5/6/10
Original or restyled? Ever wonder what the differences are between the original Minolta prime lenses, and the restyled (new) versions? Me too. Well, I was able to compare both versions of the 35mm F/2 and posted this quick comparison page.
If you don’t have time to view the page, I’ll sum it up here. The new version gets a circular aperture, updated lens coatings, and a wider focus ring. I believe the 28mm F/2 was updated the same way, and probably the 50mm F/1.4, 20mm F/2.8 and 24mm F/2.8 also, maybe more, I’m not sure. I’m assuming the new or “restyled” Minolta versions are the same as the Sony versions, like the Sony 20mm F/2.8.
The only noticeable differences are; when the sun is in the shot, the updated coatings are better at controlling ghosting, but only when the aperture is stopped down some. The bokeh quality is the same, but instead of heptagons, you get circles between F/2.8-4—F/2 looks the same, as well as F/5.6 and smaller.
Just for fun I did a center and corner crop comp between the lenses, and they came out nearly identical, which is a little surprising, maybe Minolta/Sony quality control is better than one might
imagine.
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| Minolta AF 35mm F/2 restyled, and Minolta AF F/2 original version |