Minolta Maxxum Lens Compatibility

C

CColton

Well-known member
I know that there are a variety of lens adapters available for the micro 4/3 system, and I know that I have some old Minolta lenses in my basement. What I don't know is if there is an adapter that could use them. I checked Panasonic's website and the Micro 4/3 products, and did not see one, so I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way I can adapt a Minolta Maxxum series lens to the GH1. Yes, they're old, but yes, they're free, so I'd like to see if I can use them.

Thank you for the help, and as a side note, I would appreciate civility in responses to this thread.
 
I have a wide variety of old minolta glass, some of it is very good. There's basically two adapters, one for the autofocus, and one for the older cameras. They cost about $25 on ebay. Micro 4/3 to "Sony" or to Minolta MD,MC, etc. My 50mm 1.4 takes astounding video, and my 135mm f2.8 is very nice as well. The older mounts have a little extra button to look out for. Your focal lengths will about double, keep that in mind. Since you used the word "maxxum", I'm assuming they are Sony alpha mount (autofocus).
On my camera, I can use the focus assist to set the focus, which just takes a few seconds, but bear in mind that these old lenses to not have auto focus, etc, and that you need to adjust the aperture and so on--just like a real camera! I have quite a lot of old glass, and some of the Minolta glass is as good as any of my more exotic lenses. I would say if you have zooms, the beercan and mini beercan are worth keeping, as well as any of the primes.
 
Micro 4/3 to Sony? Do Minolta lenses work on Sony mounts?

As for the lens specifics, the only markings on the lenses are Minolta Maxxum and AF. Do you know what series of lenses they would be, or at least which adapter I need to look for?

Will these AF lenses autofocus while recording? I find AF helpful sometimes. However, if the GH1 can't use the Minolta AF, I'm not going to be heartbroken.

As for setting aperture manually, that's how I shoot anyway, so it's not a problem. Why would you buy a DLSR for video if you wanted to leave it on auto?
 
I think a possible problem with Maxxum lenses is that the aperture is controlled via a mechanical linkage from the (originally) Maxxum body. There is no aperture ring on the lens, unlike the old Minolta MD mount. So I am not sure if the aperture can be adjusted to work with the GH1, or if it will just shoot contiunously stopped down to maximum.

The Maxxum lenses have "A" mount and will work fine in auto with current Sony DSLRs (alpha series) but not NEX series.
 
CColton said:
Micro 4/3 to Sony? Do Minolta lenses work on Sony mounts?

As for the lens specifics, the only markings on the lenses are Minolta Maxxum and AF. Do you know what series of lenses they would be, or at least which adapter I need to look for?

Will these AF lenses autofocus while recording? I find AF helpful sometimes. However, if the GH1 can't use the Minolta AF, I'm not going to be heartbroken.
Click to expand...

Sony bought the Konica/Minolta DSLR division, so the old Minolta A-mount is now the Sony Alpha mount.

AF definitely will not work.
 
As above the Sony is the "Maxxum" mount. The adapter ring I purchased on eBay (from gits_hunter http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380181146317) came with a disclaimer that the aperture control was not guaranteed. However, the adapter I received works flawlessly with all my Minolta glass with full aperture control. You can, of course, just put a toothpick in the aperture ring to set it as well, but I did not need to as the ring worked. The price has gone up a bit but they are available from many sources, however, it could be that these are more expensive because of the aperture control. All of the ones on the internet look very similar, however.
 
Again, loss of AF is not really an issue. Thanks for leading me to the correct adapter everyone!
 
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