Question on Minolta Mount

[panocho]

Anyone shooting Minolta (or who just know it) could tell me about the different Minolta Mounts?

I would like to know whether they've changed the mount (as I guess) after the MD. Did they change it when they started AF? And did they change it (again?) for the digital bodies? In such case, could an AF and a digital body mount MD lenses?

 

[Don Simon]

In the manual focus era, Minolta used one manual focus mount, 'SR', commonly known as MC or MD (actually the designation of the lenses, not the mount). In the mid-80s they made the change to autofocus and introduced the new A mount, which has been used ever since on both 35mm and digital, and now being adopted by Sony. As far as I know compatibility is fairly simple: If you have a Dynax/Maxxum/Alpha it will mount any autofocus lens, and if you have a manual-focus camera it will mount a manual focus lens. Minolta/Sony autofocus cameras however will not mount a Minolta manual focus lens - even with an adapter it would not work properly, as the adapter would need an optical element to compensate for the spacing difference (which of course would act as a teleconverter and degrade the image).

I believe the 4/3 mount of Olympus' E-system is the only one that will mount a Minolta manual-focus lens and work with a glassless adapter.

 

[panocho]

thanks for the information!

I did guess that MD was only a lens designation, not mount, but didn't know the name for the mount.

It's been really helpful!

 

[Mike_E]

Not looking at the dark side, are you Panocho?

 

[panocho]

Not looking at the dark side, are you Panocho?

feel the anger...