r d singh Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Can any member guide me in finding the best possible zoom lens for my Minolta X-700 camera, i need a medium budget lens. I am keen on landscapes and night photography.Thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 <P>Minolta sold a number of zooms in the MD fitting, some Minolta-made, some re-badged Tokinas or Cosinas. They are all good, so it depends what focal length range you want to cover. I know of the 24-35, 24-50, 28-70 (Cosina), 28-85 (Tokina), 35-70, 35-105(Tokina), 35-135 (Tokina), 70-210, 70-300 (Cosina), 75-150, 75-200, 100-200, 100-300 (Tokina), 100-500.</P><P>The best by reputation is the 70-210mm f4, which Leica borrowed to use on their R-series SLRs.</P><P>Prices on most of these (except the rarest) are good enough that you don't need to look at third-party offerings.</P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogi_logy Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 The Minolta MD 35-70mm f/3.5 constant aperture lens has a following and is not inclined to drop in value. However, its barrel and pin cushion distortions are somewhat excessive, IMO. We are talking about used lenses, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglas_green1 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 You didn't say what focal length range you want. I would guess, from what you shoot, that you'd want a fast lens that went from moderate wide angle to moderate tele. I think the best you can do is the Vivitar Series-1 35-85mm f2.8 Varifocal lens. It's a varifocal, rather than a true zoom, which means that the focusing distance is not constant, except at infinity, as you change focal lengths. But because of this compromise, it is a fast lens with very low distortion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geris_k Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 I'll offer you this...stay away from older Tokina zooms. I had a Tokina 28-70 that was also labeled RMC. The bokeh looks like fruity pebbles. The Minolta zooms were all very good in the medium range. The most readily available one is the 35-70. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 The Tokina RMC lenses were their economy line. They also made a series labelled AT-X which was of a much higher standard. The Minolta zooms which they made would have been built to this standard or better. So don't worry about this comment about Tokinas, if you're thinking of buying a Minolta zoom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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