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The cheapest lens I bought for years

jonoslack

Active member
Hi there
Thanks to David (Braeside) who pointed me at it, I ended up buying a Minolta 24-105 zoom secondhand for £149. I didn't have a huge amount of hope for it, but it was from a reputable dealer, and it's very small and I couldn't possibly lose out if I sold it on ebay.

It arrived this morning, and apart from smelling a bit odd, it looks almost new. the zoom is slightly rough, and the manual focus as well.

It should be said at this point that I'm not a fan of cheap zooms . . I keep buying them because I want an occasional small / light solution, and I keep being disappointed.

Anyway, I took it out with the dog for half an hour this evening.















At 24mm the corners are soft - even stopped down . . . but only the very cornery corner, and there's some vignetting at longer focal lengths (again, even if stopped down).

But, as you can see, the bokeh isn't bad, it's not too prone to flare, CA is not too much of an issue, apart from the edges it's as sharp as a pin - even wide open. Added to which, it doesn't frighten the children if you point it at 'em from 10 ft (unlike the 135 f1.8).

It's not much bigger than the 50 f1.4, and it weighs very little, and it's a great focal length range.

So, Thanks to David for the heads up, and if you're looking for something light and cheap and cheerful to stick on your A900 when you're taking your dog for a walk and which won't break the bank or the back . . . this might just be it!

Worth noting that David Kilpatrick, on the Dyxum website Minolta 24-105

Reckons that it's unusable on the A900 . . .
 
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fotografz

Well-known member
Looks decent to me. I know what you mean in wanting some simple, no-brainer little solution as a walk about.

I just snagged an el-cheapo 28/1.8 Siggy for my Nikon just for some f/speed ... and it's loaded with character ... now I wonder about one on the A900 ?????

Maybe the Siggy 24/1.8 ? But the Zeiss big dogs might kick it's rump out of the Sony roller :ROTFL:

Siggy's are odd ... finished like some decor in a whorehouse ... ooooh, that black velvet "Elvis Painting" flocking :cool: ... I don't know whether to shoot it or pet it. ;)

Might make a creamy-dreamy addition to the wedding bag. Focuses really close.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Looks decent to me. I know what you mean in wanting some simple, no-brainer little solution as a walk about.

I just snagged an el-cheapo 28/1.8 Siggy for my Nikon just for some f/speed ... and it's loaded with character ... now I wonder about one on the A900 ?????
The sad truth is that they're usually a nasty disappointment, and maybe this one will turn out to be so too, but at the moment it looks pleasant enough, and the size is great.

Ah - the Sigma flock finish - unfortunately they're about as unpredictable as they feel - although I haven't had the problems with sample variation which are so much the stuff of the internet.

The Sigma 12-24 isn't a beast on the A900 - just like it was a light and useable solution on the Kodak 14n, their macros are usually okay as well, but some of the cheap mid range zooms can be pretty horrid (just like everyone else, with the possible exception of Olympus).
 

Terry

New member
A little OT but since we are talking lenses, what industrial design guru came up with the two piece lens cap for the Sigma 12-24? :eek:
 

Braeside

New member
Glad it wasn't a complete waste of money Jono!

I am going to revisit my Minolta 24-85mm (which was fine on APS-C and film) and I also have the Minolta 28-105mm which works nicely but I find the 28mm minimum a bit of a bind at times.
 

jonoslack

Active member
A little OT but since we are talking lenses, what industrial design guru came up with the two piece lens cap for the Sigma 12-24? :eek:
:) Great isn't it! I'd forgotten quite how silly as I just use it as a push on cap. I suppose the idea is that you can use filters for the longer focal lengths?
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
A little OT but since we are talking lenses, what industrial design guru came up with the two piece lens cap for the Sigma 12-24? :eek:
You can keep the inner part on when using the lens on crop sensors, protecting the lens better. It's important that it's pushed properly in place though.
 
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