There are many loyal Minolta fans out there and I’m excited to see why. Many claim that the Minolta MD 50mm f1.4 is the best legacy fifty ever made. Let’s weigh the pros and cons to see if that’s true.
Pros
- A very affordable lens that can be bought for under $75
- Extremely well built and compact even though many parts are built from plastic
- Buttery smooth focus ring with a long throw and hard stops for precise focus pulls
- Beautiful bokeh rendering
Cons
- Six blade aperture which causes hexagonal flaring
- Soft focus at wide open apertures
- Minor vignetting at wide open apertures- corrects itself around F4
Summary
If you’re looking for affordable glass than Minolta MDs are a great place to start. The Minolta Rokkor 50mm F1.4 is an extremely versatile lens that works well for landscape, portrait, macro, and low light filmmaking. Its not the sharpest lens wide open but the dreamy bokeh makes it really stand out amongst other low cost vintage lenses. Add a little character to your next film by using this lens.