Minolta AF mount

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The α mount (or Minolta AF mount or A-mount) was introduced with Minolta's first popular fully automatic autofocus single lens reflex camera Minolta 7000. It is a bayonet lens mount with three main components: The bayonet, the set of electrical contacts, and a rear engagement to couple the camera's lens focusing motor drive with the lens's focusing mechanics. The introduction of the Minolta 7000 in 1985 was a historical step to fully automatic SLR systems for the mass market.

There were some main product generations. The first were the original AF camera body series and the i-series bodies. These were followed by the xi-series bodies which could use the xi-lenses with internal zoom motor drive. The suceeding camera models tolerated the xi-lenses but didn't support their zoom motor. The last generation of analog SLR bodies supported lenses with own internal focusing motor drive (SAM micro motor lenses or SSM ultrasonic silent motor lenses).

The G-lenses became Minolta's series of superior camera optics. The series was continued by Sony when the Japanese electronics giant took over Konica Minolta's SLR development and production assets. Zeiss supported Sony by creating further top-quality α lenses, the ZA-lens edition. In its first 4 years the Sony α system was just a continuation of Konica Minolta's DSLR concept. For the following 4 years 2010 - 2014 it was modified by replacing the DSLR concept by Sony's own SLT concept. But probably the system's second bayonet, the E-bayonet introduced in 2010 for the Sony NEX series of handsome mirrorless digital system cameras and for professional Sony camcorders, will replace the original α mount completely except on the available A-mount/E-mount adapters.
f99==List of camera bodies and autofocus adapters for α mount lenses==

Minolta
 
Minolta Dynax
(Europe,Africa,Asia)
Minolta Maxxum
(America)
Minolta Alpha
(Japan,China)
launch
date
focusing motor
in camera
support of focusing
motor in lens
support of
zoom motor in lens
frame
format
5000 AF 5000 5000 1986 yes no no 35mm
7000 AF 7000 7000 1985 yes no no 35mm
9000 AF 9000 9000 1985 yes no no 35mm
3000i 3000i 3700i 1989 yes no no 35mm
5000i 5000i 5700i 1989 yes no no 35mm
7000i 7000i 7700i 1988 yes no no 35mm
8000i 8000i 8700i 1990 yes no no 35mm
MS-C1100 1992 yes no yes CCD
2xi 2xi 1992 yes no yes 35mm
3xi 3xi 3xi 1991 yes no yes 35mm
5xi 5xi 5xi 1992 yes no yes 35mm
7xi 7xi 7xi 1991 yes no yes 35mm
9xi 9xi 9xi 1992 yes no yes 35mm
SPxi SPsi 1992 yes no yes 35mm
300si
300si QD
300si/RZ300si
350si/RZ 330si
Panorama Elite
α-101si 1995 yes no no 35mm
303si QTsi α-360si 1999 yes no no 35mm
404si STsi α Sweet S 1999 yes no no 35mm
500si 400si/RZ 400si
450si/RZ 430si
α-303si 1993 yes no no 35mm
RD-175 (also as Agfa Actioncam) 1995 yes no no 2" 3 CCDs
500si Super 500si/RZ 530si α-303si Super 1995 yes no no 35mm
HTsi 1998 yes no no 35mm
505si 1998 yes no no 35mm
505si Super XTsi α-Sweet 1998 yes no no 35mm
600si 600si 1993 yes no no 35mm
650si 650si Date α-507si 1995 yes no no 35mm
700si 700si α-707si 1993 yes no no 35mm
800si 800si α-807si 1997 yes no no 35mm
3
4
4 α-Sweet II L
α-3
2002 yes yes no 35mm
3L 3
GT
2003 yes yes no 35mm
5 5 α-Sweet II
α-5
2001 yes yes no 35mm
7 7 α-7 2000 yes yes no 35mm
9 9 α-9 1998 yes yes no 35mm
9Ti α-9Ti 1999 yes yes no 35mm
  KonicaMinolta Dynax
(Europe,Africa,Asia)
KonicaMinolta Maxxum
(America)
KonicaMinolta Alpha
(Japan,China)
launch
date
focusing motor
in camera
support of focusing
motor in lens
imaging sensor frame
format
30/40 50 2004 yes yes - 35mm
60 70 α-70 2004 yes yes - 35mm
5D 5D α-Sweet Digital 2005 yes yes 6 MP CCD APS-C
7D 7D α-7 Digital 2004 yes yes 6 MP CCD APS-C
Sony Hasselblad
(Sony inside)
! variant launch
date
focusing motor
in camera
support of focusing
motor in lens
imaging sensor frame
format
α 100 2006 yes yes 10 MP CCD APS-C
α 200 2008 yes yes 10 MP CCD APS-C
α 230 2009 yes yes 10 MP CCD APS-C
α 290 2009 yes yes 14 MP CCD APS-C
α 300 2008 yes yes 10 MP CCD APS-C
α 330 2009 yes yes 10 MP CCD APS-C
α 350 2008 yes yes 14 MP CCD APS-C
α 380 2009 yes yes 14 MP CCD APS-C
α 390 2010 yes yes 14 MP CCD APS-C
α 450 2010 yes yes 14 MP CMOS APS-C
α 500 2009 yes yes 12 MP CMOS APS-C
α 550 2009 yes yes 14 MP CMOS APS-C
α 560 2011 yes yes 14 MP CMOS APS-C
α 580 2010 yes yes 16 MP CMOS APS-C
α 700 2007 yes yes 12 MP CMOS APS-C
α 850 2009 yes yes 24 MP CMOS 35mm
α 900 2008 yes yes 24 MP CMOS 35mm
α 33 2010 yes yes 14 MP CMOS APS-C
α 35 2011 yes yes 16 MP CMOS APS-C
α 37 2012 yes yes 16 MP CMOS APS-C
α 55 2010 yes yes 16 MP CMOS APS-C
α 57 2012 yes yes 16 MP CMOS APS-C
α 58 2013 yes yes 20 MP CMOS APS-C
α 65 2011 yes yes 24 MP CMOS APS-C
α 68 2016 yes yes 24 MP CMOS APS-C
α 77 α 77 2011 yes yes 24 MP CMOS APS-C
α 77 II 2014 yes yes 24 MP CMOS APS-C
α 99 α 99 2013 yes yes 24 MP CMOS 35mm
luxury α 99 variant Hasselblad HV 2014 yes yes 24 MP CMOS 35mm
α 99 II 2016 yes yes 24 MP CMOS 35mm
α NEX Camera Mount Adapter lens adapter series to LA-EA1 2010 no yes in camera APS-C
adapt α mount lenses to LA-EA2 2011 in adapter yes in camera APS-C
Sony NEX cameras and LA-EA3 2012 no yes in camera 35mm
other CSCs w/ E-mount LA-EA4 2013 in adapter yes in camera 35mm
LA-EA5 2020 in adapter yes in camera 35mm

All Minolta AF mount lenses are applicable on the cameras listed above, except those of the younger lenses designated for fully electronical SAM or SSM control. SAM and SSM is a feature supported by all listed DSLRs and SLTs. It was already aupported on some of the youngest analog Minolta AF (or Maxxum) SLR bodies. All LA-EA-adapters feature SAM and SSM control mode, but only LA-EA2, LA-EA4 and LA-EA5 feature the electro-mechanical focusing for all older original AF system lenses. LA-EA2 and LA-EA4 feature the adding of a separate phase detection autofocus sensor to the camera by means of a translucent mirror in the light path. LA-EA5 uses phase detection only when the camera's imaging sensor itself is capable to do that distance measuring method.

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