Minolta Af 70-210 mm f4 (Beercan) Lens Review
Hello, followers of fotografmania.com. We are here with a Lens Review again. The subject of our article today will be Minolta af 70 210 mm f4. We will examine the Minolta maxxum af 70210 mm f4 zoom lens, as well as sample photos, comments, positive and negative aspects of Beercan. That is minolta beercan review:
First of all, it should be noted that; As the manufacturer of this lens is Minolta, the lens is produced only for Sony – Minolta A mount compatible. So even if you want to use it on Nikon or Canon machines, unfortunately you will not be able to use it. Even if you try it with an adapter, I don’t think you can be successful. It can only be used on Sony e mount mirrorless machines with lae a2 or lea a4 autofocus adapters. I’ll talk about that below.
Physical Properties of Minolta af 70 – 210 mm f4
Our lens is generally metal. All parts are metal except the zoom ring. Even the pre-filter is metal. Therefore, it is extremely resistant to impacts. The zoom ring is reinforced with serrated plastic to facilitate handling when turning by hand. It is almost impossible to slip from the hand thanks to its cross line serrations. Weighing about 700g, the Minolta beercan 70-210 f4 lens has a length of about 16cm. Its bayonet is also metallic, even stainless steel. However, the writings written on this metallic outer body are lost or deleted over time. It is not engraved like in Russian lenses, it is written as a stamp.
In fact, it was sold in the first days with a round box with a solid leather look. But nowadays it is almost impossible to find. This transport box is very rare even on second-hand sales sites. Another auxiliary equipment is the parasol. It is actually very useful. It has a push mechanism like a lens cap so that it can be attached and removed easily. It can also be mounted upside down to avoid taking up space during transport. There is also an odometer at the top of our lens, and it can display the distance in meters and feet.
Let’s start with the physical properties, let’s talk about the fact that our lens does not stretch immediately during zooming. When its production started in 1985, it is one step more advantageous with the technology of the time and this feature from other brands and models. Because we have witnessed that the length of many zoom lenses changed during optical shifting. Minolta 70-200 f4 maxxum has been nicknamed beercan by the market thanks to this feature and its pipe style appearance.
Minolta f1:4 70 – 210 mm Lens Types
Minolta’s 70 210 mm lens types are 4 in total. The first one is Minolta af 70 210 mm f3.5 – f4.5 and there is 1 diaphragm light difference between optical shifts (70mm to 210mm zoom). The second and third are Minolta af 70 210 mm f3.5 – f5,6 and 2. series. In this lens, there is about 1.5 stop diaphragm difference between 70mm and 210mm. The main feature that distinguishes Beercan from these 3 versions is its fixed f4 diaphragm. Thus, we can take the f4 value at 70 mm, while we can take the f4 value at 210 mm and take photos without any light difference. Its diaphragm is fixed and it provides a lot of convenience during the usage phase. When using it in manual mode, there is no need to adjust ISO or snapshots continuously. In the smallest aperture, it takes the value of f32. This expression is also written on the lens as Minolta’s lenses classic.
Minolta af 70 – 210 mm f4 Sharpness and Colors
The optical performance with the lens structure consisting of 12 elements in 9 groups has been appreciated by everyone who has used it. Image quality is really good compared to a tele lens. Sharpness brings stones to the lenses that you give a lot of money. Below are examples of different apertures with different focal lengths; please review. As everyone knows, Minolta lenses are not as sharp as razors, except for a few. But most will take 8 or 9 out of 10. My sharpness score for this lens is 9.2 / 10.
Another issue to be mentioned about sharpness is the corner sharpness. We have said that minolta beercan 70-210 f4 gives satisfactory sharpness in the center. Similarly, sharpness in the edges and corners is satisfactory even at f4. Of course, no one should expect that beercan will be as sharp as the center in the corners, just like any other lens. Therefore, this pedestal is also valid in our lens. I think the aperture is the sharper aperture around f7.1 or f8. But as with many lenses that I have encountered before, there is no cliff sharpness and loss of contrast between the lightest diaphragm and the sharpest diagrams. Similarly, it gives similar results at different focal lengths. Indeed admirable …
Coming to their color, it is simply wonderful. I always liked the color consistency of the Minolta brand. A similar situation exists in the 70 210mm f4. It produces saturated, eye-pleasing colors. It is also normal to observe the classic Minolta contrast in this lens. The photos with good non-faded contrast … I can also say that while some of the lenses of Minolta are even more than the contrast, this is the consistency of the lens. All you have to do is give enough sunlight; the rest will be done by Minolta 70-210mm f4.
Minolta maxxum af 70 – 210 mm f4 Bokeh Quality
It has a 55 mm pre-filter diameter. Many 55 mm filters can be easily found in the market and can be purchased at reasonable prices. There is no problem in this regard. But this lens has a negativity that makes it difficult to use for polarizing filter. unfortunately the windscreen and filter spin during focus. It is necessary to adjust the polarizing filter separately for each shot. This is one of the few features that I can criticize for the lens.
Thanks to its 7-leaf diaphragm, it can produce relatively circular bokeh. You can examine these bokeh through examples. As the diaphragm narrows, corners or polygons begin to form in the bokeh. I don’t say good or bad, because it is entirely up to you; you like it or not. But I cannot go without emphasizing another situation that I observed about bokeh. I observed that it produces rotating bokeh in the background, especially in the footage at 210 mm f4. It looks a bit like Russian lenses. I had not read this situation in my previous research, frankly, it was a surprise to me. Because I like characteristic bokeh.
Minolta 70 – 210 mm f4 Beercan and Lae a4 Adapter
Minolta 70210 mm f4 is full frame compatible as well as aps-c machines. Since Sony aps-c cameras have a 1.5x multiplier factor, it provides the future angle corresponding to 105 – 315 mm in crop machines. In my sample shots, I used Sony Slt a77 m1 as aps-c and mirrorless Sony a7m2 as ff. Since the a7m2 is a mirrorless machine, I used this lens with a motor adapter lea-a4.
When there is an adapter in between, there are some differences in use. For example, af focus stability is one step lower than a77. I witnessed a77 more focused focus. There were also times when he spent a lot of time focusing on both machines, especially in low light. Although it is sufficient for the technology of the 1980s, it is not an acceptable issue for today’s lenses. However, I must say that the focusing speed is good in both systems. For example, there is no slow focus such as 75-300 big beercan. It is not as slow as in conventional zoom lenses. Finally, let’s emphasize that it is vocal about focusing and finish.
Minolta maxxum af 70 – 210 mm f4 Macro Mode and Other Features
One of the sides I like is the macro mode. It offers a maximum magnification of 0.25x and provides a zoom in to the lens of the lens by up to 1m, while at a focal length of 210mm. My personal measurements are that it allows to approach about 104 cm. It reveals about 1: 4 macro ratio, which is satisfactory for those who are not looking for 1: 1 macro. I must say that it is absolutely useful in creating different compositions.
We can say that CA experienced chromatic aberration in terms of its time. It creates some unobtrusive purple fringing but never tears. Some of the lenses I used were really too much; this lens is good for them but not as minimal as time lenses. I have also observed that it has decreased considerably around f8- f11. I can say above Ca mediocre about Ca.
On the other hand, we also examined the creation of vignettes. Apsc machines have invisible vignettes, whether f4 is 70mm or 210mm. It is not visible in normal photography. In full-frame machines, if you pay attention to f4, there are corner scribbles felt on open floors. In both machine models, it decreases significantly after f8. I can say vignette is mediocre.
I do not get stuck in too many distortions or distortions in tele zoom lenses. Frankly, I did not make any examinations that could pay attention to distortion. But I had drawn lines on the edges of the frame, and they didn’t catch my eye during the examinations. Therefore, we can say that it is also successful in distortion.
Let me write an interesting situation I encountered. When you take the Minolta Beercan to 70mm focal length, that is, when you pull the zoom ring to the bottom, it writes 75mm in the exif information of the photo you took. Frankly, I was strange. It has never happened before. I haven’t had the chance to test whether it’s actually 70mm or 75mm. So I couldn’t compare it with 70mm of a different lens. Similarly, when I put the cursor in the middle of the full text of 100, it gives exif data as 105 mm in exif and 150 in 155. Fortunately, 210 writes 210 mm.
As a result:
I have been wanting to use different lenses for a long time and I am using them as I get them. I am also trying to write your writings. I have something I couldn’t write as much as I used. Minolta 70 210 mm f4 lens will always remain one of the special lenses I use among the zoom lenses. With its satisfactory sharpness, extraordinary consistency in colors, pleasant contrast, solid construction, relatively ergonomic, and yet very reasonable cost price you can buy, it is one of the lenses that Sony users should definitely be crowned. I can not say without saying that his brother is more successful than minolta 75-300 mm. But for some time there were butterflies flying around for this lens, even though I couldn’t even have the courage to write 75 300 mm. If the clearest aperture value was f2.8, it would not be eaten. In short, considering that Minolta apo 70-200 f2.8 is disadvantageous in terms of both price and ergonemia, it becomes quite advantageous for a user like me minolta 70-210mm f4. Whether you use it for amateur work or take a professional wedding photo. But if you have this lens, be sure to take a picture. In my opinion, the best Minolta f / p lens.
Good ligth…
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thank you teodora 🙂
I’ve adapted this lens and a few other Minoltas to my Nikon Z5 and, while none of the electronics function and you must work in manual mode, it’s a great fit and works wonderfully. 🙂
hello ernst,
minolta af lenses will only work as af on minolta and sony a mounts and sony e mounts with adapter. For other versions, unfortunately, forgiveness doesn’t work. but with manual focus you can use it on your own system with the right adapter… and the minoltas are really good.