300mm f2.8 which one?

soultan · Jul 23, 2011

Hello everyone!

A friend of mine would like to buy a 300mm 2.8 lens. He is not interested in zooms at all! One thing is sure, he cannot afford the Sony 300 2.8 G. It's too pricey for €6300! As I see he has only two choice:
Minolta 300 2.8 SSM used
or
Sigma 300 2.8 new

The Minolta is slightly cheaper but officially a discountinued product and if something goes wrong the repairing can be very difficult or impossible!

The Sigma maybe not as sharp wide open like the Minolta (I found some pictures on flickr taken with the Canon version at wide open and the results are pretty good). The outer painting issue is not unknown for us. More importantly the Sigma lens is brand new with warranty and hopefully available service parts for plenty years to come.

The only negative what I found on dyxum.com is compared to the Sony 300 2.8 G where the user claimed the Sigma copy did not meet his expectations.

During my research I found some reference about an existing Tamron 300 2.8 but it's not listed on Tamron's website anymore.

So the $100 question is: which lens would you choose?

MartinMP · Jul 23, 2011

Hello,

I do not know Sigma version, but would expect better quality - in terms of sharpness, contrast and overall color reproduction - from Minolta version.

Kind Regards,
Martin

Gavin 11 · Jul 23, 2011

What about a used Tokina AT-X 300 f2.8 ?
--
"Pru, it's kicking off!"
I am a Toadie and proud!

Danny Williams · Jul 23, 2011

I have owned the Minolta 300/2.8 for over twenty years, and used it as a professional wildlife photographer. The lens is built like a tank and it has never caused me any trouble. It is incredibly sharp, although heavy. This is one lens that I would never part with. It has always been one of my very favorites. YOu just cannot go wrong with this lens.

William9 · Jul 23, 2011

If your friend is willing to go up another f stop, he could get the marvelous Minolta 200 f2.8 coupled with the Minolta 1.4x teleconverter. All reviews I've read say the match is so perfect there is vertually no less of IQ going to the 280mm f4 mark. And he could have the 200 f2.8 as well. Bonus: the lens weighs about 750 g and costs about $1,200 for the high speed version. There is a new photozone.de review of this classic lens. Excellent, highest marks.

William

--

'Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment. Cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment is intuition.' -- Rumi

garykohs · Jul 23, 2011

The Minolta G SSM is reputed to be the sharpest 300/2.8 in existence. If he can find one similar in price to the Sigma it's the best choice.
--
Gary

HopeSpringsEternal · Jul 23, 2011

Until it breaks and needs warranty work. Or actually any work since Sony has stopped repairing/supporting Minolta lenses.

Why would anyone take such a risk for a very little improvement in image quality.

I'd say go with the new Sigma.

garykohs said:
The Minolta G SSM is reputed to be the sharpest 300/2.8 in existence. If he can find one similar in price to the Sigma it's the best choice.
--
Gary

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopeiseternal/

Danny Williams · Jul 23, 2011

"Why would anyone take such a risk..." You only have to use the Minolta 300/2.8 once, and you have the answer. My colleages droll over my lens, because it is that good. I make my living with long lenses, and this one is at the top of the list. My Canon friends can't believe just how impressive this lens really is.

tbcass · Jul 23, 2011

HopeSpringsEternal said:
Until it breaks and needs warranty work. Or actually any work since Sony has stopped repairing/supporting Minolta lenses.

Why would anyone take such a risk for a very little improvement in image quality.

I'd say go with the new Sigma.

garykohs wrote:

Not much risk. High quality lenses last a lifetime without problems. I had an excellent Soligor f2.8 200mm I used with my old SRT101 and XG film cameras. Sill worked perfectly when I sold it when it was 35 years old.
--
Tom

Look at the picture, not the pixels

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25301400@N00/

Paige Wood · Jul 24, 2011

I have a Tokina 300 2.8 ATX - Pro on A 700. The AF is a bit noisy and not as fast as SSM, so BIF are a bit of a challenge, but the glass is fantastic
Cheers,
Tony

ephankim · Jul 24, 2011

The optics will last forever, not the SSM motor.

--
http://flickr.com/ephankim
http://photo.net/photos/eric.phan-kim

stevemark · Jul 24, 2011

Sigma has a long history of problems with their ROMs. They usually work with cameras of the present genereation, but one or two generations later often problems arise.

Both ways (new Sigma and used Minolta) are somewhat risky. I have the Minolta AF 2.8/300mm APO G, and I'll have it serviced soon. There are still specialists around that can do it - as lng as you don't need spare parts.

Stephan

HopeSpringsEternal · Jul 24, 2011

Yeah, but those are manual focus lenses that are all-metal and with no electronic linkages.

The 300mm f/2.8 has SSM which means that it has a critical point of failure with the SSM motor/electronics as there is no fallback to body driven focusing.

I myself use old manual focus lenses and I do admit to having purchased an older Sigma AF 500mm f/4.5 APO due to the offered price.

Both if I was an avid bird photographer looking for 300mm f/2.8 (and with the funds) I would probably pick up a new Sigma with 5year warranty over a same or similar price Minolta 300mm f/2.8 SSM.

tbcass said:
HopeSpringsEternal said:

Until it breaks and needs warranty work. Or actually any work since Sony has stopped repairing/supporting Minolta lenses.

Why would anyone take such a risk for a very little improvement in image quality.

I'd say go with the new Sigma.

garykohs wrote:

Click to expand...

Not much risk. High quality lenses last a lifetime without problems. I had an excellent Soligor f2.8 200mm I used with my old SRT101 and XG film cameras. Sill worked perfectly when I sold it when it was 35 years old.
--
Tom

Look at the picture, not the pixels

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25301400@N00/

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopeiseternal/

HopeSpringsEternal · Jul 24, 2011

I looked over your photos and I want to say they are very nice.

Danny Williams said:
"Why would anyone take such a risk..." You only have to use the Minolta 300/2.8 once, and you have the answer. My colleages droll over my lens, because it is that good. I make my living with long lenses, and this one is at the top of the list. My Canon friends can't believe just how impressive this lens really is.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopeiseternal/

EXX · Jul 24, 2011

HopeSpringsEternal said:
Until it breaks and needs warranty work. Or actually any work since Sony has stopped repairing/supporting Minolta lenses.

Are you sure? I bought a new Minolta AF 500 Reflex 9 month ago in a shop in Amsterdam and got the same full 2 year warranty as there is for Sony lenses.

ThinCat · Jul 25, 2011

I've got the Minolta 300mm f2.8 HS and I agree with the posts about its high quality. I've always steered clear of Sigma lenses because of the dangers of incompatibility - accurate focus is essential on these lenses.

I wonder why your friend wants an f2.8. I also have the Minolta 300mm f4 and I find that I use that lens much more often than the f2.8 (it's a tank) - it's much lighter (and also much cheaper) and is just as sharp as the f2.8 IMO. The main advantage of the f2.8 is that you can put a 2X TC on it and retain autofocus - so you get an excellent 600mm f5.6.

the_rascal · Jul 25, 2011

New Sigma 300/2,8 or Minolta SSM ?

go for Minolta !

Minolta has SSM, Sigma does not

Minolta is the same lens as the Sony 300G, so it can be repaired

Minolta (as well as the Sony) has a trully brilliant Focus setting device : you can define both minimal and maximal focus distance at will :from 4 to 8 m or 6 to 25m etc. ! Truly useful for increasing focus speed.

And where did you find a Minolta at same price than a Sigma ? Because that would be an excellent bargain !

Amateur Sony Shooter · Jul 25, 2011

Not long ago in this forum, there was a report of damaged Minolta 300 2.8 with faulty SSM, repair shop could not fix/replace SSM (not the same as Sony). So the owner is left in the dark.

For this reason alone, your friend should consider Sigma. Minolta's older version like 300/2.8 G HS APO is a safer buy, because it uses screw drive AF, and could be repaired.

tbcass · Jul 25, 2011

ephankim said:
The optics will last forever, not the SSM motor.

That's a good point if longevity is a concern.

--
Tom

Look at the picture, not the pixels

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25301400@N00/

Nikolai Vassiliev · Jul 25, 2011

Minolta 300mm f/2.8 G SSM is great and Sony simply rabadged this lens.

Minolta 300mm f/2.8 G HS is different, older and SSM version is a little better.

IF he can afford SSM - it's best choice (and always can repair in sony service, but for pay).

Know nothnig about Sigma here.
--
http://vassiliev.net

300mm f2.8 which one?

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