Minolta MC TELE Rokkor-X 135mm 1:2.8 Lens Review

Minolta MC Tele Rokkor-X 135mm 1:2.8 is an affordable, well-built manual focus lens for Minolta SLRs. It has enough speed and focal length to capture fast action at a distance and bokehlicious portraits up close.

In this review: Specifications. Lens in use: ergonomics. Build quality. Image quality. Mounting on digital cameras. Where to buy your Minolta MC Rokkor-X 135mm lens. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

Specifications.

Minolta MC Tele Rokkor-X 135mm is a small (90mm × 64mm/3.5” × 2.5”) but hefty all-metal lens weighing 535g/18.9oz (with lens caps).

The lens has six elements in five groups and uses six curved aperture blades to stop down between 𝒇2.8 and 𝒇22. It can focus as close as 1.5m/4’11”.

MC Tele Rokkor-X was released in the mid-1970s. It’s one of the sixteen 135mm lenses for the SR bayonet mount — I tested mine with my Minolta X-700 and various films (posting here results with the expired Fujichrome Provia 400).

Lens in use: ergonomics.

This lens is surprisingly heavy for its size due to its all-metal build, with some minor exceptions like the grip ring. It’s not overbearing — just noticeable.

The focus ring has about 275° of throw, which, on my copy, feels smooth and fairly comfortable for all use cases. The distance is marked both in meters and feet (feet printed in green). It has a handy DOF calculator and a red “R” mark for working with infrared films.

MC Tele Rokkor-X has a built-in hood that seems to pop every time the camera points down. The hood has some resistance built in which prevents it from folding when the camera is pointing up — good for photography but can be distracting, especially if you plan to place your camera in the bag after each shot. The front lens cap, when mounted, prevents the hood from popping.

Build quality.

Other than the easily droppable hood, this is one of the nicest lenses (by feel and looks) in my collection. MC Tele Rokkor-X is a very sturdy, black metal build with fine tolerances and a beautiful design. The grip feels perfect and the helicoid resistance is just right, even after 40+ years of use. Its front lens cap is functional, though the least pretty part of the package — which is why I tend to leave it at home when shooting with this beauty.

Image quality.

This lens is one of the later models for the MC mount, which was later replaced by the MD mount. Both mounts are compatible (MD has better compatibility with shutter priority shooting modes). The main significance of its distinction from the MD 135mm lenses is simply the age, as Minolta produced many versions of this lens.

Standing in the middle of the pack, this lens shows some improvements over the earlier versions (without the “X” designation and some design differences — particularly the focus ring grip) in terms of chromatic aberration, softness, and vignetting when shot wide-open. However, this is not Minolta Tele’s final design, which would render the sharpest image and have the best control at the widest 𝒇2.8.

Nevertheless, this lens’ mid-series shortcomings are not obvious when it’s used for taking pictures, especially on film:

Other than the slight glow resulting from comma distortion (see the lady’s white hat against the shadowy background), it’s hard to tell how this glass would be different from any modern equipment. There’s minimal to no barrel distortion, and to discover chromatic aberration, you’d have to enlarge your images significantly and then use a loupe.

The lens’ vignetting is noticeable but not as much as it would be with a much more expensive G-Rokkor 28mm on the Minolta TC-1 camera. I like vignetting and tend to seek out the glass that renders it tastefully, as it helps bring out the subject in the frame. However, if you need to avoid it for some reason, I suggest limiting your apertures to 𝒇4 or 𝒇5.6 with this lens.

Along with the hood, this Rokkor-X shows good flare resistance. I rarely point my camera directly at the sun; thus, I don’t have many examples of it being assaulted by the bright rays. Still, many of the photos in this article were shot in the sun’s general direction, with just two (above) showing any sort of breakdown. The worst was the reflections off the water that flooded the lens on the side, killing some contrast across the frame.

Speaking of contrast, I would prefer to see a bit more of it from this lens. The photos in this review were shot on slide film, which tends to show more contrast than colour-negative film. Having a touch more contrast would likely eliminate any need for edits. (You should know that having shot with the above-mentioned G-Rokkor 28mm , I’ve been looking for “more contrast” from virtually every lens I tried.)

The 135mm Rokkor-X renders strong bokeh when shot wide open or at close distances. It does not swirl, but the bokeh balls seem to blend very well with the image. Though I like interesting distortions in the out-of-focus areas, this lens’ strength is in prioritizing the image/your subject’s depiction over special effects.

Mounting on digital cameras.

With the right adapter for them Minolta SR (a.k.a., MD/MC) lenses, you can mount your 35mm MC Tele Rokkor-X f2.8 on Canon RF/RF-S/EF-M, Sony NEX/ILCE/FE/E, Nikon Z, Panasonic L/Sigma L/Leica L/T/TL, Fujifilm X, Samsung NX, Micro 4/3, and Nikon 1 digital cameras.

Where to buy your Minolta MC Rokkor-X 135mm lens.

Minolta MC Rokkor-X 135mm lenses aren’t particularly rare. Many could be found at second-hand marketplaces and, sometimes, at your local brick-and-mortar stores. For the best image quality, I’d recommend focusing your search on the MC Rokkor-X variant or MD-mount.

As of this writing, Minolta Rokkor 135mm lenses sell for $50-100, depending on condition and version. Judging by others’ reports, this price hasn’t changed in the past five years.

❤ By the way: Please consider making your Minolta MC Tele Rokkor-X 135mm 1:2.8 lens purchase using this link so that this website may get a small percentage of that sale — at no extra charge for you — thanks!