I'm impressed with the Minolta 45mm Rokkor-X f2 lens that came with a recently acquired XD-11. My previous post covered the external face lift I gave the camera, and I have finally got around to developing the test roll I initially ran through it. Fuji Superia XTRA has become my standard color 35mm film for tests and general use. It's inexpensive, yields wonderful results and the ISO 400 speed gives me the ability to utilize it in my small home studio as well as outdoors. These samples were taken inside using Manual Mode on the camera. Lighting was provided by a B800 Alien Bee strobe with a 48in white umbrella. Exposure determined using a Sekonic L-358. I don't remember what the reading was, although it's written down somewhere, probably f5.6 or f8 @1/60. The XD-11 has a flash sync peak of 1/100, but I generally use 1/60. The second shot was probably taken at f4. Again, these are quick test shots so I didn' t bother to use a second light source or reflector for these indoor images.
When using the metered Aperture and Shutter Priority modes it seems the camera is around one to two stops under exposed. This is fairly typical of cameras of this vintage. The 45mm MD lens itself, commonly referred to as a 'pancake' lens, provides a nice perspective, and I've read many Minolta users prefer the 45mm to the 50mm focal length. Not much is lost going from f1.7 on the standard 50mm Minolta lens to f2 on this 45mm. I don't do a lot of low light shooting and rarely use my lenses wide open, so I'm more concerned with the smaller apertures. This lens stops down to f22. It features the common 49mm filter size for this era of lens. Since it can be picked up at very affordable prices (less than fifty bucks) on EBay I highly suggest getting one if you don't already have it, and want to play with an additional 'normal' focal length.
I'm impressed with the Minolta 45mm Rokkor-X f2 lens that came with a recently acquired XD-11. My previous post covered the external face lift I gave the camera, and I have finally got around to developing the test roll I initially ran through it. Fuji Superia XTRA has become my standard color 35mm film for tests and general use. It's inexpensive, yields wonderful results and the ISO 400 speed gives me the ability to utilize it in my small home studio as well as outdoors. These samples were taken inside using Manual Mode on the camera. Lighting was provided by a B800 Alien Bee strobe with a 48in white umbrella. Exposure determined using a Sekonic L-358. I don't remember what the reading was, although it's written down somewhere, probably f5.6 or f8 @1/60. The XD-11 has a flash sync peak of 1/100, but I generally use 1/60. The second shot was probably taken at f4. Again, these are quick test shots so I didn' t bother to use a second light source or reflector for these indoor images.
When using the metered Aperture and Shutter Priority modes it seems the camera is around one to two stops under exposed. This is fairly typical of cameras of this vintage. The 45mm MD lens itself, commonly referred to as a 'pancake' lens, provides a nice perspective, and I've read many Minolta users prefer the 45mm to the 50mm focal length. Not much is lost going from f1.7 on the standard 50mm Minolta lens to f2 on this 45mm. I don't do a lot of low light shooting and rarely use my lenses wide open, so I'm more concerned with the smaller apertures. This lens stops down to f22. It features the common 49mm filter size for this era of lens. Since it can be picked up at very affordable prices (less than fifty bucks) on EBay I highly suggest getting one if you don't already have it, and want to play with an additional 'normal' focal length. 
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