First impressions Minolta MD 75-150mm f/4

[caspert79]

I received my Minolta MD 75-150mm f/4 from Japan. It's actually my only zoom lens. I must say I'm very pleased with it. You can use this lens wide open without hesitation. It's quite compact and it covers the tele range I use 95% of the time.

Some test pics:

MinoltaMD75150f422 by devoscasper, on Flickr

MinoltaMD75150f418 by devoscasper, on Flickr

MinoltaMD75150f415 by devoscasper, on Flickr
MinoltaMD75150f412 by devoscasper, on Flickr
MinoltaMD75150f413 by devoscasper, on Flickr

[iangreenhalgh1]

Never owned or tried one of these but it does look good, especially that last poppy pic.

I have the OM Zuiko 75-150 and the Hexanon 75-150, don't remember much about the Zuiko but the Hexanon I remember being a very good lens but with noticeably less macro & micro contrast than the Hexanon 3.2/135 and when you pixel peeped, the sharpness was a notch down too. I'd say from your pics the Minolta ia a bit better than the Hexanon, so definitely a capable lens.

[RokkorDoctor]

A very capable lens.

For holidays abroad where we are travelling around a lot by foot/train and both size & weight are an issue, this zoom + an achromat close-up lens always go into the bag to cover both my telephoto and "macro" requirements.

[Oldhand]

[caspert79]

Some more images:

MinoltaMD75150f434 by devoscasper, on Flickr

MinoltaMD75150f436 by devoscasper, on Flickr

MinoltaMD75150f432 by devoscasper, on Flickr

MinoltaMD75150f427 by devoscasper, on Flickr

[wolan]

Does the front-element of this lens rotate while zooming / focusing?

Thanks

[caspert79]

[uddhava]

Looks very good! Congratulations.

[RokkorDoctor]

[caspert79]

Every time I take this lens out, I'm surprised what it's capable of. Some images I took today (click for full resolution):
All images taken wide open at different focal lengths:

MinoltaMD75150WassenaarDSC04419 by devoscasper, on Flickr

MinoltaMD75150WassenaarDSC04421 by devoscasper, on Flickr

MinoltaMD75150WassenaarDSC04423 by devoscasper, on Flickr

MinoltaMD75150WassenaarDSC04425 by devoscasper, on Flickr

[Doc Sharptail]

That's impressive!

Couple of zooms here to give a good work-out to when it warms up a bit here.

-D.S.

[RokkorDoctor]

The MD 75-150/4 is a great lens indeed. It is my go-to lens if I want to travel light; it's so light and small. And it has a decent focus rotation and therefore still has a very usable DOF scale, even for a tele-zoom.

Minolta got a lot right with this lens.

[lumens pixel]

One of my best zooms.

[caspert79]

The lens is an absolute steal, despite the fact that it’s hard to find (outside Japan).

[sergun]

Very cool (there is still nothing even nearby in the FE system) I had two copies (both curves to different degrees)

Solovetsky island by Сергей Пашнин, on Flickr

[caspert79]

[hasenbein]

I sold this lens in 2021 because I got the Contax-Zeiss 80-200.

In 2022 I got the Contax-Zeiss 100-300 which is an absolute beast.

But I started to miss the very compact and light and at the same time very good Minolta 75-150 for hiking with not-too-heavy equipment.

So I reacquired it in September - this time an even better copy than the first for a really reasonable price.

It's simply fun to use and really delivers.

[gaeger]

Caspert, what camera are using this lens on? You are getting really nice images from that lens. I have never owned a Minolta zoom, but maybe I should reconsider.

[caspert79]

[RokkorDoctor]

There's a short YouTube video on this lens; gives some indication of its small size, appearance & zoom action:

https://youtu.be/F7ATmwTc2go