Tag: MD Rokkor-X 50mm F1.7

Wear

When shopping for a vintage camera or lens online, one must be careful to look for signs of excessive wear and tear

Last summer I bought a Minolta X-700 from a downsizing retiree. When I picked up the camera, she gushed about her love of the camera and wanted it to go to someone would appreciate it. She shared with me some of the photographs she had taken with the camera over the year. We talked about my photography and the beautiful things I had photographed in the woods behind her home.

As we talked, I realised that I was not buying a camera. I was adopting a family member. I promised to make fair use of her cherished camera. I walked away with an X-700, an MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7, Auto Electroflash 132X, a Electroflash 20 Ultra Compact flash, and a Vivitar zoom lens. All for $70. Prices online are considerably higher.

It’s one of the best cameras I’ve ever owned. The first time I used it, I had so much fun I shot a 36 exposure roll each of Portra 160 and Ektachrome E100 on the same day. Then I bought an MD Rokkor-X 45mm f/2 lens, and I began devouring article after article about Minolta. Near the end of 2020, I sold my Spotmatic II and ES II and SMC lenses (except for the 50mm) and bought a black XD-11 (of course).

I’m a casual photographer who primarily shoots digital (Fujifilm X-T2), but it seems I’m becoming a Minolta guy.

When I bought my vintage Minolta X-700 camera and MD Rokkor-X 45mm f/2 and MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 lenses, I was careful to look for signs of excessive wear and tear. I was fortunate with this purchase. The owner was a local casual photographer who took good care of her equipment. The lenses are spotless, and the body has the minor "brassing" one would expect from regular use. The MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 lens came with the camera, but it took me several weeks to find an unblemished copy of the MD-Rokkor 45mm f/2 lens. I have not had any CLA (Cleaning, Lube, & Adjustment) done, but the camera has performed flawlessly.

Submitted for the 100DaysToOffload project.

Kodak Portra 400 with Minolta X-700 and MD Rokkor-X 50mm F:1.7

With 35mm film, you develop, scan and post your images weeks after the photographs were made.

NOTE: I'll begin this experience report with a brief disclaimer. It's been less than three years since I returned to shooting 35mm film after switching to digital photography over 20 years ago. I've inundated myself with as much film education as possible between web articles and advice from experienced film shooters. But, since my prior experience with film is decades old, this review is from a rather novice point of view.

Kiran, Bhavna and I walked in the Gulick Farm Preserve a few weeks ago. I brought my Fuji X-T2 and XF27mmF2.8 lens, my Minolta X-700, MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 lens, and a fresh 35 exposure catridge of Kodak Portra 400. Kodak Portra 400 is a fine-grain high-speed colour-negative film. I had never used Kodak Portra 400 before, but based on my experience with a roll of Kodak Portra 160 at Avalon Beach, I expected good results.

Bhavna and Kiran | Gulick Farm Preserve | Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film
Gulick Farm Preserve | Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film

The Gulick Farm Preserve walk was shorter than expected, so we dropped in at Barbara Smoyer Park. The light here was much brighter as we didn't have the forest to provide shade. The Kodak Portra 400 and the Minolta X-700 performed well.

Barbara Smoyer Park | Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film
Barbara Smoyer Park | Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film

Later that week, Bhavna and I were at Brick Fram Tavern for our regular weekly "dinner and chat". At this time of the year, the sun sets sooner. I was interested to see how the Kodak Portra 400 would perform in changing lighting conditions as the sun went down.

Brick Farm Taveren | Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film
Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film
Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film
Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film
Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film

Earlier in the week, I had stopped at the Princeton Fire Department on Witherspoon Street to make some images for the Lens Artist challenge.

Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film
Minolta X-700 | Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 | Kodak Portra 400 Colour Film

Negative Space

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A few weeks ago Bhavna and I down the Jersey shore to Avalon Baech, a beautiful beach on Seven Mile Island in Avalon, a borough in Cape May. At the last moment, our daughter Kiran, a sophomore at Oberlin College in Ohio, decided that she wanted to attend the fall semester remotely. Kiran's explanation was that she did not want to risk infecting us. We had already taken the day off and committed ourselves to fourteen days of self-quarantine but now we had a scheduled day off and perhaps Bhavna and I just needed to relieve some anxiety. That morning, I packed beach chairs, umbrellas, and my newly acquired 35mm film kit, a Minolta Minolta X-700 and MD Rokkor-X 50mm f1/.7 lens.

I shot a 36 exposure roll of Kodak Professional Ektachrome E100 35mm Color Transparency Film, then shot a 36 exposure roll of Kodak Professional Portra 160 35mm Color Negative Film, but I also used a Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation recipe on my Fuji X-T2 digital camera. This is one frame from that roll of Kodak Professional Portra 160. I think it’s a good use of negative space.

Submitted for the 100DaysToOffload project.