Wide-angle prime for manual Minolta

I'm looking for a wide angle in the range 17 to 21 mm for my XD-7 and

I wondered if the Minolta experts could give me some suggestions.

Minolta primes in this range are rare and very expensive in the UK,

and the only third-party primes I'm aware of are the Tamron 17/3.5

and the Vivitar 19/3.8. Any ideas? I don't have MLU on the body so a

non-retrofocus type wouldn't fit.

i ain't a "minolta expert" :o) but I have a tokina at-x 17mm f/3.5. I have the autofocus version, but I know there is the same stuff with manual focus minolta fit ("tokina SL17"). It's said to be a cool lens (mine is lovely).

<br>Should be half the prize of the tamron.

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See a few words about this (with Nikon fit, but that doesn't matter) <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/17tokina.htm">here</a>. You also can find info on photo.net or via google, and even stores(<a href="http://www.central-camera.com/tokina/sl17.htm">central camera</a>, cambridgeworld, whatever) where you can buy it.

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Do you *really* want a 17mm, by the way? I thought i did, but then, after purchasing it, I needed several months to become good friend with this one-eyed monster:)

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cheers

I'd have to second the previous poster. I have a 17mm MC and while it is a wonderful lens with the right scene, you don't often find that scene. If you don't have a 24mm I would strongly suggest that it is a far more useful wide lens of excellent quality and much cheaper used.

I have a 24mm prime and there are frequent cases where it is not wide enough for me. 17mm is the extreme of the range I mentioned. Probably 19 or 20mm would suit me, but it's a question of finding the right lens at the right price.

I'd get the Tokina. It's better than the Tamron, and less costly. I used to have one in Minolta Mount, but I sold it when I switched to Nikons. I still have it in the Nikon mount. It's a great lens for the money, and used ones sell for ~$125-150 US on ebay, sometimes less.

What's your price range? You can find an MD 21mm or MD 20mm for ~ $300 US if you look hard. It took me quite a while to track down my MD Rokkor-X 20mm f/2.8, but it was worth the hunt; it's a great, great lens.

Interesting that no-one answered as to the Vivi 19/3.8, isn't it? I had one in PK - and sold it fast. More recently I got a Sigma 18/3.5 and it was worth the wait.

 

What the other posters say about being ready to use a very wide is a caution that's apposite, if you are relatively inexperienced. Very wides are of very restricted utility and it does take some experience to figure out when is the right time to use them.

 

A better approach to the world of wides might be to get a 24-50 - and the Minolta design is a particularly fine lens. Whenever I have to restrict myself to one lens I grab the 24-50 (actually in Maxxum - my MD kit does not go wider than 28), and prefer it over my 28-105 for quality of results. The MC or MD version is also a very good lens.

For the record, in the MD series Minolta has two lenses in this range of focal lenghts, the MD 17mm f4 and the MD 20mm f2.8. I would expect the pay US$300 for the 200mm on eBay, and at least $100 more for the 17mm. Both employ floating element technology, which assures amazing edge-to-edge sharpness, and in my opinion this makes them well worth their money. I personally own the MD 20mm f2.8.

 

The predesessor of the MD 20mm f2.8 is the MC 21mm f2.8. This is much larger and heavier than the 20mm, and uses 72mm filters instead of 55mm filters. However, it also has floating elements, and it tends to sell for somewhat less - maybe US$260. It could be a very good choice.

 

Only the Auto Rokkor 21mm f4 and 21mm f4.5 are non-retrofocus designs. For these lenses you need MLU, and they were sold with an accessory finder.

 

Depending on your application, you could consider a Minolta 16mm f/2.8 fisheye lens as an alternative.

 

With respect to third party alternatives, I would recommend the Tokina 17mm f/3.5, although I have not used it myself. I am quite partial to Tokina lenses, and the last 17mm for the MD system sold on eBay for under US$80. I monitored the auction for several days, but didn't pay attention when it closed. I still can't believe I missed this deal.

 

There is actually a 18-28mm zoom lens available as well. I have seen it with the Samyang and Phoenix brand names. It is of very flimsy construction, which doesn't leave much hope for decent optical performance.

 

I don't know any of the Vivitars or Tamrons, but I also own a Sigma 18mm f3.5 in YS mount with a matching MC adapter; ie an adapter for the Minolta manual focus mount that retains meter coupling. This is a very interesting lens, and actually not too bad optically. Unfortunately mine seems to have a little oil from the focusing helix on one of the inner glass elements. Unfortunately my attempts to open and clean the lens have been unsuccessful so far. In this condition the lens delivers decent results, but it is a little soft. I hardly use it, and if you wanted to give this sort of focal length I try, I could sell it to you for say US$50 plus postage. Please feel free to email me if you are interested.

FYI, there's an older Vivitar 17mm f3.5 that was actually made by Tokina, and is identical to the Tokina. There is also an older Vivitar 20mm f3.8 that was quite good, and can be found used for $60-90 typically. The current 19mm f3.8 Vivitar is junk compared to these two older lenses.

How much wide-angle you want determines the choices. I agree with what Frank said about Minolta's MC and MD lenses. The 16mm lens is a full-frame fisheye (180 degree view on the diagonal), which requires watching the edges of your image. The 17mm lens is a rectilinear lens, meaning it straightens vertical lines, handy for many wide-angle applications, but it's also larger and heavier than most wide angle lenses. The 21mm lens is, as said, huge and heavy for a wide angle lens, and was replaced with the 20mm lens, which is similar to most the lenses in this range along with the 24mm and 28mm lenses. Other choices were mentioned, to which I can add the Tokina 17mm lens, which is good, but can suffer vignetting (did for me).

 

As a note it's said MLU wasn't continued in later Minolta camera (except the XK). The pre-MC 21mm f4/4.5 is a great little lens, with a separate viewfinder - fits over the cold/hot shoe. It extends only about one-half inch from the camera and everything from 3-5 feet to infinity is in focus.

 

Good luck.

 

--Scott--

fyi the tokina 17/3.5 performs nicely for its price-point, but exhibits at least a one-stop falloff at the edges. few will be surprised to read that, but nonetheless you should be aware of it. i don't use it as often as i thought, and to echo a previous poster, something in the 20mm range would see far more frequent use. i saw a tamron 20-40 (adaptall) lens at keh, but didn't jump in time. unless riddled with problems, it would be an excellent investment for a minolta x-series user.<br><br>pardon me for being nosey, but why do you want a prime? i used to use all primes, but now plan to sell off all but my 50/1.7 and said 17/3.5 on e-bay. most (non-cheapo) zooms these days measure up quite well against primes. counterpoint: your eye may be more discerning than mine... solution: test, test and test.

Hi Brian,

 

I have the 17mm f/4 and find it to be an exceptional performer, with outstanding sharpness. I have never noticed light falloff on any of my shots, however I would normally use this lens stopped down a little so I can't draw a conclusion on this wide open.

 

Comments re. the difficulty of using this lens are warranted, I normally don't use it for landscapes. That said, the compositions that you can achieve through perspective distortion are amazing, and a source of creative inspiration.

 

Interior shots are transformed and easy, and I have never noticed barrel or pincushion distortion with my lens. This is a great lens and worth the money! Visit my brief review here for more details:

 

http://users.bigpond.net.au/antony_hands/17mm.html

 

Cheers,

 

Antony