A look at the Minolta MD Zoom 28-85mm F3.5~4.5, an almost unnoticed legacy zoom acknowledged for sharp images with good color rendition.
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The two-touch varifocal Minolta MD Zoom 28-85mm F3.5~4.5, a 'sleeper' acknowledged for sharp images with good color rendition, is one of the more interesting lenses I have in my collection. The lens, introduced to the Minolta line in 1983 as part of the Minolta MD lineup comes with a macro shooting mode and a convenient 28 to 85mm focal lengths, equivalent to a zoom range from 42 to 127.5mm on a 1.5x crop sensor APS-C digital SLR, or from 46 to 170mm on a mirrorless Micro 4/3.
The all-glass and metal lens, with 13 elements in 10 groups, measures 66.5mm in length, weighs 470 grams, and takes 55mm filters The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 0.8 meters, and the macro capability enables the lens to do close-ups at up to 1:4 magnification.
Walking The Zoom
@ 28mm
@ 35mm
@ 50mm
@ 70mm
@ 85mm
'Sleeper' is the word I use to reflect that the lens is almost unnoticed by enthusiasts and reviewers. Aside from the very few views and reviews of the lens on the Net, with one on The Rokkor Files, and another on Dyxum, there isn't much more you can lay your hands on. It could also be that, as mentioned by a member of the forum on MFLenses, the MD Zoom 28-85mm F3.5-4.5 is not as easy to find as other Minolta lenses.
Album Images
A Varifocal Zoom
A varifocal zoom, as opposed to the parfocal version, is a lens where the focus changes each time the focal length and magnification change. This means that as you move up and down the zoom range, you inadvertently have to refocus as well, something you just have to get used to.
p.s. Found a couple more reviews of the lens recently, one by The Noisy Shutter, and the other by Earth, Sun, Film.
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