interesting turn of events...

[Laviolette]

...been reading up on minolta lenses lately as i have bought a few to use on my fujis...
i started with a small 58/1.4 lens that is very nice and the last one that i bought was a 200/4.5...i'm waiting (for the mail) on a 35/2.8 and a 135/2.8...
anyway, back to reading today...one of the articles i read stated that if one was to find a nice xd11 and some good buys on minolta glass that it would be a very cheap way to get into film use with a great kit.

lo and behold, tonight someone listed a cheap xd11 and an even cheaper 28/3.5...so i had to buy them!

so when all is said and done and delivered...i will have an xd11 with...28/35/58/135/200 minolta film kit!!

what bag should i put them in?

I hope you will enjoy the camera and lens!

The 28mm 3.5 is actually a fine lens, the only negative thing I could say is that it flares quite easily. I added a generic metal hood in the package if you need it.

 

[Laviolette]

Joe, Minolta glass is very good, though like any line it has its stars and plebes. I'm curious what you'll think of the 28/3.5, for instance, which I've never seen raves about. The 35/2.8 is said to be a very nice lens, usually available at budget prices. I had one ages ago and liked it -- sharp, good contrast. The premier 35 is f/1.8 or 1.7 I can't remember which. Very pricey and hard to find. All the 50s are excellent: the 58/1.4 you have has a "look" in the way of the old Leica 50s and indeed it was said the Minolta designers were after Leica effects with their designs in the 60s and 70s. The very best Rokkors are the 21/2.8, the 24/2.8 (!! magical) the 28/2, the 35s and 50s are all good as said, with the MD Rokkor 50/1.4 and 50/1.2 being the two best; the 85/2 (with the 85/1.7's only a teeny step behind); both the 100/2 and the 100/2.5, the former 6x the cost of the latter; your 135/2.8 is great (even the super cheap and very small and light 135/3.5 is very good) and the 135/2 is super legendary and now sells for more than $900 most of the time. I have the 200/2.8 which is really superb. After that, use Nikons.... My experience is Minolta does wides and 50s, and Nikon does teles, better than the rest.

I love both my 50mm 1.4 and 135mm 2.8...very sharp when stopped down and a beautiful rendering wide open.

Have you tried the 24mm 2.8 VFC? I have been looking for one for quite a bit.

 

[FrankS]

So film isn't done with you yet, Joe?

🙂

 

[Spavinaw]

Put them in a Wollensak and tie them up with a Rolleicord, of course!

 

[back alley]

i think you're missing an ultra-wide in your setup. and only with it will you be able estimate proper bag size ;-)

enjoy your new setup!

there is a 20mm in the classifieds now, but i'm a little short on budget atm...

 

[back alley]

I hope you will enjoy the camera and lens!

The 28mm 3.5 is actually a fine lens, the only negative thing I could say is that it flares quite easily. I added a generic metal hood in the package if you need it.

thanks andre!

 

[back alley]

So film isn't done with you yet, Joe?

🙂

all things in moderation frank!
i will use xp2, get it processed & scanned locally and just down the street at london drugs one hour lab...and then do post processing at home on pse.

the local flickr group occasionally has a film only meet and now i can join in!

 

[oftheherd]

...
The extra lenses were an Albinar 28 Macro, and a Sigma 70-210 zoom, and are decent performers. The flash is a 280PX, and though it is dedicated, it has no bounce feature.

...

PF

I don't recall seeing anyone in RFF mention the Albinar lenses before. For some reason, I often see them sold with Minolta, and got a couple miself that way. Do you know who made them, and what reputation they have?

all things in moderation frank!
i will use xp2, get it processed & scanned locally and just down the street at london drugs one hour lab...and then do post processing at home on pse.

the local flickr group occasionally has a film only meet and now i can join in!

Joe, welcome back. You just have to let go of the dark side now, even though I know it pulls at you. 😀 😀

Hope you enjoy your Minoltas.

 

[oftheherd]

Put them in a Wollensak and tie them up with a Rolleicord, of course!

Thanks for the chuckle.

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

nah, it just happened.
i have always had a healthy respect for minolta lenses and they can be found pretty cheap these days...i always wanted to try the x cameras too but i think i got into the canon a series instead...

In high school, i was gifted my first real camera, an XG-M (or was it an X-700?). I never really liked it. It was the 'chrome' version, and i always regarded black as the 'pro' finish. And, i had a built-in inferiority complex, believing that Nikons were the serious camera of choice. I lusted for a Nikon FG (which, ironically, is one of their 'less pro' models).

It was, unfortunately, only much, much later that i learned Minolta lenses were regarded very highly. Wish i had known at the time that W Eugene Smith shot Minoltas....

 

[back alley]

i think smith used minoltas when the goons that beat him also wreaked his cameras and minolta stepped in and gifted him new gear.
minolta lenses often beat out nikon lenses in pop/modern photography lens reviews but nikon still got all the fame.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

...been reading up on minolta lenses lately as i have bought a few to use on my fujis...
i started with a small 58/1.4 lens that is very nice and the last one that i bought was a 200/4.5...i'm waiting (for the mail) on a 35/2.8 and a 135/2.8...
anyway, back to reading today...one of the articles i read stated that if one was to find a nice xd11 and some good buys on minolta glass that it would be a very cheap way to get into film use with a great kit.

lo and behold, tonight someone listed a cheap xd11 and an even cheaper 28/3.5...so i had to buy them!

so when all is said and done and delivered...i will have an xd11 with...28/35/58/135/200 minolta film kit!!

what bag should i put them in?

And when Metabones finally comes out with a Minolta-to-Fuji X Speed Booster adapter, you'll have a 28/2.8, 35/2, 58/1.2, 135/2, and 200/3.2 kit! 🙂

 

[GaryLH]

Did metabones publish a roadmap about future adaptions?

Gary

 

[shadowfox]

Joe, if you could find and swing for the MC Rokkor-X 35/1.8, that's an awesome lens.

 

[back alley]

Joe, if you could find and swing for the MC Rokkor-X 35/1.8, that's an awesome lens.

i found a review that puts the 35/2.8 in the same league.

 

[kuzano]

The XD11 is the US distribution model

The XD11 is the US distribution model

...been reading up on minolta lenses lately as i have bought a few to use on my fujis...
i started with a small 58/1.4 lens that is very nice and the last one that i bought was a 200/4.5...i'm waiting (for the mail) on a 35/2.8 and a 135/2.8...
anyway, back to reading today...one of the articles i read stated that if one was to find a nice xd11 and some good buys on minolta glass that it would be a very cheap way to get into film use with a great kit.

lo and behold, tonight someone listed a cheap xd11 and an even cheaper 28/3.5...so i had to buy them!

so when all is said and done and delivered...i will have an xd11 with...28/35/58/135/200 minolta film kit!!

what bag should i put them in?

The XD series camera's were one of the best program cameras of the era....77-84. They became the body platform for the Leica R4, R5, R6 and R7. Very interesting combination of manual and program (2 program modes).

The japanese usually labeled identical models with different model designators for Home market, European, and US. The XD11 was US. The XD and XD7 were home and European (not necessarily in that order). I have one of each model, and they all work well.

Another very nice variant that sells a bit5 less is the XD5. You can't miss on these camera's if they work and get them cheap. They use contemporary Silver Oxide or Lithium batteries, readily available.

Just another example of Minoltas close affiliation on both camera bodies and Rokkor based lenses for Leica... as in the Leica/Minolta CL.

Great find. If you like SLR's you have one of the best from the 70's and much the same size as the Olympus OM bodies.

I'm eyes out for the subsequent motor drive Professional Minolta... The XK/MD. Removable prism/screens and rugged.

 

[biomed]

The XD-11 is one fine camera. Back when I was shooting Minolta SR cameras the XD-11 was the one I wanted. Enjoy it, Joe.

Mike

 

[shadowfox]

i found a review that puts the 35/2.8 in the same league.

It's not hard to find a good performing 35/2.8.
The 35/1.8 is in another league because it performs at max. aperture.

It's a big lens, though. Not as big as 58/1.2, but close.

 

[back alley]

small is good...enough.

 

[splitimageview]

I went a similar path, Joe...X-E1 using C/Y lenses, and a Contax film body with those same lenses...

Set up C41 home processing for color and XP2 for B&W; Vuescan raw scans...have to say I'm enjoying photography more now that at any time in the past.