Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom lens review

• Official classification: New-MD
• Collector’s classification: MD III

This is a manual-focus version of  “Beercan” – one of the famous lenses of Minolta. A rare case when the description is worth starting with the mention of another younger lens because everyone knows a “Beercan.” It’s enough to say that this is “beercan without autofocus” and everyone immediately understands what it is about. It is believed that the optical properties of the lens weren’t changed when autofocus appeared, but a small probability still remains, therefore I’ll clarify – the review is about MD, not about Alpha.

Tests for this review are divided for 70mm, 100mm, 150mm, 210mm groups.

Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom specifications

# in minolta.eazypix.de index	269
Name engraved on lens	MD ZOOM
f[mm]	70-210
A max [1/f]	4
A min[1/f]	32
Lens design [el.]	12
Lens design [gr.]	9
Filter thread Ø front(rear)[mm]	55
Lens Shade	clip-in
closefocus[m/ft]	1.1/4
Dimension Ø x length [mm]	72×153
Weight[g]	635
Year	1983
Style	MD III
Code No. (ROKKOR-X) or Order No.	2514-110
Notes	1-Touch

More data

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Floating elements	NO
Aperture blades number	6
Confidence in the test results of reviewed copies	High
Reviewed Lens SN:	1099456

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Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom lens exterior

Lens shade (lens hood)

Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom mounted on Minolta X-700

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Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom sharpness

Сlose-distance resolution test, minimal distance

Testing methods description

• Target: 10-15 cm picture, printed on glossy photo paper
• Distance: 1.7m
• Camera: Sony A7II (24mpx, full-frame, tripod, remote control). M-mode, ISO fixed, WB fixed, SteadyShot – OFF.
• The test was repeated for every F-stop on every focus position with manual focus adjustment for each shot. That is to avoid the effect of field curvature.
• RAW processing: Capture One, default settings. All quality settings – 100%. Crops – 300×200 px

Original target image (printed in horizontal orientation on 10cm X 15cm glossy photo paper

Long-distance resolution test

Testing methods description

• Target: cityscape
• Distance: > 200 meters to center focus point
• Camera: Sony A7II (24mpx, full-frame, tripod, remote control). M-mode, ISO fixed, WB fixed, SteadyShot – OFF. The focus point is on the center only.
• RAW processing: Capture One, default settings. All quality settings – 100%. Crops – 300×200 px

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Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom TEST RESULTS on FOCUS DISTANCE = 70mm

70mm – Sharpness – short distance

70mm – Scene preview:

70mm – Test results

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70mm – Sharpness – long distance

70mm – Scene preview

70mm – Test results

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70mm – Vignetting

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70mm – Geometric distortion

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70mm – Coma aberrations

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70mm – Chromatic aberrations

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70mm – Long-distance bokeh

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance 1.2m, houses were fixed in infinity distance on the ground.

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70mm – Light bubbles long-distance bokeh

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance 1.2m, lights were fixed in more than 200m

Test #2

Test conditions: lens was focused on 2.0m, houses were fixed in infinity distance on the ground

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Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom TEST RESULTS on FOCUS DISTANCE = 100mm

100mm – Sharpness – a short distance

100mm – Scene preview

100mm – Test results

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100mm – Sharpness – long distance

100mm – Scene preview

100mm – Test results

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100mm – Vignetting

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100mm – Geometric distortion

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100mm – Coma aberrations

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100mm – Chromatic aberrations

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100mm – Long-distance bokeh:

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance 1.2m, houses were fixed in infinity distance on the ground.

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100mm – Light bubbles long-distance bokeh

Test #1

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance 1.2m, lights were fixed in more than 200m.

Test #2

Test conditions: lens was focused on 2.0m, houses were fixed in infinity distance on the ground.

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Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom TEST RESULTS on FOCUS DISTANCE = 150mm

150mm – Sharpness – a short distance

150mm – Scene preview

150mm – Test results

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150mm – Sharpness – long distance

150mm – Scene preview

150mm – Test results

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150mm – Vignetting

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150mm – Geometric distortion

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150mm – Coma aberrations

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150mm – Chromatic aberrations

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150mm – Long-distance bokeh

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance 1.2m, houses were fixed in infinity distance on the ground.

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150mm – Light bubbles long-distance bokeh:

Test #1

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance 1.2m, lights were fixed in more than 200m

Test #2

Test conditions: lens was focused on 2.0m, houses were fixed in infinity distance on the ground

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Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom TEST RESULTS on FOCUS DISTANCE = 210mm

210mm – Sharpness – a short distance

210mm – Scene preview

210mm – Test results

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210mm – Sharpness – long distance

210mm – Scene preview

210mm – Test results

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210mm – Vignetting

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210mm – Geometric distortion

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210mm – Coma aberrations

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210mm – Chromatic aberrations

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210mm – Long-distance bokeh

Test#1:

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance 1.2m, houses were fixed in infinity distance on the ground

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210mm – Light bubbles long-distance bokeh:

Test #1

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance 1.2m, lights were fixed in more than 200m

Test #2

Test conditions: lens was focused on 2.0m, houses were fixed in infinity distance on the ground

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Minolta MD 70-210mm 1:4.0 Zoom – final conclusion

Before testing, I was afraid that the lens would not be as good as it might be expected – yes, it is very famous but it is still a zoom lens. Hopefully, it turned out that my imagination about its IQ was a little lower than reality, it’s a good sign.

Let’s start with the disadvantages

Firstly, the chromatic aberrations. It’s the biggest weak side of this lens, to be honest – it isn’t a big problem for digital cameras, but it means that editing is required. Secondly, geometric aberrations can be spotted on almost any focal distance. This is typical behavior for zooms, so, again – nothing serious, just keep it in mind. Thirdly, my personal regret is the 1-touch ring – zooming and focusing mixed in the one ring. I admit that if the owner gets used to this design, then it may be convenient.

As for size and weight, the lens is rather big. But it seems that creating a lens with a similar IQ, constant aperture at all focal lengths, and for a full-frame is hardly possible. One of these three properties will have to be sacrificed. So – it is not a disadvantage, just physics.

Advantages

Here is the only one, but a very big point: overall/mixed IQ is great. This zoom isn’t a “primes-killer” but the idea to take this one instead of a pack “85 – 135 – 200” or something like this looks very good. Especially if the target is portraiture – I was impressed mostly by the sharpness distribution over the frame on any aperture than by total resolutions.

Of course, the lens has an amazing bokeh, on any apertures. Probably, it happens because any back- or front- ground with F4-5.6 on so long distances will be detached from an object with a large margin – enough for any portraits, but again – it’s because of physics, not because of the lens.

As a result

This MD 70-210 is not an ultra-sharp, not ultra-fast, with not ideal geometry and with a set of aberrations. But all these weaknesses are small, so no one of these reasons can displace this lens from the pedestal. This is one of the lenses with the most balanced IQ I have ever seen. If this 1-touch design suits you, then I recommend the lens.

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