Minolta 28153 f4-4.5 : The so-called "Hidden G" - My review

over the past week, i have a chance to own this lens, better known as Secret Handshake among Minolta users. at first, i refuse to close the deal, as i think my current lens served me well. after a while, i think i have to reshuffle my lineup again and this lens comes to my mind. this lens didn't cost me a single RM since i trade it with another stuff but straight away i feel i made a good decision that i wish i never regret!



the lens was very solid as it was made by metal. lucky me the lens was in good condition even the age of this lens might be as old as me! it weight around 750g (quite heavy compare to other lens in it range)





















the lens will extend when zooming, but the filter will not rotate when focusing; made it suitable for CPL filter to be used






















i put it next to my HVL-F56 flash. it was almost the same height as my flash








it has a macro mode, although the magnification is not that great (maybe 1:2 or smaller). but honestly i enjoy the macro mode the most. the only downside is, it cannot fit equipments like raynox dcr250 coz the filter size was 72mm






what i like the most is, the grip was not like the current sony lenses grip which are dust magnet. i can easily get rid of any dirt that sticks on the grip compare to sony lenses grip











it has 5 contact points compared to newer lens that have 7 contact points. prior to this, the lens are not working in ADI flash mode. only the one with 7 contact points will work with ADI flash mode








the blue line indicate the lens are in macro mode. how to switch it? just push the macro switch upwards while rotate the zoom ring beyond the 28mm limit. while using macro mode, the lens cannot work in AF but just in MF. you can see the MFD of this lens is around 1.5m, but in macro mode, the lens can get as near as 25cm! to release the macro mode, simply push the macro switch upwards again and turn the zoom ring into 28mm limit









some say this lens are prone to flare. this because of there are no hood provided. even the hood thread are not there unless you use the screw hood. but so far, the flare didnt cause me a big trouble






need more? wait for my part 2 review. for the next review, i will try this lens for some photographic test. stay tune...