Minolta 300mm F4.5 and the 4/4 mystery!

http://minolta.eazypix.de/lenses/


4E/3G [TD] I think the rear elements are a doublet.



4E/4G [QD]





6E/6G (x3) [HF]



7E/6G (x2)



--
A Manual Focus Junky...
One photographers junk lens is an artists favorite tool.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lightshow-photography/
[My Lens list](http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/viewprofile.php?Action=viewprofile&username=LightShow)
####Where's my FF NEX-7 ?????
Firmware request:
-A button map for toggling the EVF & LCD
-Still waiting for the minimum shutter speed with auto ISO for my NEX-7 and A7r. I know it will never happen.
-Customize the display screen layout, I'd love to have both Histogram and level at the same time.
-More peaking options, being able to set peaking sensitivity and a threshold level.
-An RGB overlay on the histogram -An option to return the focus assist zoom to one button press
-An option to return to how the NEX-7 handled playback, ie. center button to zoom, then you could use the control dial to zoom in and out, then center button to exit the zoom mode.

0MitchAG said:

brightcolours said:

0MitchAG said:

Does anyone have any sample images they can share? Preferably full resolution or centre and corner crops...

I'm thinking of buying the very early preset SR version with the 4/4 construction. The 4/4's from Minolta are typically very good while later, more complex variants can show worse performance. However, all 300's have a reputation for being a bit average. Maybe Minolta actually improved the design significantly here with the 6/6 (Tele-Rokkor F4.5 HF) or 7/6 (MD 4.5)... or perhaps they made a compromise to reduce the lens length by 5cm?

The 4/4 is actually only 130g lighter than the 6/6 HF while a 350mm lens I own (a Vinson Ina MC mount [Tamron T-mount]) from the same period weighs only 734g (Tamron is 648g) and is a 4/2 construction at the same 250mm length... So why was the 4/4 Minolta so damn heavy?

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I bet it has to do with the thickness of the 4 elements.

My Nikkor 135mm f2.8 "K" is also very heavy (600 grams), and a look at its 4 elements gives a hint on why:

0MitchAG said:

In terms of photos, I'm interested in the moon, birds and landscapes but any sample images are welcome.

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I can't find any information on whether thick elements were indicative of good design but they are a trademark of fast lenses

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It all depends on the type of glass available, new glass formulations permit thinner elements with the same power, this results in a lighter lens, or a more radical design.

0MitchAG said:

(Just look at the development of the Double-Gauss). Apochromatic correction did exist to a degree (Anastigmatic correction) at the time but they certainly weren't using LD or HR elements until 3 years later. If the example of the 6/6 F4.5 against the 5/5 F5.6 are anything to by, the 4/4 will have bad corner resolution, similar center resolution with less contrast but less LoCA. Unfortunately the asking price is just a bit too rich for me at the moment...

Out of interest, I discovered the Soviet Tair-3 which is only a 3/3 design and incredibly well corrected, with production beginning in the 50's. It just happens to be a monster around 1.5kg and very bulky in form... but they can be had cheaper than the lens I'm looking at.

Click to expand...

--
A Manual Focus Junky...
One photographers junk lens is an artists favorite tool.
[My Lens list](http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/viewprofile.php?Action=viewprofile&username=LightShow)
####Where's my FF NEX-7 ?????
Firmware request:
-A button map for toggling the EVF & LCD
-Still waiting for the minimum shutter speed with auto ISO for my NEX-7 and A7r. I know it will never happen.
-Customize the display screen layout, I'd love to have both Histogram and level at the same time.
-More peaking options, being able to set peaking sensitivity and a threshold level.
-An RGB overlay on the histogram -An option to return the focus assist zoom to one button press
-An option to return to how the NEX-7 handled playback, ie. center button to zoom, then you could use the control dial to zoom in and out, then center button to exit the zoom mode.

And one more review, this time of the MD 300 f/4.5

mirthseeker said:

And one more review, this time of the MD 300 f/4.5

Click to expand...

The more recent Rokkor lenses are great. It's the older SR versions such as the original 300mm TD and QD versions from the early 60's which are especially collectable and interesting.

mirthseeker said:

And one more review, this time of the MD 300 f/4.5

Click to expand...

))))

And fresh comparison Minolta MC Tele Rokkor HF 300mm f/4.5 (MC I) versus Minolta New-MD 300mm 1:4.5

- both copies are from reviews

0MitchAG said:

walter g1 said:

Sorry no help here. I bought the HF 6/6 version instead. No sample shots yet. It's a recent purchase.
I hope you buy the QD version I'm very curious about the performance.

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How much did you pay and when do you expect it to arrive?

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I've been shooting with the Minolta 300 4.5 and a Canon FD 300 f4 for the past month. The Canon is sharper, the Minolta has significantly less CA.

Overall, I love the Minolta and use it whenever I can. Examples with it are below: