Aftermarket lens compatibility to Maxxum "D" standard?

[wyverndude]

Does anyone know if any of the aftermarket manufacturers are making

lenses that are compatible to the Maxxum "D" standard? Can I buy a

Tokina or a Tamron that will give me the DOF info display on the

Maxxum 7?

 

I'm shopping for a midrange zoom.

[mark_k3]

I know newer Sigma lenses offer greater compatibility with D technology, although I cannot figure how how to display DOF information on mu 7 with 24-105

[michael_hohner]

Bryce, both Sigma and Tamron make D compatible lenses. As always, you have no guarantee that they will also work with future cameras. Go to <a href="http://www.sigma-photo.com">www.sigma-photo.com</a> and <a href="http://www.tamron.com">www.tamron.com</a> for details.

<p>

Mark, the DOF display is activated when you press the DOF preview button and when a D lens is mounted.

[emaxxman]

For Tamron, look for the Minotal AF-D designation for the mount. I think for Sigma it's either Maxxum D or Minolta D.

 

Read this link for more info on the Tamron. It appears that the newer Tamron lenses in Japan have the AF-D designation whereas the US site doesn't give this designation. Not sure what to make of it.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Minolta/message/96762

[wyverndude]

Tamron website gives nary a clue -or it's well hidden; I browsed around and could find not a word. Ditto for Tokina.

 

This leads me to believe that Tokina and Tamron are not making Maxxum D lenses.

 

I was hoping for a Tamron or a Tokina, so I hadn't checked the Sigma website, but Sigma's FAQ's include this:

"...the 20mm f/1.8 EX DG Aspherical RF, the 24mm f/1.8 EX DG Aspherical Macro and 28mm f/1.8 EX DG Aspherical Macro ultra-fast, ultra-wideangle lenses. Other lenses include the 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DF, 24-70mm f/3.5-5.6 HF, 100-300mm f/4 APO EX IF, a new 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX DG and a new 20-40mm F2.8 EX DG. The latest lenses include the new 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 Compact Hyperzoom Macro and the 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Compact Hyperzoom. Also, Sigma�s new, dedicated flash unit, the EF500 DG Super for Minolta, will also incorporate this new capability. Other future new lenses will also include this capability."

 

On the Sigma website, I notice they have the mount listed as "Maxxum (D)" Well Good!

 

Seems to me Tokina and Tamron are dropping the ball here -either by failing to respond to a new requirement, or by keeping it a secret if they have. For lens mount options, Tokina's site lists "Maxxum AF" mount, Tamron's just says "Minolta" (though it's within their AutoFocus 35mm lenses section).

[bill_tuthill]

Why doesn't somebody go into a store with a 7 and see if the

Tamron 90/2.8 Di macro and 28-75/2.8 Di produce DOF readouts?

Is that the best way to tell?

[michael_hohner]

Tamron marks their D lenses as "Minolta AF-D", for example <a href="http://www.tamron.com/35mm/35mm_af/a200500di.htm">this lens</a>.

[gregory_logiodice1]

I have the newer Tamron 28-75/2.8. It does indeed support the new "d" functionality on my M7. I believe all the new "di" lenses support d functionality.

 

I also have the Sigma 100-300 F4 EX and the matching 1.4 converter in maxxum mount. Also supports "d" functionality. However - beware of old stock. The converter I originally purchased from B&H (about 4 months ago) was an older, non-d compatible version. I informed Sigma and they promptly exchanged it with a new, d-compatible version.

 

Hope this helps.

[tom_montemarano]

About a year ago, on the Yahoo Minolta list there was a discussion about the inaccuracy of the 7's DOF readout. The DOF scale was indicating that the near depth of focus was behind the camera. (The scale shows the DOF measured from the subject).

 

After quite a bit of discussion, it turned out that the original poster was using Sigma "D" lens (don't remember the specific model). I ran some tests with my Minolta 24-105 and 100-300 D lenses and found that the DOF readout was accurate (of course it depended on the CoC used in the calculations) and my photos have shown that its a reasonable estimate.

 

So I'd have to say that if you want to use the DOF scale on the 7, you should check that a specific third party lens gives values that make sense. I don't know if that Sigma lens had any problem with ADI flash, or if it was just with the DOF scale.

 

Tom

[emaxxman]

Tom,

 

That may have been me...although it was about 2 years ago. I do have problems with my Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 DF EX's DOF readout on my Maxxum 7. I was getting readouts where the DOF started behind the camera and readings such as the focus point being 35 feet in front of me when the camera was actually focused on something only 5 feet in front of me.

 

After seeing this erroneous readout, I took the camera and lens to a local store. They kindly let me compare to another Maxxum 7 with a Maxxum 24-105 lens. What happened next was totally weird. The 24-105 on my camera produced similar weird DOF readings. My Sigma on the store's M7 produced the same weird readings.

 

Either both M7's were defective or both lenses are defective in some manner. We couldn't figure it out.

 

Since then, I have purchased the 100-300 APO D and 100mm macro D. The readings they have produced are much more logical. In the end, I guess the Sigma does give some weird readings. However, since I rarely use it for macro (where I would want the DOF reading), I've kept the lens. Flash photography doesn't seem affected. In fact, some of my best flash shots (main and fill light) were taken with the Sigma, M7, and 5600hs flash.

[bill_tuthill]

Thanks for following up, Thang. After your debacle, I concluded

that the 7's DOF readout didn't work right, but I guess that wasn't

the totally proper conclusion, if the 100-300 and 100 macro work.

[salman_khan5]

Tamron AF Di is capable handling D function and for Tokina, look for EMZ series.