.

You are probably right, but on all the adapters it says MD, so....... LarryMac

@@larrymccormick3226 So what? Your sentence isn't complete, what do you try to say?

Glad that my copy is doing great so far. Hopefully I won’t run into this issue.

Have you tried using a hood?

Hi, the images are not straight out of the camera. I do some very light post processing, mainly to adjust the exposure. I will often slightly underexpose my images in order to preserve the highlights. And then in post I will bring up the shadows. Just simple adjustments like that. But I never mess with the colors, contrast etc, because I try to show what the lens can do as much as possible.

Glad to hear you got one! I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Hello. I do not have experience with the older version of the Minolta 35mm f1.8. I only have the later New MD 35mm f1.8, which is smaller and lighter and has different optical design. Cheers!

You are welcome! The Minolta and the Flektogon are both great, but the Flektogon is so much more expensive. All you need is this Minolta and a helicoid adapter, and you got yourself an amazing lens with super short minimum focusing distance. Killer combo! The older Minolta MC Rokkor HG 35mm f2.8 has a different optical design. It is 7 elements in 6 groups. Take care.

​@@VintageOptiksplease what do you want to say about the older HG design? Are you saying the newer MD is better or?

Yes, newer design is better.

@@VintageOptiks Thank you for your reply. I have a chance to buy the latest MC version with the same design as your MD version. I hope it will be as good as yours🙏

You are welcome. I’m sure you’ll love this lens! It’s one of my favorites.

Hi, If you are looking for a 50mm f1.7 lens, both the Pentax-A and the Minolta will serve you well. There isn't really much of a difference between the two, so get the one that's cheaper and easier to find. Cheers!

Hi! The Minolta 35mm f2.8 was made in 2 different optical designs - early version (with 7 elements in 6 groups) and late version (with 5 elements in 5 groups). The easiest way to recognize the early design from the late design are the letters HG after Rokkor. For example, if your lens has MC W.Rokkor-HG on the name plate then you have an early design lens, and if it's just MC W.Rokkor or MD W. Rokkor (with X or no X it doesn't matter) then you have the late 5 in 5 design. Hope this helps. Cheers!

@@VintageOptiks Good morning and thx a lot for the quick reply! It helps perfectly! Have a nice day! Stephan

You are welcome. Have a great weekend!

I like both lenses, and they each can produce great images. The main advantages that the Flek has over the Minolta is that it can focus closer and it’s a bit faster. But if those two things are not that important to you, the Minolta is a killer lens!

Thank you!! It’s definitely a great first 35mm lens! The 28mm f2.8 is not as as good as the 35mm. From the 28mm lenses I like the 28mm f3.5.

@@VintageOptiks Thanks for information. I couldn't find a prime Minolta 28mm F/3.5. Unless you're talking about the zoom?

The MD 28mm f3.5 is a bit harder to find but it’s definitely around. It shows up from time to time on eBay.

To be honest, I don't think the f1.8 lens is worth the crazy price. I have both and I actually prefer the f2.8.

Sorry to hear that. I would suggest to get another MC W Rokkor 35mm f2.8 lens, but look for one with horrible glass, that’s in rough shape and that nobody wants. That way you can get it for cheap. (eBay) Once you have another copy of that lens you can get the exact same parts you need to fix your lens. Hope this helps. Take care.

@@VintageOptiks I have been searching on Ebay and the prices have gone thru the roof. Time to look for one attached to a camera. Thanks for the confirmation!

That's great you have the Minolta X700! I've reviewed 6 Minolta lenses on my channel and I can highly recommend all of them. When it comes to choosing lenses, the most important question you need to ask yourself is - what do you want to shoot? Landscapes, portraits, still lives, sports, macro, etc. etc? Once you know what interests you, then you can focus on the different lenses that makes sense with your subject matter. I hope this helps. Cheers!

@@VintageOptiks thank you! I love portraits and the 50 mm is great to do that. I also want to shoot landscapes and street photography. What do you recommend? I’ll check your videos as well. 😊

@@diegogonzalez8659 You are welcome! For landscapes the Minolta MD W.Rokkor 35mm f2.8 is absolutely amazing!! And if you want something a bit wider for street photography, the Minolta 28mm f2 is phenomenal! It is pricey, but is one of my best Minolta lenses! Cheers!

No

It’s funny, because I bought the 35mm f1.8 just 4 days ago, and I’m waiting for it to arrive from Japan. Can’t wait to try it out!!! Yes, that lens is usually expensive and has the reputation for being one of the best 35mm lenses out there. Super psyched to see what it can do! Just like you, I also have a soft spot for Minolta. Which Minolta camera were you using when you were learning photography and what lenses did you have? Cheers!

@@VintageOptiks SRT102 and an XG5, both my mother’s. Later she got me an X700 of my own - still have all 3, and still in working order. She used the Rokkor 50mm f/2, and their Celtic 28mm f/2.8 and 135mm f/3.5, along with an Rokkor 50mm macro kit. My camera came with the Rokkor 50 f/1.7, and I have since added the MC 58 f/1.4 (which I love), and the later 50 f/1.4. I have 2 copies of the latter, and while one is great the other is just terribly soft. Recently got the earlier Rokkor HG 35mm f/2.8, which is wonderful, but does flare. Latest add is the 45 f/2, but I haven’t used it much yet ( but its reputation is excellent).

Fantastic! It’s amazing that your 3 Minoltas are still in working order!! And you have a really great selection of Rokkors! The 50mm f2 is probably the most underrated normal lens! Not sure if you saw the review I did on it, but that lens is amazing! I’m also a huge fan of the Rokkor-X 50mm f1.4 and the MD 50mm f3.5 macro (both of which I’ve reviewed here on the channel). I recently picked up the MC 58mm f1.4 but it has some fungus and I need to open it up and clean it. I know a lot of people that love that lens. I still don’t have any of their Celtic lenses. They were made as a budget lens line, and I’m curious how they’ll perform. What do you think of the ones you have?

@@VintageOptiks The optics on the Celtics are the same as on the Rokkors, but they have generally inferior coatings and are more prone to flaring and minor aberrations as a result. The lens bodies aren't as well finished either. But considering they otherwise have the same glass, they're pretty close in performance (or so I've been told). I think this is why the Celtic line was short-lived - Minolta was undercutting itself. Not yet checked your other Minolta reviews, I will do so shortly though. I spotted a very clean 58mm f/1.2 over the weekend in a used camera store (discounted as the filter threads were badly bent), and was sorely tempted, but it was out of my budget at the time - that's one high on my bucket list. I've already got the Canon FL 55 f/1.2, and I'd like to compare the two.

Sounds good. I gotta try some of the Celtics at some point. I read somewhere that they were only made for the US market and can’t be found in other countries. Not sure if that’s true or not. The 58mm f1.2 is a lens that I’ve been tempted to buy a few times but still haven’t done it. But eventually I’ll get one! :) Same with the 85mm f1.7

Yes, you can use this lens with a normal adapter Minolta to Sony. I personally prefer the helicoid adapters because they allow me to focus closer. But any normal adapter will work fine.

@@VintageOptiks ty so much

@@VintageOptiks thanks to your video I bought this lens and I must say that it is truly exceptional. extraordinary sharpness. thank you

Glad to hear you are happy with it! I agree, it’s an exceptional lens! One of my all-time favorites! 🙌

Unfortunately I don’t know who made it or what it’s called. I only have this super short segment.

@@VintageOptiks thanks vintage.

@@VintageOptiks may I ask where you found it please?

I believe it was on Internet Archive. It was a long time ago.

@@VintageOptiks Thanks for replying.

Hello. Do you remember what focal length? The lens in this video is one of my favorite Minoltas. If you need a 35mm lens, you would love this one. Cheers!

@@VintageOptiks I found it! It´s the Minolta MD W.Rokkor 35mm f 2.8... Thanks!

Yeah the Nikkor 50mm f2 is a great lens for sure. There are so many lenses for me to review! My houses is full of lenses waiting for their turn. :)

😄

There is no perfect lens. All vintage lenses have some imperfections, which is why I love them so much!

Me too

Haha sorry I messed up 😬