Question about Minolta AF lenses

[farlymac]

I had a Minolta HTsi that I gave away a while ago, and not having actually run any film through it, was always wondering what it would have been like to use. So I picked up a Maxxum 4 with the AF 28-80mm, but was looking for a longer zoom to go with it.

Today I came across a Dynax 505si outfit with the AF 28-80mm, and AF 75-300mm. I figured if I preferred one camera body over the other, then I had an extra lens to go with whichever one gets the heave. Here's where it gets interesting.

I cleaned off the lenses so I could test them out, and noticed that the 28-80 on my Maxxum does not have the same front diameter as the 28-80 on the Dynax. Everything else about the two lenses is the same, except the big front one (62mm) was Made in Japan, while the small front one (55mm) was Made in Malaysia. Also, the large one has a year of manufacture ("1997 Minolta") stamped on the back of the lens (same on the 75-300, "1994 Minolta"). The rubber grips are the same on the two lenses that came with the Dynax, but slightly different on the one from the Maxxum.

On the hoods for the two 28-80's, the only difference is after "A 28-80/3.5-5.6" it has a "D" on the smaller hood, then each hood is marked which country it was made in (which matches the lens).

The hood on the 75-300 does not have a "D" mark, and unlike the lens (which was made in Malaysia), it was made in Japan. Could be an aftermarket replacement or addition.

Question 1: Is the D size lens an improvement on the other one, or vice verse?

Question 2: The 28-80 lens from the Dynax focus hunts really badly. Is this curable? Yes, I did try it on both bodies.

Question 3: Was there a cut-off for when the year of manufacture was stamped on the lenses? And when did this start?

Thanks for any info you might have.

PF

 

[Iestrada]

The earlier made in Japan lenses are suppose to be better then the later made elsewhere. I believe that the the D signifies the ability to synch with the flash for TTL photography. The following link gives you a resource to read up on and possibly correct me on something.

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/results.asp

 

[farlymac]

Yeah, it looked like that site was mostly about the Sony line of cameras, and what was there on the older AF lenses was how to use them with Sony cameras, so I passed.

I went through about a half dozen sites, all with varying degrees of information, but none of them were very comprehensive. MUG was about the worse for leaving out details.

On Wikipedia, I found a lens chart that shows there were three versions of the 28-80. The original, the II, and the D, with the II and D being redesigns of the original. But it left out the filter size, so I still don't know which lens I have, since the hood for the D could possibly fit the II.

Maybe I'll have to find some instruction sheets on eBay.

PF

 

[Austintatious]

Phil,
The Dyxum site has some very detailed lens reviews on old Maxxum AF lenses A search here could give you more info on these various units. The 35-70 F4 is very nice as well as the "beer can" 70-210 F4 and the 50mm F1.7. I use these with an HTSi and it is a sweet little shooter for sure.

Smoky & Harmonica by Carlos Yashinon, on Flickr

 

[farlymac]

Thanks, Charles. I started to look there, but when I hit the lens list, I got every lens ever made with an A mount.

I finally looked at the front of the lens again, and there was the D mark on the name ring. I missed that before.

The other 28-80 with a focus problem might be a parts donor soon.

PF

 

[delible]

I can't tell which of the questions has been answered, but I'll write what I know.

1. The 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 D which has a 55mm filter thread is a later lens than the other one. I have two of the 55mm thread lenses and I think they work fine-- on Maxxums and a Sony A100. The only problem I have had came up with a picture of a building taken at the 28mm end; I think that's a fairly common problem at the wide end, isn't it?
2. I don't remember focus-hunting with either of the 28-80 lenses on Maxxum 5 or 4.

I like the Maxxum 4 and 5. Put a 50mm f/1.7 on either of them and you have a really nice little package.

 

[Addy101]

The earlier made in Japan lenses are suppose to be better then the later made elsewhere. I believe that the the D signifies the ability to synch with the flash for TTL photography. The following link gives you a resource to read up on and possibly correct me on something.

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/results.asp

The first generation AF Minolta lenses have a (probably deserved) cult following. The "build in Japan" vs "build elsewhere" isn't that interesting and I seldom come across it. If it is mentioned, it usually is by people new to A-mount.
The D means it is ADI compatible. Minolta developed TTL Flash well before the AF era, the D gives additional distance information for better flash exposure. It doesn't help with bounced flash though. Here is everything you want to know about the A-mount flash system

There is a dedicated film photography sub-forum on Dyxum, here is a direct link. Several people do use film and are very willing to answer any question you have. If you speak German, you may want to take a look over at Minolta-forum.de.

Going to your questions:
Q1: Most consider the 28-80/3.5-5.6 D a better lens then the 28-80/3.5-5.6. They have different optical designs. Both are however not that great. If I was looking for a general purpose zoom for a Dynax/Maxxum camera, I would take a look at the 28-85/3.5-4.5, 28-105/3.5-4.5 (not the 28-100/3.5-5.6) or the small, cheap but wonderful 35-70/4.

Q2: Sounds like there is something wrong with it.

Q3: The year on Minolta lenses is the date of design, not the year of manufacture. AFAIK there is no way to know when a Minolta lens actually was made.

If you're interested in Minolta lenses, you can make a selection in the Dyxum lensdatabase to only include Minolta lenses. The great thing 'bout the 4 (and 5) is that they can be used with all A-mount lenses.
As being said, the 50/1.7 (50/1.4) makes for a nice small package with a 4 or 5, as does the 35-70/4. The 28/2 and 35/2 are great, but expensive, but the 28/2.8 is cheap: It might not be the height of optical performance, it still is a decent performer and like the others it is small.

These are with my Dynax 4 and the Sony/Minolta 50/1.4:

Minolta Dynax 4 | Sony 50/1.4 | Kodak TMax400

Minolta Dynax 4 | Sony 50/1.4 | Kodak TMax400

 

[farlymac]

Thanks, Addy and Delible. Not sure if I really want to go any deeper into the Minolta AF series. It's not helping my GAS problem any.

The older 28-80 is probably a write off, since it's likely a chip problem. It has only locked focus once, then after a couple of seconds started to spasm again. It would work okay on manual focus only. The aperture seems to be fine also.

PF