Minolta MD 75-150mm 1:4.0 Zoom vs MD 85mm 1:2.0 vs MD 135mm 1:2.8 – comparison

Published by Tony on

Minolta MD 75-150mm 1:4.0 Zoom comparison with primes

  • Minolta MD 75-150mm 1:4.0 Zoom (MD III)
  • Minolta MD 85mm 1:2.0 (MD III)
  • Minolta MD 135mm 1:2.8 (MD III)

All fighters are optically in mint conditions.

This comparison is correct only for conditions and equipment used for tests. Test results can differ if any element is changed.

Tested lenses reviews



Minolta MD 75-150mm 1:4.0 Zoom comparison with primes – sharpness

Long-distance test description

  • Camera Sony A7II (24mpx, full frame) – RAW (ARW), tripod, A-mode, ISO fixed, WB fixed, SteadyShot OFF, manual focus correction for every shot
  • Targets (buildings) – fixed by gravity power on the distances in more than 200 meters
  • ARW post-processing – Capture One, default settings, 100% crops 300×200 px

Focal distance 85mm

Scene preview (85mm)

Test results (85mm)

Minolta MD 75-150mm 1:4.0 Zoom comparison vs Minolta MD 85mm 1:2.0

Focal distance 135mm

Scene preview (135mm)

Test results (135mm)

Minolta MD 75-150mm 1:4.0 Zoom comparison vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:2.8

Minolta MD 75-150mm 1:4.0 Zoom comparison with primes – final conclusion

Minolta MD Zoom 75-150mm 1:4 vs MD 85mm 1:2:

Pay attention to corners, please. The zoom beats the prime closed for 3(!) stops. I have no words, it’s magic, the zoom has won in corners(!) against Minolta 85/2 – the well known top-level performer.

In the Center and Middle positions, prime has a little advantage, but a microscope is needed to see it.

As a result: MD 75-150/4 totally wins from the sharpness point of view. But, of course, MD 85/2 would be preferable if fast apertures are needed – it also has an amazing resolution in corners, just maybe not so amazing as MD 75-150/4.

Minolta MD Zoom 75-150mm 1:4 vs MD 135mm 1:2.8:

One of the best 135mm lenses – Minolta MDIII 135/2.8 – still has not lost a single battle on the site. But this fight was not easy even for such a famous fighter. Both lenses are the same. It looks that zoom has a little bit more contrast, but in detail, differences are too small to talk about it. Draw, both are winners.

But again: one-stop slower zoom-lens show the same resolution as prime on similar apertures? I just can recommend not selling it if you got it.

 


4 Comments

nrk · 2019-03-20 at 23:00

I’ve always found strange that while everyone usually talks about the 35-70/3.5 and the 80-210/4 when it comes to Minolta zooms, just a few by comparison people know of the existence of the 75-150/4. I have a bunch of Minolta primes and zooms (but I’m not even close to your collection) and I must say that I really love the 75-150/4 because optically it’s a gem of a vintage zoom. The cherry on top is that this focal range is useful even with the crop factor of APS-C sensors, furthermore it’s capable of a great performance even on demanding sensors with an high pixel density (24mp APS-C or 42mp FF). By the way I really enjoy your blog 🙂

    Tony · 2019-03-21 at 11:09

    Thank you for support )) To be honestly, I don’t keep all lenses which are reviewed, just some of them. To my regret I’ve sold my 70-210/4 earlier than this site was started and don’t have materials for full article, but samples on infinity distance were saved and I can see that 70-210/4 isn’t so good as this 75-150/4, especially in corners

Anonymous · 2019-03-25 at 19:14

hello from Paris !
your blog is really good and I enjoy it..I confirm that 75-150 is really good (smaller and lighter than 70-210) .
I also own some lens from Minolta (about 25)..If I should keep only one, it would be the 35-105 lens: it’s lighter and smaller than the 35-135..my advice : get it 😉

    Tony · 2019-03-25 at 19:20

    Hello, Mersi for the advance)) 35-105 is in plans for next reviews, may be not soon but this lens should be tested. After the results of 35-135 – I can predict that it has nice IQ

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