Data sheet: Minolta MD 135mm f/3.5

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

Specifications

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

Brand:	Minolta	Lens name	MD 135mm 1:3.5
Focal length(s) 1	135 mm	Angle-of-view 2	18,2 °
Maximum Aperture	f/3.5	In Production	1981-≈1995
Lens mounts	Minolta SR	Subfamily (if applicable)	MD (III)
Length 3	72,6 mm	Diameter 4	64,0 mm
Filter ring diameter	49 mm	Weight	273 grams
Lens element count	5	Lens group count	5
Aperture blades (S/R/C) 5	6 S	Focus throw	255 °
Minimum focusing distance	1,5 m	Maximum magnification	1:9,0
Has manual aperture ring	YES	Has Manual focus ring	YES
Aperture mechanism type	Automatic	Aperture click stops 6	3.5-5.6•8•11•16-22

Further notes:
• Minolta has produced 135 mm tele lenses ever since the introduction if the Minolta SR system in 1958, but – with the exception of an early, short-lived f/4 preset lens, Minolta’s approach to begin with was to offer only f/2.8 135 mm lenses.
• That changed in 1966 with the introduction of the f/3.5 135 mm lens, which probably was intended not only to offer a lighter alternative to the 135/2.8, but also to replace the 100 mm f/3.5 (which was discontinued simultaneously with the introduction of the 135/3.5. In 1981 Minolta also introduced a 135 m f/2 lens.
• This lens is late-era Minolta MD lens. Hence it shares the Minolta standard 49 mm filter thread and a highly compact build. The lens makes use of plastic, but that plastic seems to stand the test of time relatively well.
• Moreover, this sample seems to be from after 1983, because it is equipped with the X-600 pin (see JAPB article on the Minolta SR mount)
• This lens is equipped with a built-in extendable hood that – compared to many such contraptions – actually has a decent level of extension (see below)

Versions

The table below summarises the genealogy of the Minolta 135 mm f/3.5 lens.

Name (on lens)	Variant & Generation	years	min. aperture	elements	groups	filter thread	weight	hood
MC TELE ROKKOR-QD	MC I	1966–1969	f/22	4	4	52	370	–
MC TELE ROKKOR-QD	MC II	1969–1973	f/22	4	4	52	370	screw-in
MC TELE CELTIC-QD	MC Ce	1972–1974	f/22	4	4	52	383	–
MC TELE ROKKOR(-X) (QD)	MC X	1973–1976	f/22	4	4	55	415	screw-in
MC MINOLTA CELTIC	MC Ce	1974–1975	f/22	4	4	55	415	–
MC MINOLTA CELTIC	MC Ce	1975–1977	f/22	4	4	55	410	built-in
MC TELE ROKKOR(-X)	MC X	1976–1977	f/22	4	4	55	420	built-in
MD MINOLTA CELTIC	MD CE	1977–1980	f/22	4	4	55	410	built-in
MD TELE ROKKOR(-X)	MD I	1977–1978	f/22	4	4	55	420	built-in
MD TELE ROKKOR(-X)	MD II	1978–1979	f/22	4	4	55	420	built-in
MD TELE ROKKOR(-X)	MD II	1979–1981	f/22	5	5	49	265	built-in
MD MINOLTA CELTIC	MD Ce	1980–≈1985	f/22	5	5	49	265	built-in
MD	MD III	1981–≈1995	f/22	5	5	49	285	built-in

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. ↩︎