Minolta 80 - 200mm f 2.8 HS Review + A7IV
Boy oh boy did I hit the jackpot. I found liquid gold right under my feet. I recently discovered the world of vintage lenses, and man am I happy I did. I picked up a used Minolta 80 - 200 for $350 and I’ve absolutely fallen in love.
The main reason for this review and video is that while I was myself searching for some content about this lens with modern bodies, I couldn’t really find anything besides a few random forum posts. So, I bring to you, a review of the Minolta 80 - 200 on the A7IV.
So the adapter I’m using is the Sony LA-EA5 and it allows for screw drive auto-focusing lenses to work on my A7IV. In addition to that, it’s also compatible with the A6600, the A1, and the A7RV. Buy the adapter once and you can open yourself up to so many new lens options.
This lens clocks in at around 1280g and has a stout metal build. This thing feels like an absolute tank. It includes a non-removable tripod mount that can rotate all the way around the lens. Materials feels great minus the focus and zoom rings feeling like a cheap rubbery plastic. Though I guess it is over 30 years old now. Maybe I can forgive that one. There’s also a focus hold button on the side.
Image quality is really nice on this lens. It has its own aesthetic softness that I feel adds more than takes away from the images it produces. It does suffer from chromatic aberration and fringing in some cases, and also has some pretty characteristic flaring. This may add to your aesthetic depending on how you shoot. Overall, this may not be the sharpest, most technical lens, but I love the pictures that come out of it. I forgot to mention, this lens has an f-stop range of f2.8 to f32.
I think the photos are great to edit and have a sort of natural dreaminess to them. I’ve had the fortune of already having some good portrait shoots and some other photos with it since I’ve gotten it. Here are a few shots:
For fast-moving action, this may not be an ideal lens. It struggled to keep up while my friend was running towards me. You can watch that part of the video here.
This combo does not offer video autofocus, so you will have to rely on manual focus for video when adapting this lens.
So do I recommend this lens? Yes, absolutely. The value you get with this is criminal. It is definitely not a replacement for the newer Sony 70-200’s, but for non-professionals or anyone looking for something really unique, this is a great option. Especially considering the cost versus the G Masters. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!
