Question for Sony and Minolta film users

Rustico

Rustico

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Rucel (but call me Rusty)
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Hello,

I have been looking into buying a Minolta Maxxum 5 to go with the kit I already have. However, as I thought about it I began to wonder. I know that Minolta lenses will work on Sony bodies, but will the reverse be true? Will my 50mm 1.8 work properly on the 5? Another point I need clarification on is that a film camera is roughly equivalent to today's FF cameras, right? So, if my lenses do work on the 5, then 50mm will truly be 50mm.

Any help much appreciated!
 
Hi,

I have a Dynax 5 and any Sony lens will work on it so long as it is not a DT lens (these don't cover the 'full frame' sensor/film area) so your 50mm f1.8 unfortunately won't work (poor decision on Sony's part to not release a proper version) however a Minolta 50mm f1.7 can be got on ebay for roughly £80 and is comparable in performance (but better built). However all other Sony/Minolta lenses can be used including SSM/SAM ones as the 5 was one of the first cameras to support them.

Film is exactly the same as so called 'full frame' so the field of view for a 50mm is not changed (i.e the effective focal length is 50mm rather than ~75mm on a crop sensor).

The Dynax/Maxxum 5 is a great camera as it is nice and small but is packed with features and it handles very well, the metering and autofocus are excellent and work great in about 95% of situations, pick up a 3500XI flash as well for about £15 and the wireless flash mode is great with it (although the flash will not work with any Sony digital cameras as digital sensors are not reflective enough for the superior TTL off the film plane metering on the 5 and other film cameras and requires no pre-flash).
 
Hmm... Thanks for your good response! Does this mean that I can only use my FF compatible 75-300mm with the 5? My 18-55mm kit lens won't work? And by "won't work" does this mean that it just won't work or that it will have that circle visible where the lens does not cover the film?

Enough questions? :D
 
The lenses will likely mount but you'll get is massive vignetting (i.e literally just a circle in the middle) and poor results, only your 'full frame' 75 - 300 will cover the full film area and definitely function properly
The best thing to do probably is pick up a 35 - 70mm f4 or f3.5 - 4.5 on ebay, both of these can be got relatively cheaply (<£20 for the f3.5 - 4.5) and are excellent all around lenses. There are also 28 - 80mm f3.5 - 5.6 lenses as well which can be got for similar costs but the 35 - 70mm lenses have always been a bit better in my opinion.
 
Ok, thanks for the clarification! I was going to pick one up body-only, but it looks like I'll have to get both the body and the lens. Thank you so much for your help! Can't imagine how disappointed I would have been to find out two of my three lenses don't work :bonk:
 
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