Minolta MC Rokkor PF 135mm 1:2.8 vs. MC Rokkor QD 135mm 1:3.5 vs MD 135mm 1:2.8 – comparison

Published by Tony on 2019-05-132019-05-13

Minolta SR 135mm lenses comparison:

• Minolta MC Tele Rokkor PF 135mm 1:2.8 (MC II)
• Minolta MC Tele Rokkor QD 135mm 1:3.5 (MC II)
• Minolta MD 135mm 1:2.8 (MD III)

135mm is the very popular focal distance for many styles of photography: portraiture, landscapes, street-photo, etc. – it’s great for scenes which are required a compressed perspective for a more tight feeling of the picture. This comparison should show the difference between very budget manual 135mm lenses. Actually, Minolta produced the only one expensive 135mm – the famous MD 135mm 1:2.0, and all another 15 models for SR-mount looks cheap enough, so, three are here.

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

Tested lenses reviews:

Minolta SR 135mm lenses comparison – sharpness/resolution

Long-distance test description

• Camera Sony A7II (24mpx, full frame) – RAW (ARW), tripod, A-mode, ISO 100, 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

Scene preview

Test results

Minolta MC Rokkor PF 135mm 1:2.8 vs Minolta MC Rokkor 135mm 1:3.5

Minolta MC Rokkor PF 135mm 1:2.8 vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:2.8

Minolta MC Rokkor 135mm 1:3.5 vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:2.8

Minolta SR 135mm lenses comparison – final conclusion:

Minolta MC Rokkor PF 135mm 1:2.8 vs Minolta MC Rokkor 135mm 1:3.5

• Center: MC 1:3.5 is better if wide-opened. Lenses became the same from F5.6
• Middle: MC 1:3.5 is better wide-opened. Lenses became the same from F8.0
• Corner: MC 1:3.5 won at full diapason – From F2.8 till F16

Minolta MC Rokkor PF 135mm 1:2.8 vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:2.8

• Center: New-MD is better wide-opened. Lenses became the same from F5.6
• Middle: New-MD is better wide-opened. Lenses became the same from F8.0
• Corner: New-MD is better at full diapason – From F2.8 till F16

Minolta MC Rokkor 135mm 1:3.5 vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:2.8

• Center: New-MD is a little better wide-opened. Lenses became the same from F5.6
• Middle: New-MD is a little better wide-opened. Lenses became the same from F5.6
• Corner: enough similar behavior for both lenses

Results:

1. Minolta New-MD 135mm 1:2.8 won. Well, it was expected, the lens is much younger and using more modern technologies.
2. The second-place – MC Rokkor QD 135mm 1:3.5. Well known in photographers community “surprise” from the one of cheapest Minolta
3. The third – MC Rokkor PF 135mm 1:2.8 – anyway this is a very good portrait lens, but I wouldn’t recommend it for something like a landscape

By the way: in communities of manual lens photographers and collectors the legend about an ‘incredible’ 135/3.5 Rokkor appears in any conversation linked with a 135mm focal distance. I believe, that it’s true if to speak about the old Rokkors era and probably the base of this statement is quite low IQ for 135/2.8 lenses from that period. Later in 80′ – faster 135/2.8 were greatly updated and for today 135/3.5 lenses are very good, like any other Minoltas, but don’t look ‘incredible’.