Data sheet: Minolta MC Rokkor-PG 50mm f/1.4

Note! This lens has been reviewed as part of a JAPB comparison (see more here)

Pekka Buttler, 01/2023 (Updated 1/2024)

Pictured: Minolta MC ROKKOR-PG 50 mm f/1.4

Specifications

The table below summarizes the lens’ key specifications (Measurements based on pictured sample):

Brand:MinoltaLens nameMC Rokkor-PG 1:1.4 f=50mm
Focal length(s) 150 mmAngle-of-view 246,8 °
Maximum Aperturef/1.4In Production1973–1977
Lens mountsMinolta SRSubfamily (if applicable)MC (X)
Length 346,3 mmDiameter 465,1 mm
Filter ring diameter55 mmWeight305 grams
Lens element count7Lens group count6
Aperture blades (S/R/C) 56 SFocus throw180 °
Minimum focusing distance50 cmsMaximum magnification1:7,9
Has manual aperture ringYESHas Manual focus ringYES
Aperture mechanism typeAutomaticAperture click stops 61.4-2•2.8•4•5.6•8•11•16

Further notes:
• From the introduction if the Minolta SR system until 1973, Minolta’s choice focal length for standard lenses was 55–58 mm – 58 for the fast fifty (f/1.4) and superfast fifty (f/1.2) and 55 for the nifty fifty (f/1.7–f/2).
• Also, Minolta would typically at the same time offer both a faster nifty fifty (typically f/1.7–f/1.8) and a slower nifty fifty (f/1.9–f/2)
• Starting in 1973, Minolta converted all its standard lenses to a 50 mm focal length, and cemented the maximum apertures of these in a four-tier structure that stayed unchanged throughout the remaining life of the SR system: f/1.2 – f/1.4 – f/1.7 – f/2.
• This lens comes from the first generation of Minolta 50 mm fast fifties.
• The original Minolta 55 mm thread-mounted lens hood might be hard to come by, but most 55 mm thread standard lens hoods should work.

Versions

The table below shows the genealogy of all Minolta fast fifties:

Name (on lens)Variant
& Generation
yearsfocal
length
max.
aperture
min.
aperture
elementsgroupsfilter threadweight
Auto-ROKKOR-PFAR II1961–6558f/1.4f/166555320
Auto-ROKKOR-PFAR C1965–6658f/1.4f/166555265
MC ROKKOR-PFMC I1966–6958f/1.4f/166555275
MC ROKKOR-PFMC II1969–7358f/1.4f/166555275
MC ROKKOR(-X)-PGMC X1973–7750f/1.4f/167555305
MD-ROKKOR(-X)MD I1977–7850f/1.4f/167555245
MD ROKKOR(-X)MD II1978–7950f/1.4f/167555245
MD-ROKKOR(-X)MD II1979–8150f/1.4f/167649220
MDMD III1981–≈9550f/1.4f/167649235
The current lens is highlighted in the table.

Adapting

This lens cannot be used natively on any current SLR or dSLRs. To use it in its native environment, you will need a Minolta SR (SR/MC/MD/X-600) film camera. Luckily these are quite easy to find. To use the lens’ full designed capabilities, a Minolta MD-compatible body (any Minolta SR body launched after 1977) is most recommended..

Thanks to being a fully manual lens (manual aperture, manual focus), the lens can be adapted to all mirrorless cameras using a suitable adapter. Moreover, a simple ‘dumb adapter’ will do the job perfectly. Thanks to the popularity of the Minolta SR mount, the availability of adapters to all mirrorless mounts can be taken for granted, on the other hand, specialist adapters (speed boosters, helicoid adapters, tilt/shift adapters) are not available for all mirrorless mounts, but daisy-chaining adapters (e.g. Minolta SR -> Canon EF; Canon EF –> mirrorless) can offer a work-around.

Using Minolta SR mount lenses on dSLRs is also be an option, but it is not trouble-free due to that the Minolta SR mount’s flange focal distance is shorter than that of any dSLR mount (technically with the exception of Olympus’ four thirds mount). Hence, any attempt at adapting Minolta SR lenses must rely on an adapter that uses corrective optics to allow infinity focus. However, such adapters are readily available.

History of Minolta

Minolta exited the camera business in 2006 and sold its remaining photographic assets to Sony. The 50 years before that ignominious date tell a very different story: one of a Japanese optics and innovation powerhouse that has interesting links to Germany – not Nazi Germany, but both pre WWII Germany as well as postwar West Germany. Read more in the Minolta company profile.

Footnotes

  1. Focal length is (unless stated otherwise) given in absolute terms, and not in Full-frame equivalent. For an understanding of whether the lens is wide/tele, see ‘Angle-of-view’. ↩︎
  2. Picture angle is given in degrees (based on manufacturers’ specs) and concerns the diagonal picture angle. Rule of thumb:
    > 90 ° ==> Ultra-wide-angle
    70–90 ° ==> Wide-angle
    50–70 ° ==> Moderate wide-angle
    40–50 ° ==> ‘Standard’ or ‘normal’ lens
    20–40 ° ==> Short tele lens
    10-20 ° ==> Tele lens
    5-10 ° ==> Long tele lens
    < 5 ° ==> Ultra-tele lens ↩︎
  3. Length is given from the mount flange to the front of lens at infinity. ↩︎
  4. Diameter excludes protrusions such as rabbit ears or stop-down levers. ↩︎
  5. S=straight; R=rounded; C=(almost)circular at all apertures. ↩︎
  6. Numbers equal aperture values on aperture ring; • intermediate click; – no intermediate click. ↩︎

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