49 mm dia lens -seems to be plenty of cheap filters around at this size.
produces sharp pictures have not stopped down as far as 1.7 though. light, easy to use. My only prime lens (seems the norm here !!)

lens hood - didnt find it for a while - no instructions.

I found this lens in a bargain bin at Jacobs for £5 (scratched rear glass) I have used it for portrait work and landscapes and it has given consistent results. It also allows me to use Cokin 'A' size filters.

Customer Service

not needed - would'nt get it.

Similar Products Used:

zooms only

Sharp!
The price is right.
Build construction is of
pretty high quality.
AF is quick. (on my Maxxum HTsi atleast)
Viewfinder is much brighter.

Soft at 1.7 (naturally)

I like it. For what I paid, it has been on of my
better photography investments as of late.
Surprisingly sharp at f8 and f11. I most likely
will never buy another zoom lens again.

Customer Service

never needed it.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Maxxum 28-80 3.5

Super sharp, super cheap.

fixed length

I started like most wondering why anyone would ever choose a fixed length lens over zoom. Then I thought I'd bite the bullet and and buy one. Anyhow, the results are simply amazing! I took both my Zoom and my 50mm Prime to an event and I'm killing myself as to why it took me so long to get with the program! The pictures are noticably tact sharp! When using flash, the lens seems to grab available light and balance perfectly with the flash to compliment the photo. Simply amazing! I did tests with the Professional Quality Zooms and also a Consumer zoom vs the 50mm Prime and the 50mm came out ahead. I'll likely use this for 75% of my work and the times when I don't use it will be when I can't get close enough to my subject and will be forced to use a zoom.

Customer Service

never needed

Similar Products Used:

28-85mm Minolta Zoom, 28-70mm, Minolta Zoom, 70-200mm Minolta Zoom, 50mm f2 Pentax

Light, very fast autofocus, cheap

Built-in lens hood somewhat small

Got this lens as part of a "buy lens, get VC-700 grip free" and wondered what to do with it (I already own a 35-105 3.5/4.5) But working with it made me realize autofocus is much faster and it works great in low-light conditions, all thanks to it being F1.7. Minimum distance to subject is only 45cm which allows met to get much closer than with the 35-105 (110cm). Took me a month to find out it comes with a built-in hood.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

None

Good inexpensive, relatively fast, sharp lens with good construction and a built in lens hood.

Almost too sharp, absolutely some of the worst bokey of any lens I've bought. A far cry from the excellent Rokkor-X lenses of the 70's. Bokeh is spikey and harsh, not smooth and 3D as the old Rokkors.

A good, inexpensive, sharp lens that should serve the average photographer, particularly a beginner, as an affordable prime lens. Those who are more demanding or who notice and appreciate good bokeh might be better off using something else. I am curious if the f1.4 50mm is better in this respect. I currently solve this problem with an adaptor that lets me use my Rokkor X on the 600si in non-auto mode.

Customer Service

None required.

Similar Products Used:

Rokkor X 50 mm f1.7

fast, light, compact, inexpensive

fixed focal length....

I picked this lens up with my first Minolta Maxxum 7000 back in 1987. While I use zooms for most of my applications, this lens is extremely useful in low light situations where flash photography is either undesirable or not permitted. The 50mm focal length gives you close to a real life perspective. I recently used this lens with 800 film to photograph an indoor basketball tournament with excellent results. Likewise this is a good alternative to a point and shoot camera, however my suggestion if your budget allows would be to use a 28-105 as your prime lens. But this lens is one that, once bought, you will never want to lose due to the extra dimension it gives your photography.

Customer Service

never used

Similar Products Used:

28mm, 35mm plus many zooms.

Very Sharp
Light

None

This is an excellent lens when you're trying to get very sharp shots; however, on older skin it will show every blemish! (Would recommend a soft focus filter in those cases) It's especially nice to use for close-ups of children at about f3.5 - f8. Great color. There was a comment i one post that the bokeh is not good with this lens, but I find it to be very pleasing. Note that this lens may have been redesigned/manufactured for Maxxum AF cameras a number of times under the same name. I'm referring to the newest lens.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 28-80 3.5-5.6 Zoom (Low-quality lens)
Tamrom 24-135 3.5-5.6 Zoom (Great lens)