Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm 1:3.5 vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:3.5 – comparison
Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm 1:3.5 vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:3.5 – comparison
- Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm 1:3.5 DDR Sonnar
- Minolta MD 135mm 1:3.5 (New-MD or MD III)
Older DDR’s (German Democratic Republic/East Germany) vs Japanese latest – 135mm slow manual primes fighting.
| Carl Zeiss Jena | Minolta MD | |
| Serial: | 9389189 | Copy #2 |
| Optical Condition: | Like new | Like new |
This comparison is correct only for conditions and equipment used for tests. Test results can differ if any element is changed.
Tested lenses reviews
Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm 1:3.5 vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:3.5 – comparison – sharpness/resolution
Long-distance test description
- Camera Sony A7II (24mpx, full frame) – RAW (ARW), tripod, A-mode, ISO 100, WB fixed, SteadyShot OFF, manual focus correction for every shot
- Targets (buildings) – fixed by gravity power on the distances in more than 200 meters
- ARW post-processing – Capture One, default settings, 100% crops 300×200 px
Scene preview
Test results
Short-distance test description
- Target: 10-15 cm picture, printed on glossy photo paper
- Distance: 1.7m
- Camera: Sony A7II (24mpx, full-frame, tripod, remote control). M-mode, ISO fixed, WB fixed, SteadyShot – OFF.
- The test was repeated for every F-stop on every focus position with manual focus adjustment for each shot. That is to avoid the effect of field curvature.
- RAW processing: Capture One, default settings. All quality settings – 100%. Crops – 300×200 px
Original target image (printed in horizontal orientation on 10cm X 15cm glossy photo paper)
Scene preview
Test results
Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm 1:3.5 vs Minolta MD 135mm 1:3.5 – comparison – final conclusion
Definitely Jena won. At both distances, Minolta is clearly inferior in sharpness to the German lens in the center. At apertures from 5.6 there is no longer a difference, but the victory is unequivocal – the open aperture of Carl Zeiss looks better.
A bit of my opinion: very often messages pop up on the network that the Minolta 135 / 3.5 is supposedly a very sharp lens. But I have two copies of this lens (8077396, 8075287) and they show the same results. It seems to me that the statement that the Minolta 135 / 3.5 is very sharp is quite true, but at the same time its sharpness is inferior to any other 135 Minolta lens, and this particular Carl Zeiss.
