Tag Archives: lens

Minolta 700si lenses and sony compatibility?

I have been asked a number of questions about compatibility of old Minolta lenses and Sony dSLRs. It is always surprising to me since I think this compatibility is one the best selling points for the Alpha line.

The answer is yes, in almost all cases. All Minolta auto-focus lenses are compatible without exception. The only places that you might find incompatibility are in the oldest 3rd party lenses. Although they may be Minolta (Sony) A-mount and auto-focus, for some reason they wont AF. I have (or had, can't remember where it is...) a first generation Sigma 28-70 f-something that doesn't work, but honestly this old junky lens isn't even worth trying.

You can buy without fear when it comes to old Minolta lenses. Anything from the original Minolta 50/1.7 to the the Konica-minolta 28-75/2.8 will work fine. The same is almost true of the 3rd party lenses as well - there are only a few very old examples that do not work.

So if you have an old 700si, 7, 7000, 7xi etc etc - any auto focus Minolta SLR, your old lenses will work.

Secret Handshake Lens

The Minolta "Secret Handshake" (or even Minolta Handshake) is the honorary name for the epic Minolta Maxxum 28-135mm f4-4.5.

This is one of my favorite outdoor zoom lenses. In my opinion the wide-end is adequate on APS (5D/7D, A100-A700 and newer) and 135mm fantastic. The range is superb on a full frame camera body (A850/900) of course. The unique rear focus mechanism is surprisingly fast for a lens of its age. Image quality in virtually every respect is difficult to match, although some may criticize its lack of contrast compared to modern lenses.

It is the "secret handshake" because it is not well known but those few who do know it, understand the secret. It is easily overlooked because it doesn't stack up well on specs and given its scarcity, not many people to talk up its virtues. On camera forums people say, "Well it isn't very fast and it isn't very wide, so I don't know..." It just doesn't feel like it will be a lens that will be useful in enough situations, so people skip it.

I understand, I was once the same way and I think my Tamron 17-50/2.8 is great... but seriously - if you had to pick one lens - or even one anything to live with for the rest of your life, wouldn't you pick something with shortcomings that you love over something that has all the right features but leaves you a little cold?

Sure, sure I am going over the top here, but I hope this serves to explain the idea of the "secret handshake." If you fall in love with this lens it is so worth it. If you don't if will keep its resale value forever, so really there is so little risk there. The great Minolta classics are one of the great strengths of the Minolta Sony A-mount, take advantage of that.

You can read more about the Minolta 28-135/4-4.5 on its dedicated page.

Is the minolta 24-50mm good?

In a word, yes. This is an excellent lens. Although the 24-50mm f4 is not as widely known as other great classic Minolta lenses, it is of the same class with many similar characteristics. By modern standards the focal length range may seem limiting -- and it is compared to your $52 Sigron-super 14-650mm f8-11, but it makes up for it with solid build, lovely colors and overall image quality.

See the 24-50mm f4 page for more details.

If you can find one, it is worth consideration. In all seriousness you may not find the range wide and long enough, or you might not consider f4 fast enough but it is alens with its charms.