Minolta MD Rokkor-X 45mm 1:2, Sharp and Sure

Vintage Lens Test: Image making with an MD Rokkor-X 45mm 1:2, sharp and sure images, one for the keep.

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You might not want to consider the Minolta MD Rokkor-X 45mm 1:2, a real compact and petite prime that seems to fit any X, XD, or XG series SLR film camera just right, as a true pancake lens. At only 60mm long and 125 grams in weight, it might be only just close enough.

On the E-P5 it extrudes out long enough to be almost the perfect fit, with just the right weight, feel, and balance in the cradle of your right hand and the fingers of your left hand extended just enough to be really comfortable with the focus and aperture rings.

Minolta MD Rokkor-X 45mm 1:2

The lens is from the time when Minolta started making kit lenses that were more affordable to the consumer. Though well made by today’s standards, the 6 elements in 5 groups have a 5-bladed diaphragm, which is not all metal and glass as it comes with more plastic components.

Olympus E-P5, Minolta MD Rokkor-X 45mm 1:2

Image quality, however, is something you will be surprised by.

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Sony DT 18-70mm 1:3.5-5.6 Zoom, The Square Revisited

Film photography favorites, analog diary, image making with an APS-C Sony DT 18-70mm 1:3.5-5.6 mounted on a full-frame 35mm SLR film camera.

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A parting post for a look back session, posts on street photography outings with an ASP-C digital SLR lens, the Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6, mounted instead on a full-frame SLR Film camera. The first post shows images captured at the short wide-angle end of the lens, while the second was images from the long end, and for the rest, somewhere in between.

I have not seen much of this on the Net really, not at all if any. I can only assume that DSLR enthusiasts are not really keen on going back to film. The good fun here is that film cameras that can be retrofitted with your current crop of DSLR lenses, depending on the make of your camera system, are easily available on the auction sites and their cost are normally very affordable.

Minolta Maxxum 70, Sony DT 18-70mm 1:3.5-5.6 Zoom

These images were shot on color negative film, converted to black-and-white, and squared to the 1:1 image aspect ratio on Olympus Viewer 3 (OV3).

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Minolta MD 50mm 1:2, The Clouds Above

Vintage Lens Test: Image making with a Minolta MD 50mm 1:2, looking up, above, and around.

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The MD 50mm 1:2, perfect as it is, is the slowest non-macro standard prime produced by Minolta. It is less common than the faster MD 50mm F1.7 which was the mainstay as a kit lens for Minolta SR system cameras.

For its compact and lightweight body form, the 1:2 is actually a delight to use. It focuses smoothly and handles well, and the focus peaking on the E-P5 is almost perfect at any aperture in good lighting conditions.

Minolta MD 50mm 1:2

The lens is one of the most low-cost SR lenses on many auction sites, but as you might be able to discern from the images, you will probably get a lot more in image quality when compared to the cost of acquiring the lens itself.

Olympus E-P5, Minolta MD 50mm 1:2

It was a very nice, sunny, and bright day with plenty of cloud cover drifting across the otherwise very bright and blue sky when I took the MD 50mm 1:2, mounted on the Olympus E-P5, out for a quick take session. It was quite a sight, with blue skies, and majestic clouds, and it did not take me long to decide what the test shots of the day were to be.

Images were post-processed on Olympus Viewer 3 (OV3) and the final print sharpening was on Google NIK Sharpener Pro 3.

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Analog Diary, SMC Pentax-M 40mm 1:2.8, The Ride

Film photography favorites, analog diary, image making with an SMC Pentax-M 40mm 1:2.8 and a Pentax MX, the LRT ride out of the city.

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Sans the hustle and bustle of the inner city, the grind, and whine of electric motors, the surge of acceleration as the train leaves the station, the rattle, and skittle as the track rises and falls, the rocking and swaying on the bends, the hushed dead stops less than a minute away, and you are taking the ride, virtually in a world of your own.

Pentax MX, SMC Pentax-M 40mm 1:2.8

These images were of the receding cityscape viewed from the windscreen of a driverless LRT coach as I was heading home after the day out with the SMC Pentax-M 40mm 1:2.8 and the Pentax MX. Again, sans all the clamor and the incessant assault on your physics and senses, a rail ride is always an experience to reflect upon and enjoy.

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