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Minolta M-Rokkor 28mm on Sony A7(II)

Cyberratchet

New member
Hi guys!

I’m currently thinking about buying a new camera. At the moment I own a Sony NEX-6, which I mainly use with the Minolta M-Rokkor 28mm/2.8, Voigtländer Nokton 50mm/1.5 (LTM) and Contax G 90mm/2.8.
While I really like the camera, I start to think that the Sony APS-C system wasn’t really made for me. The native lens selection on m43 is more appealing to me and the 1.5x crop factor on my FF lenses is a bit annoying from time to time.

I’ll probably sell my NEX-6 and buy a Sony A7 II or Olympus EM-1. Two very different but equally tempting cameras. One of the deciding factors for me is the usability of the 3 former named lenses on the Sony.

The Contax G 90mm and Nokton 50mm look very nice on the original A7, so I guess they will perform more or less the same on the A7 II. I’m a little worried about the M-Rokkor, most 28mm M-Mount lenses aren’t that stellar on this cameras. I have only found a handful of images (without any comments about PP or something) and not a lot of written information about this lens (one of the few examples) .

Before I spent that much money on a camera I would like to read more impressions about this lens/camera combination. CA and smearing doesn’t seem to be an issue on the A7r, but how much does the lens vignette on the A7(II)? I would also enjoy a few pictures.
The M-Rokkor is probably not the most used 28mm lens used with the A7, but maybe there are a few people that can help me.

Thanks in advance.
Best regards, Julian.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Have to say been shooting all day with the 16-35 f4 and don't keep this lens out of a decision process. It's really good
 

Juha Kannisto

New member
I have a clean M-Rokkor 28/2.8 lens (no white spots) and a Sony A7II as well as A7r and NEX-6. The lens works well on A7II and it's solid on A7r also. I've posted photos with the combo in my Google Plus account (https://plus.google.com/+JuhaKannisto/posts), with my usual PP though, but there was no need for any corner corrections etc. The corners are not super sharp when shot at infinity until the aperture is closed to F5.6 or F8 but they are quite acceptable even at wider apertures.

I have many other RF lenses also and M-Rokkor is the best performing 28mm among those that I have, the others are CV Ultron 28/1.9 and SC Skopar 28/3.5 and MS-Optical Super-Triplet Perar 28/4. I also have some RF lenses that are quite problematic especially on A7r, such as CV 25/4, CV 15/4.5.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I’m a little worried about the M-Rokkor, most 28mm M-Mount lenses aren’t that stellar on this cameras. I have only found a handful of images (without any comments about PP or something) and not a lot of written information about this lens (one of the few examples) .
I have posted many pics here. It is very good on the A7r. The best compact 28 for the A7 series.
 

Cyberratchet

New member
Thanks for your feedback everyone. The M-Rokkor seems very promising on the A7, especially for its size. I don’t expect and really need razor sharp corners at f2.8. Btw my M-Rokkor doesnt have the white spots as well, the cleaning process was quite expensive tbh. But the lens is wonderful, I love its rendering and overall feel.

@Juha: I’ve seen that you own the Nokton 50mm as well. How do you like it on the A7 II? I couldn’t make out if you have the LTM or M-Mount version, but they seem quite similar to me.

Have to say been shooting all day with the 16-35 f4 and don't keep this lens out of a decision process. It's really good
If I’ll end up with the A7 II, the 16-35mm is at the top of my wanted-list of native lenses. But a compact wide-angle lens is still important for me, because the FE-lenses are not the most compact around.

I have posted many pics here. It is very good on the A7r. The best compact 28 for the A7 series.
Oh ok, I must be blind then :D. I’ll try to find them after work.
 

scho

Well-known member
If I’ll end up with the A7 II, the 16-35mm is at the top of my wanted-list of native lenses. But a compact wide-angle lens is still important for me, because the FE-lenses are not the most compact around.
I agree. I have both the 16-35 and the M-Rokkor 28 and the latter, although not as sharp or versatile as the 16-35, is very nice for walkabout shooting because it is so tiny and light weight.
 

Juha Kannisto

New member
@Juha: I’ve seen that you own the Nokton 50mm as well. How do you like it on the A7 II? I couldn’t make out if you have the LTM or M-Mount version, but they seem quite similar to me.
I have the M-mount version from 2013. It is a great lens and it works very nicely on both the A7II and A7r. I haven't had any problems with it and I really like the rendering. The size is a very good match too. It's my favorite manual 50mm lens and I have 6, mostly SLR lenses. The FE 55/1.8 is one of my favorites too so I usually pick between the 2 when going for this focal length.
 

scho

Well-known member
Here is a quick shot with the Minolta 28mm M-Rokkor on the A7II. Click image for full size original. Raw image with default LR processing and no lens corrections. Exif intact.

 

uhoh7

New member
I have posted many pics here. It is very good on the A7r. The best compact 28 for the A7 series.
I think you were the first to discover this, also the elmarit v3 and M-hex are decent, but to really see the issues on must make a longer landscape shot at infinity with distant details on edges and corners and strong light.

From my own taste in landscape I have yet to see any 28 I loved on the A7 series. That's the main reason I bought an M9, which will really spoil you at 28mm.

But it's matter of degree, what's perfect fine for many may bother others in certain shots.

But the A7 series is very very picky at 28mm, I don't think there is much doubt about that. :)

Here is the Leica Elmarit 28/2.8 v3 on the A7r:

DSC01887-3 by unoh7, on Flickr


DSC05879 by unoh7, on Flickr
 

Viramati

Member
I use this lens sometimes on the A7s for street work when I use Zone focussing and am shooting from the hip and I would say that it is Okay on the A7 but not brilliant Like the previous poster this is a problematic Focal length on the A7 and I haven't found anything yet that really satisfies me when compared to the leica 28 summicron asph on the M so I am really waiting for the FE28/f2 to be released. I also find manual wide-angle lens a pain to focus accurately and quickly on the A7's especially if stopped down compared to the M and it's rangefinder.

Old hat

by Viramati, on Flickr
 
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Vivek

Guest
uhoh7, It is the swing away metering prong that made the Minolta CL's 28mm slight more retrofocal than the leica ones. This helps to use it with the A7 sensor.
 

Cyberratchet

New member
Thank you for all your comments. I will probably have to find a local camera store who let me try out a camera with my own lenses to see the M-Rokkors performance for myself. I had the lens cleaned (to get rid of the white spots), so it better to test it on a FF camera before I buy one. After all I never took a photo where the outer area of the lens was used (only had an APS-C camera so far).

Btw, does anyone remember how long it took the A7 to drop in price? It’s 1800€ in Austria, I can get -10% as a student. The price will probably doesn’t go under 1620€ anytime soon?
 

Viramati

Member
Mine has the white spots round the edge which don't seem to effect performance but then I only really use it on the A7s and not the higher resolution A7
 
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