Showcase Minolta 70-210mm f/4 MD

[WoodWorks]

I know several others here have this lens. But there doesn't seem to be a sample archive, so I thought I'd start one. Here are a few shots at full zoom, wide open, taken in my backyard. I just wanted to do a test to see if I could use this lens that way on a monopod. Perhaps I can find something more interesting to shoot this weekend.

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[Bimjo]

So, I'm not the only one that shoots dead flowers! Nice bokeh from this lens. The more I see from Monolta lenses the more impressed I become.

 

[ChangshaNotes]

So, I'm not the only one that shoots dead flowers! Nice bokeh from this lens. The more I see from Monolta lenses the more impressed I become.

+1 to all of it.

 

[WoodWorks]

Nice bokeh from this lens. The more I see from Monolta lenses the more impressed I become.

Yes, I've only had the lens for a week now, and have yet to thoroughly familiarize myself with it. But I'm impressed with both its bokeh and its ability to resolve detail. Here's a shot of my hometown I took yesterday morning at 70mm f/8:

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And here a 100% crop of the peak of Mt. Ashland in the upper left:

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That NORAD weather radar dome atop Mt. Ashland is about 12 miles from where I was shooting, and you can clearly see it and the ski lift towers on the slopes below it. Had there been skiers up there at that time in the morning, you may have even been able to discern them.

 

[Bimjo]

Yes, I've only had the lens for a week now, and have yet to thoroughly familiarize myself with it. But I'm impressed with both its bokeh and its ability to resolve detail. Here's a shot of my hometown I took yesterday morning at 70mm f/8:

And here a 100% crop of the peak of Mt. Ashland in the upper left:

That NORAD weather radar dome atop Mt. Ashland is about 12 miles from where I was shooting, and you can clearly see it and the ski lift towers on the slopes below it. Had there been skiers up there at that time in the morning, you may have even been able to discern them.

No way you could argue with results like that!

 

[NickCyprus]

Nice, the first set looks good!!!

I also been thinking of buying the MD 70-210... The only drawback for me is that its a heavy lens (600+ grams) and a big one length-wise (thus looks akward on the small Nex body IMO). I know the variable aperture model is lighter and smaller but don't think it performs as good as the F/4

 

[WoodWorks]

This lens is the size of a howitzer, so it's about the farthest thing from a "walk-around lens." But that's what I did with it this afternoon. All of these are hand-held. Most of them are wide open, at various focal lengths.

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Lithia Park.jpg by Holzwerk, on Flickr

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Lithia Ducks.jpg by Holzwerk, on Flickr

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Tree Rat.jpg by Holzwerk, on Flickr

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Cemetery Deer.jpg by Holzwerk, on Flickr

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Pioneer Cemetery.jpg by Holzwerk, on Flickr

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Pioneer Cemetery 2.jpg by Holzwerk, on Flickr

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Moss Cart.jpg by Holzwerk, on Flickr

 

[Amamba]

Just learning to use this lens. It was my first adapted lens on Nex and is probably the hardest one to use well, due to the weight and poor balance on small Nex body. (I do not use tripods, ever).

Still, under the right circumstances it produces very nice colors / bokeh.

I actually ended up with two mint copies of this lens, will try to trade one for some other longish MD lens... may be something of 135mm flavor.

Here's a few shots from a zoo, where I somehow managed to keep it steady.

This flower shot was most likely done at f5.6, between 70 and 90 mm:

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This most likely was done at f8, 210mm

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Wide open at or near tele end:

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[WoodWorks]

Nicely done!

 

[Amamba]

Thanks. This lens is fairly sizeable, although not super big when compared with other non-stabilized tele lenses (695g, for example, Canon 70-200/4L is practically the same weight at 715g, Canon 70-200/2.8L is 1.3 kg, and the "Bigma" Sigma 50-500 is over 1.8kg. And people use them handheld all the time. I think there's two problems with trying to use it with Nex - first, you have to focus it manually, which kind of takes away from trying to hold it steady, especially if you have to hurry to take a shot of something live; second, the Nex is so small, it doesn't give you much grip, and balances very poorly with this thing attached. Sometimes I wish they sold a battery grip for Nex, I'd use it just for this lens.

The color rendition and the bokeh are outstanding. There seems to be some contrast loss in some photos, perhaps it doesn't like sun much. This could also be a slight blur due to handshake, that can easily be mistaken for the loss of contrast. Anyway, I really like the lens, but wish Nex had IBIS...

 

[WoodWorks]

I don't know if this will help, but with larger lenses like this one I always cradle the lens with my left hand while (barely) holding the camera body with my right. Basically I'm holding on to the camera body with my right hand just enough to be able to click the shutter, no more. This makes the whole assembly very well balanced. Gripping a camera body with a big, heavy lens mounted to it seems like a painful exercise to me.

 

[davect01]

I don't know if this will help, but with larger lenses like this one I always cradle the lens with my left hand while (barely) holding the camera body with my right. Basically I'm holding on to the camera body with my right hand just enough to be able to click the shutter, no more. This makes the whole assembly very well balanced. Gripping a camera body with a big, heavy lens mounted to it seems like a painful exercise to me.

Good tips, gun shooting similarities abound.

Don't forget the old standby of, breath out then take the shot.

 

[Jaf-Photo]

Your shots are good and show what the lens is capable of. When it comes to the issue of contrast loss, I find my copy very contrasty. But it is essential to use the hood, in my opinion. Otherwise, the front lens is completely exposed, which is sure to reduce contrast and saturation.

The lens has a few advantages to make it easier to shoot, namely the combined zoom and focus ring. If you find a steady, fluid motion for the ring it will be easy to keep it stable. The constant f/4 aperture is also an advantage. Often it will be a good idea to shot in spot metering mode, to achieve a good balance between the main subject and the background.

As it happens, I used it for some floral shots myself yesterday, and I think it's perhaps my best lens for that use. It was a very sunny and bright day, but I only wanted to show the outer, back-lit petals in normal exposure. So I spot-metered them, resulting in a high shutter speed and suppressed background:
View attachment 5108
Sony NEX-7 + Minolta MD 70-210mm f/4 @f/4+1/2500
DSC06863-Edit-2-Edit | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[NickCyprus]

Amamba your last 3 shots are excellent!!! Love them - Nice work

 

[Amamba]

Thanks, Nick!

Jaf - thanks for the tip. I like taking shots of flowers. They tend to show off the color and bokeh of a lens like no other subject.

 

[Deadbear77]

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[Amamba]

This is wonderful ! Did you use a tripod ?

 

[Deadbear77]

Nope. Handheld.


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[Deadbear77]

Yes hand held every time so far on my trips to the zoo

Here are a couple more from the Minolta 70/210

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[Amamba]

Yes hand held every time so far on my trips to the zoo

...

I hate you

What shutter speed did you use on the leopard ? (amazing shot !)

Also, is this Nex 7 or one of the 16MP bodies ? The resolution in these shots is killer.