Blind Test: Minolta Beercan vs. White Apo G lens test

[eric teotico]

I did a side by side test on 2 Minolta zoom lenses. The Beercan 70-210mm f4.0 and the White Apo G 80-200mm f2.8. It was mounted on a LA-EA2 Adaptor but since the frimware update hasn't been released, it's apertures were at it's widest opening. Both are heavy lenses but the White is 3x heavier. The beercan is parfocal and has a very sweet focus ring but the focus ring rotates outward making a follow focus difficult to use. The White's focus ring has a bit of play at manual and not as smooth as the Beercan. I tested it on the NEX 5N at autofocus and found it to be very accurate and responsive.
Here's the link:

http://youtu.be/xIMBDjmcKhk

 

[ShawnLam]

Thanks Eric,
It is always nice to hear user experience on the handling of the lenses and how the focus rings feel.

It would be more helpful if you compared both lenses at f/4.0 as well though.

How is the zoom on the White G?

 

[eric teotico]

The focus ring on the White APO G has a small play. The manual focusing ring is not as smooth as the beercan. Using a follow focus makes it smoother but you'll have to tolerate the small play. Like I said earlier, this lens is at it's best on auto focus setting. The image quality and contrast is tops.