Minolta xg-1 lens fitment

Minolta manual focus cameras use SR mount lenses. There are two different camera interfaces on the Minolta cameras for SR lenses, the MC and MD versions of the SR lenses.

"MD - In 1977, theXDseries introduced an additional tab on the lens which reported the smallest available aperture (f/16, f/22, or f/32) to the camera to accomplish shutter priority automatic exposure in S mode on the Minolta XD-7 (XD-11 in the U.S.A.), and later in the P (programmed automatic exposure) mode on the X-700. The proper use of this feature meant that the lenses had to be set to their smallest aperture. In 1981, MD lenses included a minimum aperture lock that prevented the aperture ring from accidentally being moved."

"The Minolta XG-1, introduced in 1978, was the second autoexposure camera model of the XG series of 35mm SLR film cameras produced from Minolta. Launched one year after the more sophisticated XG-7, the XG-1 was a lower-priced alternative. The model, however, is still fitted with the 'Touch Switch' system, which puts the camera's electronics on stand-by when powered up and activated by a touch of the shutter button."

You can use any SR mount lens (MC or MD version) with your XG-1. A MD lens will allow you to use the auto exposer mode of your XG-1 where the MC lenses will not.

The Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm F/1.7 lens is good inexpensive lens that will work very nicely with your XG-1. It will be a great place to start getting your feet wet with film photography. Depending on what you want to shoot and how you evolve as you get more comfortable with film cameras there are a huge range of SR mount lenses that will work well with your XG-1 camera. Minolta SR mount lenses are pretty inexpensive currently so I would recommend staying with Minolta branded lenses instead of purchasing third party lenses like Vivitar, Five Star or Quantara.

Zoom lenses have progressed immensely since the advent of computer aided optical design. As such older manual focus Minolta zoom lenses are going to be a big compromise between image quality for the convenience of being a zoom. Third party zoom lenses are generally going to have bigger image quality compromises.

If you must have a zoom lens I would guess that you would want a normal (wide angle thru telephoto) lens as a general use lens. The MINOLTA MD ZOOM 35-70㎜ f/3.5 is a good starting point for SR zoom lenses that will work nicely with your XG-1.

For best image quality, sharpness, contrast, flare resistance, etc. I recommend sticking with prime lenses for your XG-1.

Darren9857 wrote:

Hi folks,

My name is Darren and I'm from Ireland and looking for some help in regards to purchasing a zoom lens for a minolta xg-1. A zoom lens in particular I'm just looking for some advice on what mount lens fits the camera or is there other brands of lens can can be used on the minolta with or without an adaptor?

Any help would be greatly appreciated 😊

There are three very good Minolta zoom lenses: 35-70 f3.5  or, optically the same but the Macro variety, the 35-70 f3.5 Macro. (Famously, Leica had Minolta design this for them.) An excellent lens. Then there is the 75-150 f4, and the somewhat heavier and larger (and obviously longer range) 70-210 f4.

If you go for the ‘MD’ designation, you can’t really go wrong, and none of these three are usually expensive. Best, given that, to go for Minoltas rather than the third party ones though some might be very cheap. (There were Sigmas, Vivitars, Tamrons, Tokinas and one or two others, but it’s generally agreed Minolta made some superb lenses and most people think they have a particularly special colour IQ. Some third party lenses could be pretty poor, and as few reviews of them are now extant, it would be difficult to find the better ones, so it’s really best to avoid them.)

Also recommended would be a standard 50mm f1.7, 28mm f2.8 or (a focal length that’s currently being ‘discovered’ on Youtube) the small ‘pancake’ 45mm. A useful site for modern assessments of Minolta’s ‘’MD/MC’ lenses is Philip Reeve:

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/manual-minolta-lens-ratings/

PS: technically, yes, the Minolta mount for all its manual focus cameras is the ‘SR’ mount, but everybody tended to use ‘MC’ or ‘MD’ from the designations of the later lenses. The only difference between them was, as some point out, there was a tab on the MD lenses which locked the aperture at f22, or the smallest, for use on cameras like the x700.