Minolta MD 24mm 1:2.8 vintage manual lens test and review

• Official classification: New-MD
• Collector’s classification: MD III

Very popular lens, it stays on position close to legendary status. It has a great IQ and can give for owner everything which can be expected from 24mm fast prime. Independently of the camera.

Among all lenses Minolta, which have been tested on the site, New-MD 24 / 2.8 has brought more problems. Sometime after the first test and review, I managed to get another copy of the lens, and it turned out that it was noticeably sharper than the first. According to other materials on the Internet, I’m sure that this sharpness is more suitable for this model, and a new copy – the most correct.

I had to redo all the tests with 24mm lenses (including zoom lenses) on an infinite distance and this current article is on the list.
(“Romantic” test that shows the difference between the two copies Minolta New-MD 24 / 2.8 will be published soon. And, yes – it is the most significant difference in performance between the two lenses, Minolta, which has found to date. Moreover, this difference has a huge lead over the rest.)
On this page, you can read the already fixed version of the article with the most reliable data.

Minolta MD 24mm 1:2.8 (MD III, New-MD) specifications

minolta.eazypix.de index	31
Name engraved on lens	MD
f[mm]	24
A max [1/f]	2,8
A min[1/f]	22
Lens design [el.]	8
Lens design [gr.]	8
Filter thread Ø front(rear)[mm]	49
Lens Shade	clip-in
close focus[m/ft]	0,25
Dimension Ø x length [mm]	64×39
Weight[g]	200
Year	1981
Style	MD III
Code No. (ROKKOR-X) or Order No.	684-510

Floating elements	YES (partial support by autofocused adapters)
Aperture blades number	6
Confidence in the test results of reviewed copies	Enough high
Reviewed lens SN:	3109613 and 3115101

Minolta MD 24mm 1:2.8 exterior

sn. 3109613

Mounted on Minolta X-700

This is a very suitable set – the camera and lens have the same design (released 1981)

Minolta MD 24mm 1:2.8 lens-shade

Minolta MD 24mm 1:2.8 box set from Japan sn. 3115101:

Minolta MD 24mm 1:2.8 sharpness

Сlose-distance resolution test

Testing methods description

• Target: 10-15 cm picture, printed on glossy photo paper
• Distance:10% longer than minimal focus distance marked on the lens
• 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

Scene preview

Test results (selected version, easy to compare – 4 positions) sn. 3109613

Test results (full version – all 9 positions) sn. 3109613

Long-distance resolution test

Testing methods description

• Target: cityscape
• Distance: > 200 meters to center focus point
• Camera: Sony A7II (24mpx, full-frame, tripod, remote control). M-mode, ISO fixed, WB fixed, SteadyShot – OFF. The focus point is on the center only.
• RAW processing: Capture One, default settings. All quality settings – 100%. Crops – 300×200 px

Scene preview sn. 3115101

Test results sn. 3115101

Minolta MD 28mm 1:2.8 aberrations

Vignetting sn. 3109613

Geometric distortion sn. 3109613

Coma aberrations sn. 3109613

Chromatic aberrations sn. 3109613

Close distance bokeh sn. 3109613

Test conditions: the lens is focused on minimal distance (0.25m), plants are in the 2m distance

Long-distance bokeh sn. 3109613

Test conditions: the lens was focused on half distance on the scale (0.5m), buildings are on “infinity”-distance

Light bubbles bokeh sn. 3109613

Test conditions: lens was focused on minimal distance + 10% of scale (about 0.27m), diodes were fixed in 2m distance

Light bubbles bokeh, long-distance, sn. 3109613

Test conditions: the lens is focused on a minimal distance of 0.25m, lights are in more than 200m

Minolta MD 24mm 1:2.8 (or Minolta MD 24mm F/2.8, New-MD, MD III design) – overall conclusion

This lens has nice geometry and sharpness for 24mm – one of the best wide lenses independently of the manufacturer. Center and middle are very good even fully opened, F5.6 is ready for landscapes. If 24mm is your focal distance – you need to get this lens. Additionally, it’s really small and lightweight. Manual focusing is very simple. One more advantage – Minolta made enough amount of this lens, so prices are absolutely reasonable.