What are nice budget wides and teles (85-135) for the MC MD lenses ?
Hi GarageBoy -
The most common focal lengths are the least expensive. In wide angle, a 28mm f2.8 or a 35mm f2.8 would both be very reasonably priced. Faster lenses, such as a 28mm f2.0, and wider-angle lenses would cost more. Specialized lenses, such as the 24mm f2.8 VFC (with variable field curvature), will cost quite a bit more.
The most common and least expensive telephoto lenses would be the 135s, in f2.8 and f3.5 (the latter, very inexpensive). You should be able to get the 100mm f2.5 for a good price, also.
The 85mm lenses would cost more, as these are faster, more complex lenses. They came in f1.7 (both MC and MD) and f2.0 (a newer lens, MD only). (My favorite lens is probably my 85mm f1.7 MD.)
Among most Minolta MF lenses, the older the lens, the less it costs. Early MC Rokkors cost the least, late MC Rokkors cost a bit more, and MD Rokkors and MD Minoltas cost the most. The early MC Rokkors are all metal, while later lenses had a little more plastic, such as for the aperture ring. All were well made.
I don't think early MC Rokkors are multicoated, though they are still very good lenses and I have several of them, myself. By late MC, I think they were all multicoated, though coatings continued to evolve after that.
- Murray