MINOLTA 58MM f1.4 - VINTAGE LENS REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- The 58mm f1.4 Minolta lens is a great portrait lens as well as a nice general purpose walk about lens. Although it is a little soft if shot wide open, it sharpens up nicely stopped down a little and takes amazing photos. Coupled with the Fuji X-T3 and it's amazing manual focus assist functions, this makes for a fun rig to shoot with!
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I am so glad I bought this vintage lens! ❤ I have been using it since September 2023 for portraits.
I have this lens and my copy is acceptably sharp wide open, there is a some 'bloom' at f1.4. Stopped down past f2 the image gets much sharper. My collection of Rokkor lenses now numbers 11, I am a little obsessed with Minolta glass. The best of them in my opinion is the 85mm f1.7.
I have “drank” the Pentax coolaid instead…🤷🏻♂️😬 I do love the Minolta glass I have but like you, I have amassed quite a few Asahi/Pentax lenses and love using them. I now feel the “defects” in this 58mm are more character than defects and give the photos a certain look that modern glass can’t produce.
@@davidsaylors Agreed, and it's my main reason for going down this rabbit hole. I also have 5 Takumar lenses along with 7 Hexanon and a few others. It is addictive.
Î have the one step newer 58mm with the hill and valley focus ring. I am on the hunt for a reasonably priced one with the older flat focus ring, similar to your style. But the 58mm is my favorite since I started vintage lenses.
I would encourage you to shoot the Minolta 58mm 1.4 wide open. At least for portraits. This lens wide open introduces magic in the pictures. Yes, it is not as sharp but it isn‘t unsharp either. The word is, this style was intentional. The lens wide open shows everything but it adds a layer of glow to it. This is especially nice for close portraits. Once life left its marks, you don’t want to draw attention to them. But I don‘t want to hide them either, they are after all the human condition. Enter the Minolta adding this eerie glow in such a supple way. I think it is a layer of grace.
I have two variable soft focus lenses, the Canon EF 135mm and the rare Tamron BBAR 51a Soft Focus Zoom. But while nice and much better than the Make-me-young-filter in smart phone cameras neither is as graceful and elegant as the Minolta.
That is awesome! Now you are gonna have me looking for one of those versions... 🤣 I do like the look this lens produces, like you said, it isnt sharp wide open, but it isnt soft either, it is something "different" that looks really nice for some reason. I used this very lens to shoot my daughters senior portrait session and it turned out amazing! Thank you for all the information, that is a big help, I really appreciate it when people share what they know...it makes all of this just a little sweeter.
Thank you
That lens came on my first slr..a Minolta Srt-101 in 1971. I loved that camera... The lens gave me some great photos back in the day. Thanks for the Flashbacks Dave!
Your welcome! I honestly think it would make a really good cinema lens to be honest. It is great for stills too, ut just has a unique look and that is always nice to have for film making.
Nice video. I use my Nikon 55mm f3.5 lens with the same adapter on my Fuji XT3. It is very sharp if you can nail the focus. I prefer to shoot at around f16 for more depth of field. It is excellent for near and mid range shooting, but I don’t recommend it for landscape photography.
I have this lens and it produces great color. I was able to easily get inside the lens to clean dust out of it. All you need is a lens spanner wrench, which is a great tool to have for photographers. There is another YT video that gives details on how to do it.
That is great news! Thank you for sharing it with everyone!! 👍📸
Nice lens...Happy Easter to you and the family!!!
Thank you bassangler, Happy Easter to you and yours. 👊🙂
I have this lens I just got it and adapted it onto my Sony a7r II. It's completely unusable add f1.4 you can't even use it it's too soft. However once you get to F2 and Beyond its sharpens up with every click ideally F2 to f2.8 is perfect for portraits you still get some beef bokeh. The thing I did not like about this lenses I did not like the color rendering it seems like it's flat in contrast.
Late MC and early MD, of the 70's, still has the Rokkor name, are the best combination of built and optical coating. Relatively cheaper than the Nikkor, Olympus or Pentax. Probably because it is very hard to use on Canon DSLR due to flange distance. On the 50mm's, they still have the 55mm filter thread. The late MD's, no longer have the Rokkor name, have more plastic, smaller, lighter, not as strong optically, and the filters are 49mm. These older 58mm, are known for great "bokeh" character, but not so sharp wide open, very prone to flaring with older lens coating (probably, at this age, has deteriorated).
Thank you, I really enjoy using this lens, to be honest, my only two complaints are the weight and the artifacts in the sun. i have sorted out how to get around the sun problem, but it is still a heavy lens. Not too heavy, but enough to make me look at f1.8 lenses. 😬📸
If your lens has a dot of fungus by the edge of the rear element, rotate the lens till the rear glass is flush with the edge and place it on the area of your gas stove that's hot for 20 minutes..it will kill the fungus.
Thanks! I will give it a try!
My copy has oil on blades and it's blocked on wide open..However, I hope that tomorrow when my Pentax adapter arrives I will be able to use it .I really like your reviews..a lot!
Thank you Dan, I really appreciate it. This is one of my favorite lenses that I have adapted to my XT3. I ran this lens for a long time and fell in love with it. It is one of the few I would keep if I were to liquidate what I have now...👍📸
Wow! I just found your channel after searching for a video on my new vintage glass that came today...the MC Rokkor pf 58 mm 1.4. I've picked up a couple of dozen vintage over the years but I'm really thinking this may become my favorite for it's feel, patina and sharpness. (My copy came with a Minolta SRT101 and it just have been stored in great place as the leather case, camera and lens are in excellent condition.) Anyway, make some more videos!
Got a new lens video coming this weekend. It is an older Nikkor, but I kinda like it. I really do like the older glass myself. Thank you for the vote of confidence! I appreciate it!!!👊📸
Thank you for the informative and entertaining review.
Thank you!!!
You were not kidding with the issues this lens are found with on eBay. Most of them have haze and or fungus. I was looking for one but can't justify getting another 55mm'ish lens.
I love my Vivitar 55mm f2.8 macro. Second is the Auto Sears 55mm f1.4 for portraits (though you can argue that most macro lenses can be used for portraits). Third the Nikkor 55mm f2.8 micro. Why the Vivitar over the Nikkor? It goes to 1:1 macro as opposed to the Nikkor that goes to 1:2. It needs an extension tube to go to 1:1.
I have not ventured into the Vivitar brand yet. That is another line of glass... As for macro, I typically will grab a 105mm or the 200mm Micro Nikkor, but to be honest, the little 55mm does great too. I see your point on not really needing another 50 something millimeter lens, I have secetal as well. 😂
Seems like your particular copy has a bit of haze in the glass, also i have one of these lenses adapted on my sony a6000 and it’s super sharp even at 1.4, only just a bit of chromatic aberration on the edges with harsh light. I think i just got lucky with this minolta 1.4
I think you are right, since this video I have gotten a couple of others with some haze in them and they look the same, I guess I need to look into cleaning it or something... 📸
@@davidsaylors Hi David. You can easily get inside the lens using only a lens spanner wrench. The big issue is how to clean the haze off the various elements. I have not found a surefire way to do it. On one lens I tried various solutions such as white vinegar, acetone, and alcohol, and I made it worse and worse. I had to buy another lens on eBay (which was cheap and beaten up but had the element I needed), tear it apart, and replace what I messed up in my original lens.
I’m envious that you can try other lens manufacturers. Will you try Pentax Asahi and Olympus Zuiko as well?
I will look and see!👊👍😁
Awesome video as always! Question for you - I'm torn between a Nikon D800 and a Sony A7R. I'd love to get into mirrorless, but am hesitant to make the switch. It would be so cool to adapt different lenses like this one!
I personally feel the Sony full frame cameras that dont have IBIS are mediocre when compared to something like the D800. Now, if it were perhaps an A7R2, I would say to go Sony, but not for the Gen 1 stuff. The D800 is much more camera, just without an EVF...and no adapted glass.
David Saylors I would love to get an A7r ii, but they’re currently listed for almost twice as much as a D800. Shot on a D800 today with mostly manual ai/ais glass, and focus peaking would’ve came in very handy.
Then I would look at the Sony A72 instead... it has IBIS and is running pretty much the same price as the D800. It also has peaking. It has a 24MP sensor, but I never noticed that in the photos. I still have this camera, I just dont use it a lot due to The IBIS mechanism binding in it if I store it wrong. Seems to be an issue with some of them but not all... It currently works like a charm...
David Saylors awesome, thank you so much for the reply! Looking at my next lens, the nikkor 200mm f4.
You will love it! Just shoots so well... 👍
Did you end up getting a lens hood for it? And what lens hood size does it take?
I didnt. But this is what it uses if I am right.
www.ebay.com/itm/Minolta-D57KB-Metal-57mm-Clamp-On-Lens-Hood-for-Rokkor-55mm-F1-8-58mm-F1-4-/303848108047?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
@@davidsaylors Thank you very much. I will definitely try out the lens first and then see if I should get one. Sounds like the flare isn't the biggest deal if you didn't end up getting one yourself. Is that right?
@@vme3000 yeah. It is an effect I dont worry a lot about. I will usually just relocate or reposition if it is really bothering me, but most lens flare is kinda coolto me so I leave it. 👍📸
@@davidsaylors sounds good. I'm looking forward to trying this lens out. Gotta love the classics
Nice lens what is next for GAS?
I already have several more lenses waiting their turn... haha. Some of them have gorgeous build quality, lets hope the optics are similar. 😉
@@davidsaylors Minolta made great quality lenses. How else did Sony buy them.
Hahahha!!! True!!!
For some reason I can't get infinity focus on mine. Using it on a Sony a7.
No... I was shooting it on a D810 Nikon. I didnt have an M42 thread mount adapter at the time and it came with the Nikon adapter installed. I think the adapter moves it out far enough to prevent proper operation of the focus mechanism. It probably works fine on an adapted mirrorless though. Then again they did move the rear element back as well...
Crud, I think I answered the wrong question. Lol. Mine wont focus past about 9 feet because of the nikon adapter.
Gotcha. Yeah I'm using it on a mirrorless. Maybe something wrong with my copy. I have several other Minolta lenses that focus to infinity just fine.
Yeah, I think these lenses have a very storied history to say the least. 👍
What camera model are you using?
Fuji XT3 with an adapter.
@@davidsaylors thank you Sr. Your review is way excellent and very detailed.
Thank you!👍📸
can you use it in canon fps camera?
I am not sure what that kind of camera is to be honest. If you have a EOS R or the like, it should have enough room to adapt it without problem. Is that what you meant?
no sir, what i mean is is it compatible to canon like 600d or 650d? can you use it withou mount or something sir?
I dont think so. The newer Canon camera use the new EOS mount and this lens predates that. Mirrorless cameras have a shorter flange distance and that allows room for the adapter.
Wedding portrait possible? Brother
Sure. It will work for that. I would say that would come down to the skill of the photographer more than anything.
Is this lens radioactive ? Does it contain thorium?.
Nope. I dont think so. Mine is zero radioactive. I just checked it. (Yes, I have a geiger counter) so worry not.
No. The 58mm f1.2 first and second generation mc's do.