Albinar AGD 80-200 Macro Zoom

[Robert Apple]

Found this little beauty at a second hand store for $20, probably cost 10 Times that when it was new being a premium Minolta Lens in 1972.

I haven’t tried the macro yet but ran into a arrant barn shortly after buying it and just before the storm started.

[Marty E]

Thank you @robertapple! I like your idea so I’ll definitely be looking into vintage glass. Since my camera is a Canon, do I need something special like a converter to be able to attach a lens made for a different camera body like the Minolta lens you posted?

[Elin Laxdal]

It´s easy Marty. You buy lenses with M42 mount and the M42 adapter for Canon

Be sure that the M42 adapter has AF confirm chip on it – otherwise it will not work.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/226064202962?itmmeta=01HV4C0WRQP6D43JFTW3YZBW50&hash=item34a279fcd2:g:VJoAAOSw3ndky11Q&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8I2VuESbD9sGMs7oTYzlD2NezuDoMGoNPAQaWWmF3t8lxx7RSvjv09eE2oSINBQqvMfIcjQ3ti%2BWa3tqcBF3jeZx46AYOMh5eqosXEkp5D%2Bobmd1Iwgo%2BEYC1doMubB%2Bh8l5JoMkiOiQDBP8fLKOpGkki82ogozaDeBp3yRyoUkjJDigPcFCz9Ec6Ljdh8fhzP1rxieZLaEd8LThVX2qDs9YyoQvbhdz0qHTpubvsLPS5iG%2FZrnBBXkuC48RDzW9qnJ8%2BLThSFZJL5K%2F2DvwJlA69Ll7yB9OOzPAyETEB1%2BKqt8KB6IB8oSqc11E9oHQSg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8LMg4zZYw

[Marty E]

Thanks very much @elinlaxdal! This link will be really helpful 😀

[Marty E]

@elinlaxdal  You’ll probably laugh when I admit what a “hardware” person I am not! I watched the video you recommended and was immediately reminded of my sociology professor in college. She said when you’re introduced to something you know nothing about (in my case, “manual” re: settings and hardware on my camera), start off by making a vocabulary list. Instead of thinking “Speak English!!!” when you hear “foreign” words, learn what the unfamiliar terms mean first! So I’ll do exactly that to unpack this technical information. 😀 It’s a win-win!I will take the challenge lol

[Robert Apple]

@martye like Elin mentioned and There are a few on Ebay for not much
Cannon Macro lenses on Ebay
You just need to be careful that they say no fungus, no scratches, no haze, I have a few cannons in my collection and its my understanding the old cannon mounts are easily adapted to the new cannon mounts.

[Marty E]

Thanks again for all this great info @robertapple. Fungus? I had no idea lol, thanks for the cautions! 😀

[Federico Alegria]

that boi looks like a tank! hope you find the chance for testing that micro-focus.

[Patrick]

They don’t make em like that anymore , Nice find Robert

[Elin Laxdal]

Good looking lens – congrats. Nice shot.

[Robert Apple]

Thanks Folks, any more I get more excited about scoring a new vintage lens then a New current lens.

[Kenneth Wong]

@robertapple So this Albinar lens is really a re-branded Minolta?

[Robert Apple]

@kwongphotography Albinar was a Brand Name used by a catalog store called Best, Similar to Sears and Roebuck , for their camera Equipment and some other electronics. Their cameras were manufactured by Minolta and the lenses by Rokkor, same company . After Best went out of business in the late 90’s the brand name Albinar lived on but had ceased being made by Minolta and company already in the early 90’s.

[Kenneth Wong]

@robertapple I do remember the Best catalog company from the 80s and recall purchasing a few things there as a child.

I never considered buying anything from the Albinar lineup of lenses as I am primarily a Nikon shooter and can get classic Nikkor lenses for a steal these days.

IMHO, not even Leica lenses are made as well as Nikon AIS lenses.

In fact, I don’t think any of my personal AIS or AI Nikon lenses have ever given me problems, while the aperture ring on my much newer Leica 28mm Elmarit-M ASPH broke just after the passport warranty ended. It’s one of the few lenses I bought new in the last few years. I had barely used the lens, so I don’t know why it would have issues. This is completely different than my beat-up 40-something year old Nikon 400mm f/3.5 EDIF lens, which continues to work perfectly after heavy usage by myself and the previous owner, who was a professional news photographer like I was in my previous career.

[Kenneth Wong]

@robertapple Was the Albinar lens a Minolta design or just manufactured by Minolta for Best using someone else’s design?

 

[Robert Apple]

From everything I’ve been able to learn the products were rebranded Minolta, Info is sketchy at best but you can find many of the lenses and cameras under the Rokkor / Minolta and Albinar name both and they appear identical.

[Kenneth Wong]

@robertapple OK, thanks for the information. If I ever decide to play around with Minolta manual focus cameras I’ll have a few options.

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

Show us some macro shot, damnit, Apple!

[Robert Apple]

Sheesh Rob ( @admin-2 ) , OK here’s a couple of our Pea Tree Flowering, I didn’t even forget  2 years after you whined about it.

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

Damn. For $20 I am pretty damn jealous. Looking at those macros, the glass looks to be extremely good condition. What a bargain. Great macros too.

[Robert Apple]

Thanks Rob, it lives in my odball bag now, I always have 4 or 5 vintages with me ready to go

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