Minolta SR 35mm lenses comparison:
A very important test for me personally, and I think for many other photographers – 35mm focal distance is an over-demanded and a good understanding of “who’s the best” can help to make a correct choice of a lens.
Minolta MC Rokkor HG 35mm 1:2.8 W vintage manual lens review (Minolta MC W Rokkor-HG 1:2.8 f=35mm)
This is the first lens that has been acquired after I decided to test every prime lens from Hills&Valleys generation. I have got the copy in “near mint”, or even maybe “like new” condition – almost no signs of use. My interest is enough big because one of the best ever among any other in the whole world (my most favorite too) lens is New-MD 35/2.8, and I was very curious about the IQ of the predecessor from MC-era. But something went wrong and my first “like new” copy is showed a strange result – the huge lack of resolution in middles and corners. But right after that sad day, I was lucky to get another copy. The second one has a lot of signs of use, signs of disassembling, and removed aperture clicker-ball, even one of the screws has been lost. But after CLA it displays the really nice sharpness.
I still don’t know what is the reason for the difference in IQ between these two copies – a quality deviation, or damage of the first lens but without signs of an impact. This article is based on test results from the second good copy, but photos of the exterior were made with both.