Differences in Minolta 50mm 1.7 lenses??

[Nomad1600]

I am very interested in getting a Minolta 50mm AF F/1.7 lense to add to my two Alpha 300 kit lenses to use for indoor use and as a walk-around lens. It seems like there are two common versions, one with hard plastic grip for the focus ring and one (preferred) with rubber grip. I believe the slightly newer lenses have the rubber grip. Some ebay sellers specify it in their ads, but most don't.

Is there a way to tell which is which? eg is there a way to tell by the serial number? Can someone post a picture of each style to make it easier to tell by the seller's pictures?

Or... is there that not much of a difference in the two lenses to even worry about?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Mika Kovalainen]

This was asked over a year ago and I made a small blog post with photos of my two different versions.

http://ilves70photos.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-just-took-photo-of-my-two-50mm-af.html

Of my copies I like the sharpness and colour of the old version the best.

Old: http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=17
New: http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/detail.asp?IDLens=18

 

[Olaf Ulrich]

I am very interested in getting a Minolta AF 50 mm 1:1.7 lens to add to my two Alpha 300 kit lenses to use for indoor use and as a walk-around lens. It seems like there are two common versions, one with hard plastic grip for the focus ring and one (preferred) with rubber grip. I believe the slightly newer lenses have the rubber grip. Some eBay sellers specify it in their ads, but most don't.

Is there a way to tell which is which?

Huh!? You just described how to tell them apart: just take a look at the focusing grips.

.

Or ... is there that not much of a difference in the two lenses to even worry about?

There are (at least) three versions of the Minolta AF 50 mm 1:1.7 lens; I like to call them 1a, 1b, and 2. Versions 1a and 1b have the fine-knurled focusing grips made of hard plastic; version 2 is the one with the soft rubber grip. Most users consider version 1a, i. e. the original version, the most desirable. Unfortunately, it's very hard to tell from version 1b. From looking at the lens' outside, there's no perceptible difference. But when peeping into the space between barrel and rear element then you can see a certain part of the helicoid which is made of metal in version 1a and of plastic in version 1b. Also, version 1a is approximately 10 g heavier than version 1b (approx. 180 g vs. 170 g without caps). Fortunately, this hardly makes a real-life difference in terms of usability or durability.

Version 2 does not only have the rubber grip---which you may or may not prefer---, it also has a steeper pitch in the focusing helicoid which makes it faster-focusing in AF mode but harder to accurately focus manually. It also lacks an IR index which the older versions have.

The glass allegedly is the same in all three versions. It's usable at full aperture, good at f/2, and very good from f/2.8 on. Bokeh also is pretty good but not at full aperture. For nicest bokeh, use apertures between f/2 and f/2.8.

Regards,
Olaf
--
Olaf Ulrich, Germany

 

[Ed at Ridersite]

Well, there must be at least four versions then, because my copy of the newer version (with the rubber focus ring) has the letters "AF" on the front of the lens in red. In Mika's photo, they're white.

Other differences in the non-RS and RS apparent in Mika's photo:

1) the DOF scale on the RS has no f4
2) the lettering on the non-RS version is partly in gold but all white on the RS

3) the large lettering on the side of the non-RS version says AF LENS/50. On the RS it simply says AF 50
--
AEH
http://aehass.zenfolio.com/
Question: What do you do all week?
Answer: Mon to Fri. Nothing, Sat & Sun I rest!

 

[madecov]

I'm guessing mine's a 1a as it is the crossed XX maxxum version.

It's also the best copy I've had through six or seven copies
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In god we trust, all others are suspects