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A history of Sony Alpha - Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7 versus Sony DT 50 mm f/1.8 SAM
11. Summary
As it was done in the case of previous duels we can sum it up awarding two points for a win in a given test category and one point for a draw. What’s interesting the older Minolta construction scored better, winning the duel with the result of 9:7. Its good performance is due to better workmanship, lower vignetting and distortion and a bit faster, more accurate focusing mechanism. The Sony lens prevailed when it came to chromatic aberration correction and work against bright light. Also in the most important category – the image quality in the frame centre and at edges – we can announce the minimal victory of the Sony.
On the one hand it is always curious when an old lens defeats a new one. On the other hand the Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7 is a very solid, well-done model which would be able to put even other contemporary competitors like a Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II or a Nikkor AF 50 mm f/1.8D in their places. You shouldn’t wonder why it beat the Sony DT 50 mm f/1.8 SAM. As the Sony’s saving grace you should mention its good frame edge performance, not yielding at all to the full frame Minolta’s performance.
Sample shots from the Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.7 lens
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Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/125 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.03 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/125 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.25 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/125 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.33 MB |
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Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/125 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 1.95 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/125 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.42 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/125 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.03 MB |
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Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/4000 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.47 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/2500 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.54 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/1000 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.53 MB |
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Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/1.7, exp. 1/800 sec., ISO 200 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.58 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/320 sec., ISO 200 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.93 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/1.7, exp. 1/2500 sec., ISO 200 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.33 MB |
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Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/1600 sec., ISO 200 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.32 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/640 sec., ISO 200 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 3.89 MB |
Camera: Sony A100 Parameters: 50 mm, f/1.7, exp. 1/640 sec., ISO 100 File: JPEG, 3872 x 2592 pix, 2.44 MB |
