Minolta AF 100-300

I have been offered a Minolta AF 100-300 f4.5/5.6 (not the APO

version, as far as i can tell). the lens is in great condition, is

extremely light and covers a good range.

 

anyone used one, got any comments? is the optical quality good.

 

thanks for any help you can give.

 

(nb. this isnt the crappy 75-100 minolta D lens.)

 

Ben

The APO version is better, especially at the long end.

thanks Michael. is that from experience? reviews?

 

by the way, i'm new to all this, and i dont even know what an APO lens is. what's it stand for?

I did use the 100-300/4.5-5.6 APO. After I got the 400/4.5 APO G I used it less and less, so in the end I sold it. It was, however, a good performer.

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APO means "apochromatic correction", and "apochromatic" means "for all colors". Simply speaking, light does not focus at the same point for all wavelengths. The lens elements not only focus light, they also slighty spread out the spectrum of a light beam, like a prism. The end result in a lens is that the image appears less sharp, or in bad cases, you can even see colorful fringes along edges of strong contrast. In APO lenses this effect is reduced by correcting the lens across the entire spectrum of visible light, typically by using different glass for one or several lens elements. Since the effect is strongest with telephoto lenses, you'll find apochromatic correction mostly with telephoto lenses. Apochromatic correction makes a lens better, but also more expensive due to the extra care in design and the more expensive materials.

I've owned and still use the non-APO version. It is a good lens. Wide open at 300mm you would see a difference between it and the APO version (based on POP Photo tests). I limit my aperture to f8 at 300mm and it does fine.

I've owned both side by side and try as I might could not detect any difference in sharpness or color rendition between the two versions (I really wanted the APO to be better - maybe I'm just blind?). Both are decent at 300 but I wouldn't call either sharp at the long end but just ok. BTW, color rendition on both was excellent at all lengths.

thanks guys.