Sony E-Mount Lens Guide Here >>

Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos and Instructions on How to Fix Stuck Aperture Diaphragm

Sony Nex-6 w/ Monolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens

I recently purchased the Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens on Ebay, and in this article I’m going to show you some high res sample photos using the Sony Nex-6 and RainbowImaging lens Adapter!! I’m loving these old school lenses for there build quality, sharpness, and overall design, but most of all, Cost!! I got this lens for $47.00 US.

The old school Minolta lenses work so well on the Nex camera system it’s as if they were designed for them. The other Minolta 50mm f/2 lens, I reviewed the other day (Click Here), is a MD version and much newer in relation to the MC version I’m testing in this article. The MC version weighs a lit more because it’s pretty much an all metal design.

Updated Lens now fixed, see below: Unfortunately the lens that I got does not have a working aperture blade mechanism, so it’s stuck wide-open at f/1.4. Oh Well. Ebay is a bit of a gamble, but I am still happy with the purchase as it did say in the description f/1.4 only. I read it in the description, but as I was telling you in the last Minolta lens article, is very easy to skim over. It’s very important you go over the descriptions with a fine tooth comb!! I only planned on using the lens mostly wide open anyway, so I really don’t care to much.

Update: Lens Pics!

I actually took these photos of the Minolta MC Rokkor – PF 58mm f/1.4 Lens last night on the kitchen counter with my Minolta MC Rokkor PG 50mm f/1.4 lens 🙂  Awesome lens with a fully function aperture diaphragm!!

Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens
Minolta MC Rokkor – PF 58mm f/1.4 Lens
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens
Minolta MC Rokkor – PF 58mm f/1.4 Lens
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens
Minolta MC Rokkor – PF 58mm f/1.4 Lens
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens
Minolta MC Rokkor – PF 58mm f/1.4 Lens

Reader Instructions on How to Fix Lens!!

A reader and friend of SonyAlphaLab (Arne) was kind enough to send detailed instructions on how to to take the lens apart and clean the greasy aperture diaphragm, which is probably the issue with my lens. Check this out if your curious, and please feel free to ad info and or resources on the topic as I would like to try and fix the lens myself!
I have never taken a lens apart, but after reading these instruction it seems totally doable 🙂

Hello Jay!
Not reading all the writing in eBay listings can lead to some surprises! The Minolta Rokkor MC 58 mm 1,4 you bought do you believe the aperture isn’t working because of oil/grease one the aperture blades? If so it is quite easy to clean!  I presume you already know everything there is to know about taking a lens apart, cleaning the diaphragm and putting the lens back together. But in case you are not to sure how to clean the aperture please allow me to guide you.

Between the words ‘Minolta’ and ‘lens’ on the ring between the filter ring and the 1st lens element, there is a little indentation. And between the words ‘Rokkor – PF’ and ‘1:1,4’ there is another little indentation. Use those two indentations to twist off that ring. Underneath you will find 3 screws. Unscrew them and lift off the filter ring. Now you will see 4 screws near the edge of the front lens element, and 3 screws at the outer rim. (Don’t touch those 3 screws, they are for adjusting focus.) Focus the lens to infinity. Make a scratch mark/line besides one of the 4 screws and also down on the metal where the 3 screws are. (To align when you are putting the lens back together.) Unscrew the 4 screws and remove them. Grasp with your finger tips the metal ring surrounding the edge of the 1st lens element and turn the lens body/barrel so the lens mount faces upwards. Now the whole lens element unit will “fall” out of the lens body/barrel/tube and into your fingers.

On the rear end of the lens element unit you will find a ca. 15 millimeter long L-shaped metal lever. (Something like this: LLLLLL). Inside the lens body/barrel/tube you will see a narrow gap in a metal piece that is attached from the inside to the aperture ring and follows when the aperture ring is turned. (The metal piece has a somewhat rounded end which is about 4 millimeter in diameter. The narrow gap in the rounded end is about 0,5 millimeter wide. The L-shaped metal lever is supposed to fit into that narrow gap. More on this later)

Now you need to twist off the front lens group and the rear lens group to get to the diaphragm. Just beneath the metal ring surrounding the edge of the 1st lens element there is a “ledge”. Hold firmly under that ledge with one hand and screw loose the front lens group with the other.  (The metal ring surrounding the edge of the 1st lens element is all you’ve got to hold on to. Wearing a pair of leather gloves may add some torque if the lens group sits tight.) Twist also off the rear lens group.

Now you have got the diaphragm ‘house’ in your hand. Soak it with liquid dish washer and open and close the  diaphragm blades and turn the regulators (you will know what I mean when you see them…) back and forth (gentle!) several times. Rinse the  diaphragm ‘house’ thoroughly under running warm water when you are sure you have got rid of ALL the oil/grease from the diaphragm blades. Use some soft toilet paper to dry the diaphragm ‘house’. Don’t ‘rub’ the paper, just ‘tap’ it. Don’t leave any water drops on the  diaphragm blades as they will leave stains when they dry. Put the diaphragm ‘house’ somewhere it can dry completely. (I have central heating and I usually leave (metal) things that need to dry quickly on top of the radiator for some minutes.

When you are absolutely sure that the diaphragm ‘house’ is completely dry and the diaphragm blades are moving freely and ‘snappy’ you can screw back both the front lens group and the rear lens group. Make sure the focus ring is still at infinity, set the aperture ring to 1,4 and close the diaphragm on the lens element unit. Clean the surface of the rear lens before you grasp the metal ring surrounding the edge of the 1st lens element like you did earlier and insert the whole lens element unit into the lens body/barrel/tube. By looking through the lens mount you will easier make the L-shaped metal fit into the narrow gap, mentioned earlier.

With the lens element unit back in place inside the lens body/barrel/tube, and the rear lens cap on, align the scratch markings you made and loosely tighten one screw of the 4. Now turn the aperture ring and see if the diaphragm opens and closes, set the aperture to 11 or 16 and see if the stop down lever works. If so tighten the remaining 3 screws of those 4.  Clean the surface of the front lens and put back the filter ring and tighten the 3 screws. Screw back in place the ring with the two indentations that sits between the filter thread and the front lens element.

Hello Jay!
How are you doing? Do you still look at your MC 58 mm 1,4 with a friendly glimpse in your eyes?
A suitable tool to screw out the ring between the filter thread and lens element (the ftale-ring), may be one of these:

Range Finder Opener Type S Camera repair tool Made in Japan

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271145742459
or
Professional DSLR Lens Spanner Wrench Tool For Camera Lens Repair open 10~100mm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271093795275
and for the screws in the lens, may be something like these:

7PC PRECISION SCREWDRIVER SET MAGNETIC TIPS NEIKO

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7PC-PRECISION-SCREWDRIVER-SET-MAGNETIC-TIPS-NEIKO-/300633275358
A magnetic tip makes it easier to insert the screws into their places when putting the lens back together. The size of the screw driver handles has some importance. The handles need to be of some size to ensure you get a firm grip and enough torque to loosen the screw when screwing the screws out. (Tiny screw drivers with tiny handles can be a certain way to ruin the screw heads.)

A drop of nail polish underneath the screw head just as it is being fastened, will  prevent the screw from loosening by itself. Choose any nail polish colour you like, a little bottle will last you for years. (A clear / transparent nail polish does look better on the lens than a coloured one.) During its use the nail polish may get quite thick inside the bottle. By adding a few drops of acetone and shaking the bottle, the nail polish gets nice and “playable” again.

You can be glad your  MC 58 mm 1,4 isn’t a Canon FD/FDn 50 mm 1,4. Taking apart a FD/FDn lens is quite a challenge! Well, taking it apart is much much easier than putting it back together, again. No wonder Canon choose a different mount for their EF lenses.
Kind regards
Arne.

Fallow-Up Question for Arne:
[quote]I just read this over twice Arne and it sounds like a serious task?? You explained it extremely well and I believe I was able to visualize what your saying. How long would you say this whole process would take me doing it for the first time? Any other thoughts on this being my first time taking aliens apart?? Some cautions perhaps? touching the glass seems like it will be an issue putting it back together?
I really want to try fixing it 🙂   Thank you so much, as I know how long it can take to write a mini tutorial like you did here, and I greatly appreciate it!!
Best,
Jay

Fallow-up Answer from Arne with even more detailed instructions!!
Hello Jay!
Have you ever been standing in front of a piano with a piece of music in your hand, knowing nothing about piano playing except only which key on the piano that “belongs” to which note in the music paper, and trying to play the the whole piece of music in a way that makes it possible for listeners to recognize the melody?

If so I believe I know how you must feel in front of your Rokkor MC 58mm.
The only tools you’ll need is a screwdriver (+ may be a pair of leather gloves?) and a suitable tool to screw out the ring between the filter thread and lens element. (Ftale-ring. I don’t know what else to call it.) By looking at the (8) screws in the lens mount you will see which kind of screwdriver you will need. Rokkor lenses made before 1968 – 1969 had slotted screws. Lenses made later had cross-head screws. I believe your MC 58 mm has slotted screws?

You can get rid of eventually dust-, sand- and other particles from the filter thread by brushing with a toothbrush. Hopefully your filter thread is without any dents or other damages?  It is easier to screw out the ftale-ring when the filter threads are clean and undamaged.

The easiest way to screw out the ftale-ring is by using an arch formed piece of metal that reaches between, and fits into, the two indentations in the ftale-ring.

As I don’t have such a tool I insert a small screwdriver into one of the indentations and push the screwdriver carefully with my left hand thumb while holding the screwdriver in place with my right hand, alternating between the two indentations. (Be cautious! You don’t want the screwdriver to slip and scratch your lens surface!)

With the ftale-ring out of the way you are past one of the biggest hindrances in taking apart the lens.
Both the front lens group and the rear lens group are fitted inside their own metal tube “cartridges”. None of the lens elements can fall out.

To clean the lens surface I use a pad  of clean cotton scarcely moistened with some isopropanol. After that I breathe on the lens and quickly wipe with clean cotton before the condensation on the lens surface dries. I do this a couple of times (breathe on the lens), using a new pad of cotton each time. Then I use some compressed air to blow away any cotton lint/dust on the lens surface. (Have you got any other 50 mm 1,4 or 1,2 lens? You can use that as a loupe by looking through the 50mm lens from the mount end and the aperture wide open. Makes it easier to discover any dust particles on the lens surface.)

The part that takes the longest time, when cleaning oil from the aperture blades, is drying the diaphragm ‘house’ after cleaning. To avoid rust (and maybe fungus)  the diaphragm ‘house’  must be absolutely dry before screwing the rear and front lens groups back onto it.

Taking the MC 58 mm apart, cleaning and drying the diaphragm and putting the lens back together will take not more than 1 hour, I think. When you know what you are doing…

Being your first time taking this lens apart I wouldn’t care so much about how long time you will need. Be patient with yourself. When you are finished with it everybody can see what kind of work you have done. Nobody can see how long time you spent.

I am pretty sure you will manage this, Jay. I believe you are not afraid of doing the job, you are just “afraid” of beginning. Think of it like this, something like Neil Armstrong could have said: One small step for man, one giant leap for Jay!

Now I think I can take it apart!!
I took the lens apart per Arnes’s excellent instructions and everything went to plan except I did not dry the aperture diaphragm enough or it needed to be cleaned better because it was not snapping back to place per the instructions!! So I asked Arne for some advice??

Fallow-Up Question for Arne:
Hello,
I actually took the lens completely part per your excellent instructions and cleaned the aperture diaphragm and dried it completely. It’s not as snappy though as it was when wet under water? Is it supposed to spring back into close on it’s own??
Thanks you!!
Jay

Wouldn’t you know Arne email me back almost immediately with tons more insight and instruction!! This world is getting smaller by the day I swear 🙂

Fallow-up Answer from Arne with even more detailed instructions!!
Hello Jay!
When the diaphragm ‘house’ is separated from the rest of the the lens, you will see a brass ring around the rear end. Under that brass ring there is an arch shaped piece of stamped metal. Onto that stamped metal, at the end of it, there is a small rod standing up. (About 1 centimeter high and 2 millimeter i diameter). If you hold the diaphragm ‘house’ with the rear end pointing at you, and the rod at the 3 o’clock position, there should be a spring between the right end of the stamped metal and a small screw in the 12 o’clock position. The spring is “bending” over a bigger screw in the 2 o’clock position, approximately 2 o’clock.
The brass ring regulates how big the opening of the aperture blades get, (1,4 – 16).

When the little rod is moved down to a 4 o’clock position and then released the spring loaded arch metal forces the aperture blades to immediately close down from that opening to the smallest opening. If there is any hesitation in this movement, there may be oil/grease on either the aperture blades, between the arch shaped metal and the diaphragm ‘house, or between the two rings in the aperture mechanism and the aperture blades/ diaphragm ‘house. (There are two rings  in the aperture mechanism, one fixed underneath the aperture blades and one that rotates above the aperture blades and is connected to the brass ring.)
Any “pollution” here will slow down the movement of the closing of the aperture blades. Are you sure the diaphragm ‘house’ is completely dry? A tiny drop of water is enough to slow down the aperture. (A hair dryer may come in handy…)

If the diaphragm ‘house’ is completely dry but still slow, there is still some oil/grease left somewhere in the diaphragm ‘house’, meaning I am afraid you will have to repeat the cleaning process. Soak the diaphragm ‘house in some liquid dish washer soap and move the brass ring and the arch shaped metal several times (be gentle, the liquid soap is quite “heavy” to move about inside the aperture mechanism. If the oil/grease is old and dry it may take some time for the soap to dissolve it. Rinse out the soap under warm running water and dry the diaphragm ‘house’. In a clean diaphragm ‘house’ the aperture blades will open and close almost without any friction and hesitation.

There is also a spring in the lens mount, is that moving fast and snappy as well? [/quote]
I just needed to re-clean the aperture diaphragm with dish-soap and dry it again really good. I don’t think I dried or cleaned it enough the first time!! I used a space heater to blow air on it as I opened and closed the aperture to insure everything was really dry. Sure enough it was snappy and the bladed were pulling closed like they are supposed to!!

I had to let Arne know as this was a really proud moment for me 😉 Not really but cooll how old stuff can still be worked on easily and actually fixed!!

Bragging to Arne of my Success 🙂
I did not dry the aperture diaphragm enough. I dried it really good and it was nice and snappy as you put it. put it back together cleaned the glass alone the way. Awesome fully function lens my friend and I really appreciate your help!! I’m going to post the rest of your tips on the Minolta article as well as update it with the results of the fixed lens per your instructions!!
Thanks again,
Jay

Arne’s Kind words
Congratulations Jay!
You made it! I am happy it worked out for you! I hope you will be pleased with the lens.
Knowing how to take apart a lens makes it a bit less risky to buy lenses from eBay…? (Minolta Rokkor lenses that is. I find Rokkor lenses more “intelligent” built and put together.)
I hope you’ll have a nice weekend!
Kind regards
Arne.

Lens repaired and working perfect!!

Thanks again Arne for this incredible instructions that are super accurate and made this job a very simple task. The total time was about 1.5 hours playing with Layla in between of course 😉 I could do it much faster next time though for sure. I was a bit nervous to be honest, but it wasn’t that bad at all. Un-screwing the first ring was a little hairy because i used a flat head screw driver and did not want to slip as I tried to rotate the ring off.
UN-screwing the front lens element set and the rear element set was probably the coolest part of the process for me, but it was a really fun little project and I recommend trying yourself if your somewhat handy.


Check out the Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 lens now with the aperture at f/16!!

Minolta MC Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 Lens
Minolta MC Rokkor 58mm f/1.4 Lens

Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos

All these photos Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens sample images were taken with the Sony Nex-6 and RaindowImaging MD to Nex Lens adapter shooting RAW for maximum quality and developing flexibility in Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture 😉

This first photo of Chubs I got extremely lucky and managed to capture a wink!! I did a little extra editing in Photoshop CS6  because I plan on printing the image 🙂 The wink is a rare to capture for Chubs!!

Be sure to Click the Photos for a nice large 1200px version!!

Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens

The rest of these Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens sample images are raw files with minor Lightroom 4 developing adjustments.

Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos – 100% Crop

Feeling Lucky??

Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos

A few snapshots from outside.

Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens - Sample Photos
Sony Nex-6 w/ Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens – Sample Photos

Closing Remarks

Loving the Nex-6 and old school lenses big time and plan on getting more for sure. The Minolta MC 58mm f/1.4 Lens is great, even though it’s stuck wide open at f/1.4.

Thanks for checking out SonyAlphaLab, and please be sure to share your thoughts on the new category system below in the comments area. I always look forward to reading them, and you guys always have some great ideas!!

Thanks, Jay

  1. Wow. Thanks for sharing. That is quite an interesting collection of photographs you present here. The fact is, I also have exactly that SAME lens. I bought it as a kit lens in 1968 at a PX military exchange in South Vietnam while on duty there during the war. Ridiculously priced compared to today’s standards ($126.00 as kit lens, Minolta SRT-101) I still have that original lens (all f-stops working :-)) and the original body for that matter. But now I want to try it on my NEX-6 which I also own. I only wish it was a more wide angle, with a 1.5x crop that makes it pretty much only a portrait lens. I do have another MC mount 28mm but not so bright at f3.5. Thanks again for sharing the shots.

    1. Jerry,

      The fact is, I also have exactly that SAME lens. I bought it as a kit lens in 1968 at a PX military exchange in South Vietnam while on duty there during the war. Ridiculously priced compared to today’s standards ($126.00 as kit lens, Minolta SRT-101) I still have that original lens (all f-stops working 🙂 ) and the original body for that matter.

      That is incredible, and thank you so much for sharing 🙂 That would be over $800 in today’s standards easily I would think with inflation ect..??
      Your totally correct about the crop factor which makes the 58mm effectively ~87mm f/1.4 lens. Awesome for portraits as you said which is what I wanted it for. I thought at first the wide open only would be fine, but then quickly realized the 1/4000sec shutter speed was to slow for outside in bright conditions. I can use a filter, but the manual aperture would be much preferred!! You ever take a lens apart? perhaps I can fix the aperture mechanism??
      I’m also in the market for a old school wide angle lens, but I plan on using it for Landscapes, so the speed isn’t the biggest concern for me. Your 28mm should work pretty awesome I would think Jerry?
      I want tack sharp f/8 – f/16 optics ideally for my landscape lens if possible and the 24mm Minolta f/2.8 is crazy expensive. The Canon FD version is relatively affordable though. I’m still not sure what I’m going to end up with honestly as Ebay changes daily!! Anything wider than 24mm is really big money for the older lenses.
      Thanks again for sharing the history and your service my friend!! 🙂
      Jay

      1. Not sure what one might pay for the equivalent lens nowadays but surely not $126.00 and furthermore, with the body, and also made of solid glass rather then plastic. I am happy I never sold it.
        There are many used camera shops on the streets of Tokyo. After all, this is ‘the land of cameras’ know worldwide, is it not? 🙂 Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic Ricoh, Fuji, etc., etc. I picked up the 28mm, f3.5mm at one used shop for around ¥5,000 (about $57.00 USD at current exchange rates). Not bad price, but, I seldom use it. I like convenience rather then lens swapping. So, the just announced 80-200mm power zoom is attractive. That would cover most shooting conditions, say, 80% of the time? ( to quote an arbitrary number). Other times when lighting conditions demand it, say like at a party or in a pub, I might then use the 58mm f1.4, or SLR Magic’s 35mm f1.7 which I also have. If more wide angle is required, then I also have the 16mm f2.8 Sony lens and with 0.75 x converter will even give me 12mm f2.8 🙂 I personally don’t do much portrait work, but yes, the Minolta is perfect for that with an equivalent 87mm and at f1.4 nice and bright.
        Perhaps you can have your lens refurbished in your area through an authorized Sony dealership or Sony directly? In fact I did that for my own 58mm lens. Sitting around for so long unused, it is basically in mint condition more or less. I just need to get the ‘kabi’ ( ‘funghis’ ) out of it and professionally cleaned. It was not cheap though. The refurbishing, and clean up job costed me around ¥14,000 (about $159.00 @ 88=1) more then then original price of the camera and lens combined!! How the times and values have changed! 🙂
        It’s all in Japanese but just to show you, there is not such a rarity for lens you’d like via Yahoo Japan auctions:
        ¥6,750
        http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m104640126
        (closes in 30 minutes though) 🙂
        Here’s another…even a better deal..
        ¥3,780
        closes in 1 hour from now.
        And yet another… not cheap…
        ¥12,0000
        closes in 1day.
        So the lenses exist and people are asking all sort of different prices! Generally buying here is not a bad deal as the Japanese are usually quite honest on the auctions. And, if there is any particular issue with a lens, they are usually up front about it, and are required to do so according to Yahoo Japan rules.
        Jerry

        1. Thanks for the links and additional info Jerry!! That does sound expensive at first, but I guess if it took a few hours to clean each lens element it’s a fair price? A Lot of tedious work I would imagine. I was actually considering that until you mentioned the price! I just don’t have enough extra cash these days for that type of stuff. Taxes just got raised here in the USA which results in ~$400 less per month between my wife and I. That is a serious hit, but manageable as we both work full time. I guess somebody has to pay for all the wars and bail outs ect..
          Hopefully We will start doing some Pro side photography work soon for some extra cash. Just the regular bills seem to be a challenge these days. Is the economy really bad in Japan these days as well?
          Thanks again for the links!!
          Jay

      2. Hi Jay!
        The Sigma Multi Coated Super-Wide II 24mm 2.8 made in Japan lens is just what you should go for! It can compete with the best out there!
        You can easely find one for Minolta (you allready have the adapter) on eBay and other sites for a very reasonable price. Just get one with the original “Sigma Perfect Hood” included in the deal.
        By the way… I also have the Minolta MC Rokkor-PG 50mm 1.4 (and a lot of other Minolta Glass). That lens is sharp – but it’s not perfect for digital, and like other older fast lenses it makes highlight areas glow at full aperture!
        The absolute best super fast lens of the older generation is the Porst Color Reflex UMC X-M G 50mm 1.2 (for 55 mm filter)! It’s really a Fuji lens.
        The chinese company Kiwi has an adapter for Nex – you can find it on eBay. I have the lens, and it blows away all the other competition at 1.2. I no doubt have a good copy of course!
        Kaj

        1. Awesome info Kaj!! Thank you and I will look into the lenses you mentioned for sure 😉 It certainly does have hot glow spots when wide open shooting into highlights ect.. But in the right conditions it’s excellent.
          Thanks again,
          Jay

    1. Thanks Jerry!! Do you happen to have another place to share the pics? Facebook is one place on the internet I don’t go 😉
      Jay

  2. U.S. has always been heavy on taxation, especially in the higher income brackets. But any government will tax as its form of income. Some worse, some less. In Japan for the average Mr. Tanaka, it’s 10% I think. In my case I am semi retired and don’t need to concern myself so much. I have freelance income and also collect limited retirement income from Uncle Japan quarterly. Plus, I qualify from Uncle Sam this year as well so, I should be ok. The wife having her own manicure / pedicure nail salon though is in an income bracket in which she hires an accountant to maintain all her receipts and paperwork. How much money the government will try to extract from the pocket versus how much money you can retain I your pocket. A game of psychology. Taxes and death,the two guarantees in life! Yech!
    As for the Japanese economy, it’s really not in that great of shape actually. Every thing is all relative though. compared to the U.S. and it’s massive debt…. The #1 debtor nation on the face of planet earth, the yen looks comparatively attractive. (‘Theory of Relativity’, economics style). So, at. 88 = 1. It’s great to derive JPY income and purchase things being sold in cheap dollars. 🙂
    Is there really a market for ‘pro’ photography? I mean, in this digital era, any body with a decent camera can become a ‘pro’ nowadays. Just shoot 10 fps sequential shooting choose the best 2-3,, discard the rest. I think digital technology is cannibalizing not only the photography industry but even videography and the cinema industry as well. For myself it’s just fun and to retain and share memories. Ultimately though. It really boils down to the skill, creativity and imagination of the person behind the lens. Last but not least…. ‘Know Thy Equipment, how to use it, and what it can and can not do.

    1. Jerry,
      Very interesting analysis and I can’t help but agree with most of it 😉 I really don’t want to go down the political road, but I think everybody in the world is starting to wake up thanks to the internet. The level of corruption and profiteering is astounding. The people are feed up world wide, and the US is starting to get there. Government from top to bottom is just not working anymore with modern times. Saftey is the always the excuse to take are rights away left and right. You, know the old 1st and 2nd amendments ect.. Really crazy what is going on these days with the media as well. The internet is changing everything so fast, it seems the governments world wide don’t know what to do, or how to get a handle on it. It’s like we are all getting on the same page which has never happened before in history. Humans seem to be realizing we all want the same thing; Family, friends, healthy life, yet the governments greed and hunger for control/ power is the overwhelming killer of all progress. Strange times we live in my friend!!
      As far as the Pro Market?? Yes there will always be a Pro market, because understanding the light, compositions, flash photography, and the other 90% of running a business weeds out the point and shooters with DSLR’s. People will always be looking for the better deal, but with a little re-search it’s easy to see the difference between what a Pro consistently produces vs a armature shooters luck day, or whatever, Portfolios really need to be studied when looking for a pro photographer these days.
      If your serious about quality photography and appreciate it, you will also seek out the professional photographer. Lots of our friends that got married lately hated their wedding pictures and paid over $5000 US. Cookie cutter Pro operation with several photography teams was often the culprit. Passionless photographers may be technically sound, but pictures can be boring.
      I would love to say you get what you pay for, but with photographers these days, that is often not the case!! Re-Search is key and needs to be stressed to friends and family 😉
      Thanks again Jerry and have a great weekend,
      Jay

  3. Hello Jay,
    I recently ordered a minolta MC rokkor 55mm f1.7, and the rainbow adapter. One thing I immediately noticed is that the adapter doesn’t have an open/lock mechanism to control the aperture. Without this mechanism the pin on the back of the lens to allow the aperture to move with the ring is not activated, and the lens is locked wide open (unless I push the pin over, then put the lens on… then I can go through the ring options once).
    Have you tried to operate the aperture manually? I assume so, but it might be the same problem I have. I am still wondering how I am going to work with this, or if I need to get a different MC/MD lens to see if it is just this rokkor MC 55mm that has this issue, but I can’t image it is the only one like that.

    1. That is really interesting Charles and I honestly don’t know. I played with my 55 mm f/1.4 lens pin and I can’t get the aperture to work no matter what. I thought that pin was for the shutter priority mode feature back in the older film days?
      Sorry I don’t know more about these older lenses. Perhaps somebody more knowledgeable on the subject can chime in?
      Thanks,
      Jay

      1. Yeah. I dug into it and I think you are right. I am pretty sure mine has an issue stopping down. The pin on the back should just be a mechanical switch to tell the camera what stop is currently being used.

        1. Charles,
          I’m going to take mine apart soon, but I just haven’t had the time. Once I do that I will create a tutorial of what and how I did it exactly 😉
          Best,
          Jay

          1. So I ended up fixing mine. I took the back off, and then unhooked the two springs on the aperture levers.
            I played with it a bit and noticed the levers seemed a bit tight. There is a metal piece holding them in place and aligned. I loosened that up very slightly, and the whole mechanism moved smoothly.
            I put the springs back on, and the aperture is now snappy and working correctly.
            It is a good lens. Nowhere near as sharp as the SEL50f18, but I like the manual focus ring and aperture ring on the lens better than the SEL focus ring which seems to take forever!

          2. Awesome news Charles and thanks for sharing the update!! It is a bit tricky in there for sure. I can’t imagine waht a new lens with OSS looks like when it’s actually in your hands 😉
            Best,
            Jay

  4. Hi, I have the same lens, from an old minolta slr. does this lens work on modern slt sony camera? like a77 or a99. thank

    1. As far as I know it does not Enrico. Only the mirrorless cameras via lens adapters I believe. It has to due with the flange distance I think, but could be wrong.
      Jay

  5. The pin on some of the old MD MC lenses is for the camera to set the aperture. It’s a pain in the a.. – but fortunately some adapters has a pin that moves the lens pin all the way, and keeps it there, so that you can manually set the aperture!
    The old MD MC lenses will only focus up to about 1,5 meters with adapters without correction lenses – and who would want to spoil the quality of a good old lens with mediocre correction lenses. So MD MC lenses are a no go on A-Mount Sony and Minolta cameras!
    Kaj

Leave a Reply