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Abbreviations

Model history (3)

Specification

Sources of data

• A guide to the Minolta SLR system of creative photography 603E-H1.
• A guide to the Minolta SLR system of creative photography 605E-I1.

Manufacturer description #1

This is the world's first lens whose field of sharp focus can be varied continuously at will from concave through flat to convex by simply moving a control ring on the barrel. Thus, even if distances from center and edges of objects to the film plane are too different to be covered by depth of field (particularly at close range and/or large apertures), sharp photos having excellent image quality can be obtained of many subjects by appropriately curving the field. On the other hand, this capability can also be used creatively to deliberately render parts of the subject out of focus, or the lens can be used as a conventional flat-field wideangle. Either way, optimum image quality is assured by the "floating" focusing system and Minolta Achromatic coating incorporating latest techniques.

Manufacturer description #2

A sophisticated wide-angle lens whose field of sharp focus can be curved to conform to various subjects. It can be used as a conventional flat-field wide angle lens, and features the floating focusing design for incredible edge to edge sharpness at all distances and apertures.

The VFC (Variable Field Curvature) lens features a control ring that enables the plane of sharp focus to be adjusted from flat to convex, to concave according to requirements. Turning the VFC control ring to the left of the central diamond turns the field from flat to concave (bowl shaped). Turning it to the right of the diamond produced a convex (dome shaped) field. These curvatures can be used to obtain sharp rendition of three dimensional subjects (eg. the surface of a ball, people sitting around a table etc.) even when the depth of flat field is insufficient to do so. Curving the field in this way is particularly effective at relatively close focusing distances and large apertures. The curvature grows continuously deeper as the ring is turned away from the central diamond.

The VFC version of the 24mm f/2.8 lens is exactly the same optical design as the normal version with 9 elements in 7 groups, but has one major advantage apart from the VFC feature, in that it has a non-rotating front filter thread. This makes it preferable for use with polarising or graduated filters.

Other wide-angle prime lenses in the Minolta SR system

Lenses with similar focal length