The Minolta AF 24mm 1:2.8, a prime lens designed for cameras with Minolta AF and Sony α mounts, was introduced by Minolta for the 1985 issue of the Maxxum 7000 (7000 AF in Europe and α-7000 in Japan), Minolta's first integrated AF 35mm SLR film camera. The compact and lightweight lens is constructed with a plastic exterior housing and metal internals, has 8 elements in 8 groups, 7 aperture blades, and a minimum focusing distance of 250mm, the lens is 44mm long, weighs 215 grams, and takes 55mm filters. Images are sharp with good color rendition, and from within the enthusiast group, the lens is highly acclaimed and recommended for its sharpness and image quality legendary of the 'Minolta Colors.'
In the digital era, where the lens is easily available on auction listings much lower than equivalent Sony α model lenses, the Minolta AF 24mm 1:2.8 is fully compatible and can be used interchangeably on Sony A-mount Alpha DSLR cameras. Mounting the Minolta AF 24mm 1:2.8 on a 14.2 MP CCD Sony DSLR-A350, which has a 1.5x APS-C cropped sensor, however, does not make the lens the wide angle that it is, but rather a standard equivalent of a 35mm (36.48mm to be exact) lens on a full-frame camera, a focal length that is very versatile and is highly recommended for street and travel photography, architecture and urban landscape, food and low-light photography, documentary portraiture, and for general use.
With the first impression close-up images posted, the age difference between the lens and the camera does not make any difference. While the Minolta AF 24mm 1:2.8 is one of the highlights of the A-mount Minolta AF lenses, the Sony DSLR-A350 is equally the highlight of CCD-sensor DSLRs introduced by Sony soon after they took over and rebranded the KonicaMinolta franchise. A boon for CCD enthusiasts, the camera and lens are easily available on auction listings, even in brick-and-mortar stores, at prices for the asking.
No comments:
Post a Comment