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minolta af 35 70

J

Jamesmd

Guest
Hi all , I went out for the flash and found a min Af 35 70 f4 in perfect conditions for 60€ , I tried it on the 900 and its very good , I'm very happy with it , and its very light .

Anyone uses this lens ?

Thanks

James
 
Do you have any info about the lens you can share (elements, groups, etc.)? I have to wonder if it is similar to the Leica 35-70/4. I vaguely remember hearing that Minolta was involved in that lens at some level.
 

dhsimmonds

New member
I am not sure but I think that lens was designed and manufactured for Leica in their R mount. If so it is indeed a very good lens. Sorry Bill just noted that you got there first! I used the Leica version for about three years as a good light travel lens and it is so.....sharp!:thumbs:
 
J

Jamesmd

Guest
I'll find some info about it , but indeed it is a very nice lens , I'm really surprised.

thanks
 

peterv

New member
Intersting thread. There seem to be quite a lot 35-70 Minoltas floating around these days. As for the 'Leica R version' I digged into this a little, and found this old thread:

http://www.photography-forums.com/minolta-md-leica-t13977.html

According to someone there:

Actually, the original non-macro MD Zoom Rokkor
is at least as good as the later plain MD versions of
which some have the additional 'macro' close-focus
feature and some have not. The first version, with
the Rokkor name and without close-focus feature,
is the one originally provided to Leitz as the Vario-
Elmar-R 35-70 mm 1:3.5. So were the later con-
stant-speed versions but not the still-later variable-
speed version.


This would be a manual focus lens. I'd like to find out more though, because the idea of getting an AF 35-70 Leica R for €50 is of course very tempting... :toocool:

Dyxum is also a good resource, and has quite a large database:

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/results.asp?IDLensType=3&offset=100

Kind Regards,

Peter
 
Let me know what you find out. I'm moving to Sony and I will very much miss the Leica 35-70/4. It is versatile and light and probably is what allowed me to stay with the DMR as long as I did.
 

peterv

New member
Well, I digged a little deeper, and it seems there were at least three versions of the 35-70 R, all manual of course. From what I understand, the first version was designed, produced and rebadged by Minolta. Later Leica versions supposedly had better mechanical build quality and a none rotating front element.

So the dream of a cheap 35-70 AF R quality lense will most probably stay a dream. But who knows, Minolta may have put a lot of knowledge in the 35-70 f4.0 AF version. The reviews I read seem to point out that it's quite good, and a bargain, pricewise.

Peter
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Well, I digged a little deeper, and it seems there were at least three versions of the 35-70 R, all manual of course. From what I understand, the first version was designed, produced and rebadged by Minolta. Later Leica versions supposedly had better mechanical build quality and a none rotating front element.

So the dream of a cheap 35-70 AF R quality lens will most probably stay a dream. But who knows, Minolta may have put a lot of knowledge in the 35-70 f4.0 AF version. The reviews I read seem to point out that it's quite good, and a bargain, price-wise.

Peter
I owned both versions of the manual focus R 35-70/3.5 Vario Elmar. Note: these were f/3.5 lenses, not f/4. The first version was made in Japan by Minolta, and the second was made in Germany by Leica. The second was better build quality and featured a non-rotating barrel. I believe the coatings were updated on the 2nd also. These are not to be confused with the later R 35-70/4 Vario Elmar which is a different design.

If one were to convert a Leica R zoom for use on a A900, the better candidate may be R28-90/2.8-4.5 ASPH Zoom (if it can be converted). This is perhaps one of the finest performing mid-range zooms made by anyone. Build quality of this lens is astounding. Not priced for the feint of heart however.
 
J

Jamesmd

Guest
Hi .

Leica or not , I love this lovely little old lens ;)

here is a sample

Cheers
 
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peterv

New member
I owned both versions of the manual focus R 35-70/3.5 Vario Elmar. Note: these were f/3.5 lenses, not f/4. The first version was made in Japan by Minolta, and the second was made in Germany by Leica. The second was better build quality and featured a non-rotating barrel. I believe the coatings were updated on the 2nd also. These are not to be confused with the later R 35-70/4 Vario Elmar which is a different design.

If one were to convert a Leica R zoom for use on a A900, the better candidate may be R28-90/2.8-4.5 ASPH Zoom (if it can be converted). This is perhaps one of the finest performing mid-range zooms made by anyone. Build quality of this lens is astounding. Not priced for the feint of heart however.
Yes Marc, all very true. The R28-90/2.8-4.5 ASPH Zoom would be a very nice on the a900 indeed. Ah, when will I win the lottery :rolleyes:

Here's more of the same info:

http://nemeng.com/leica/019c.shtml
 
J

Jamesmd

Guest
Hi , a couple from this morning

cheers
 
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J

Jamesmd

Guest
And one from yesterday , Monks where allways clever finding places :)

Rio Duraton , Sepulveda , Segovia , Spain
 
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