Minolta 85mm f1.4: A Love Letter to Minolta, and Maybe a Review Too

Check Prices for the LA-EA4 Adapter | Check Prices for the eBay Minolta 85mm Link | Body used: Sony A7ii

Introduction

I remember the day I discovered the Minolta brand a few years back. I had just purchased the Sony A7 from someone from Craigslist, a big purchase for me at the time when I was in my early 20s, freshly graduated from college with no job prospects. The guy who sold it to me gave me a bundle of items to go with the A7 body. Chief among them, is the Sony LA-EA4 adapter, an adapter that would allow for any Sony A-mount lenses to be used with the E-Mount of the new Sony Ax line of cameras. After a quick Google search of the cost of native Sony E-Mount lenses, I went quickly to look at alternatives. That was when I chanced upon the Minolta line of lenses and bodies.

Built to Last

Then began an obsession with collecting these little old pieces of glass, metal, and plastic (in some cases). It was quite rare to find at the time on local listing websites – it was really just Craigslist at the time, so the risking of lives to catch a good deal on some second-hand items didn’t necessarily provide a great risk-benefit balance – so I turned to eBay. Little did I know just how many Japanese sellers there were on this wonderful platform for bargain photographers like myself. It was like heaven, but not really. I’d find 50mm Minolta primes for $25-35 CAD, 28-85mm zooms with a constant aperture for $30. It was a wonderful shopping experience, and I spent many dollars that day.

Alex Lau with all his lenses and bodies, at the time. — Me, with an assortment of lenses, and bodies, that I collected over some time (most of these are gone now). A good amount of Minolta presence here.

Fast forward a few years later, I had just gotten married to my wonderful wife, and we were set to go to Japan for our honeymoon. I had taken a break from photography, but couldn’t stomach the idea of going to Japan for the first time, and not blasting off photos left and right.

I had my eyes set on a prized possession: the Minolta 85mm f1.4. An incredibly specced out 85mm prime, with a very wide open aperture. I knew from the Dyxum forum just how well-built this thing was, and boy, they were not wrong.

Alex Lau with a Minolta 85mm f1.4, a review of sorts

$420 poorer, I had acquired my coveted prize, and went around Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Okinawa, shooting landscapes, street photography, and portraits, with this amazing lens.

A Journey in Japan

For those who haven’t had to fortune yet to visit this wonderful country, it’s a must-visit. The food is delicious and well-priced. The views are beautiful and serene. The camera stores are plentiful and well-stocked. To be in Osaka or Tokyo as a camera-gear-hoarder/photographer, it’s a dream. Like second-hand gear, and are sick of your local store’s small collection of 5-6 lenses? Welcome to Kitamura Camera, 6 floors of camera bodies, and lenses, new, used, and as-is. Naturally, even the Japanese fill their as-is section with plenty of lenses and bodies that work perfectly fine, just a little beat up. This really was heaven.

Minolta bodies and beercan lens, purchased at Lemon Camera, photo by Alex Lau — Total for a Maxxum 7000 body, Sweet body, and the 70-210mm beercan lens: $10 CAD from the as-is section. Naturally, everything works just fine. The Japanese.

Minolta lenses galore, photo by Alex Lau

Me holding a new purchase, the Minolta 28mm in Osaka camera store

Lindsay, my wife, lost me several times in these camera stores throughout our honeymoon. She has the patience of a saint, clearly, and I love her dearly for that. I purchased a few more lenses, and bodies, on this trip, but the one that would prevail above all would be the 85mm in question (this is, after all, a horribly paced review for that lens).

The 85mm focal length sits outside of the typical coverage you’d receive from kit lenses, and zooms, on other full-frame cameras. Taken in APS-C, or another crop factor, the 85mm focal length would be covered, but the f1.4 aperture is definitely not. As a result, most of the images coming from an 85mm f1.4 will be different from the ones that bombard our senses on social media. A unique view into the subject that you shoot. A rarity nowadays. It’s a lovely focal length, coupled with an amazingly strong depth of field. It’s now my go-to for any trip.

Performance Summary

As you may well be able to tell, I don’t take photography to too much of a technical degree. I do have an interest in that, absolutely. It’s a necessity in order to output a semblance of the image that you want on some of these mirrorless cameras. I won’t be able to provide sharpness charts, or barrel distortion comparisons to close competitors (I mean, what really rivals this at this pricepoint?).

Pagoda shot by Alex Lau in Japan, Minolta 85mm f1.4

Osaka skyline shot by Alex Lau in Japan, Minolta 85mm f1.4

What I can say is this:

You need this lens. If you have an LA-EA4 adapter with your Sony FE mirrorless body, get this lens. It’s $400-600 (Canadian) normally on the second-hand market, and delivers amazing images.

The sharpness is strong, and the depth of field is amazing. Aberration is quite apparent (the purple fringes around the light contrast areas), so this will need to be removed in post-production (or just keep it, why not, it’s part of some aesthetic I’m sure). The auto-focus is good, not great, but the lens is almost 40 years old at this point, so any functionality on that front is an A+ in my eyes.

I forgot to mention that this lens is almost 40 years old. It’s built like a tank. It’ll last another 40 years, I’m sure of it.

Osaka takoyaki shot by Alex Lau in Japan, Minolta 85mm f1.4

Tokyo rickshaw shot by Alex Lau in Japan, Minolta 85mm f1.4

Useful Links/Info

Thanks for Reading!

My name is Alex Lau, and I’m a travel blogger and photographer. I’ve worked in the automotive digital marketing business for 6+ years before I decided to uproot and explore this little blue marble we find ourselves on, meeting new people, telling their stories, and discovering new places.

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