The A mount was introduced by Minolta in 1985; it was the world’s first integrated autofocus system with interchangeable lenses. Minolta engineers moved the motor needed for moving lens elements from the lens itself to the camera body, reducing size and weight of lenses. It is a bayonet mount with three tabs, a focal flange distance of 44.5mm, and a throat diameter of 49.7mm, for 35mm film. Autofocusing technology is partially based on the development done by Leica — Minolta’s partner of the era — for their never-released Correfot camera. The mount uses a combination of electronic and mechanical connections — beside five or eight electronic connections, it uses a mechanical arm to control the aperture, and a screw-drive for focusing. Later revisions introduced electronically controlled focusing, with lenses featuring Super Sonic Motors (SSM). It supports 35mm film and digital sensors — both APS-C with industry-standard 1.5× crop factor, and 35mm “full-frame”.
The Minolta A mount system was branded as Maxxum in North America, α (Alpha) in Japan and the rest of Asia. Later, the name Dynax was used in Europe and the rest of the world.
In early 2003, Konica and Minolta merged to form Konica-Minolta, and in 2006, the camera business was sold to Sony and was renamed to α (Alpha). Sony continued the development of the system until early 2022, when it finally discontinued all A-mount lenses.
Except Minolta (1985–2003), Konica-Minolta (2003–2006) and Sony (2006–2022), the A mount was also used by Agfa (1995), Carl Zeiss (2007–2022) and Hasselblad (2012–2015).
Jump to: Minolta AF, Konica-Minolta DT, Sony, Carl Zeiss ZA, Sony & Carl Zeiss DT lenses; Adapters, Terminology.
Minolta AF lenses
Multiple generations, as well as multiple different naming schemes of Minolta AF lenses exists. First generation of A mount lenses are branded as Maxxum, with crossed double-x, and all later North American lenses use the same Maxxum branding, albeit spelled the standard way. RS lenses are optically identical, except their outer shells are Re-Styled — focus rings are no longer ribbed plastic, but use smoother rubber material, and the rest of bodies are deep grey, instead of shiny black. N lenses are different from their predecessors, without changing basic parameters. Some Minolta and all Konica Minolta branded lenses use yet another, finely ribbed style of focusing ring. Wording on the side of the lens also isn’t the same in the original, RS, N and later lenses.
Xi lenses have motorized zooming and focusing, and use the same ring both for focusing and zooming, making them incompatible with older cameras. Newer cameras don’t support their zoom motors, leaving them permanently in non-powered mode. Xi and D lenses use eight electronic contacts, while all older lenses use only five.
SSM lenses use an in-lens motor for focusing, making them incompatible with earlier cameras.
- Minolta AF Fish-Eye 16mm F2.8 [RS] fisheye lens
- Konica Minolta AF 17–35 F2.8–4 D
- Minolta AF Zoom 17–35 F3.5 G
- Minolta AF 20mm F2.8 [RS]
- Minolta AF Zoom 20–35 F3.5–4.5
- Minolta AF 24mm F2.8 [RS]
- Minolta AF Zoom 24–50 F4 [RS]
- Minolta AF Zoom 24–85 F3.5–4.5 [RS]
- Minolta AF Zoom 24–105 F3.5–4.5 D
- Minolta AF 28mm F2 [RS]
- Minolta AF 28mm F2.8 🔗
- Minolta AF Zoom 28–70 F2.8 G
- Konica Minolta AF 28–75 F2.8 D
- Minolta AF Zoom 28–80mm F3.5–5.6 [II]
- Minolta AF Zoom 28–80mm F3.5–5.6 D 🔗
- Minolta AF Zoom 28–80mm F4–5.6
- Minolta AF Zoom xi 28–80mm F4–5.6 power-zoom lens
- Minolta AF Zoom 28–85mm F3.5–4.5 [RS] 🔗
- Minolta AF Zoom 28–100mm F3.5–5.6 D
- Minolta AF Zoom 28–105mm F3.5–4.5 [RS]
- Minolta AF Zoom xi 28–105mm F3.5–4.5 power-zoom lens
- Minolta AF Zoom 28–135mm F4–4.5
- Minolta AF 35mm F1.4
- Minolta AF 35mm F1.4 G RS
- Minolta AF 35mm F2 [RS]
- Minolta AF Zoom 35–70mm F4 🔗
- Minolta AF Zoom 35–70mm F3.5–4.5 RS
- Minolta AF Zoom 35–80mm F4–5.6 [RS]
- Minolta AF Zoom 35–80mm F4–5.6 II
- Minolta AF Zoom 35–80mm F4–5.6 Power Zoom power-zoom lens
- Minolta AF Zoom 35–105mm F3.5–4.5 [N] 🔗
- Minolta AF Zoom xi 35–200mm F4.5–5.6 power-zoom lens
- Minolta AF 50mm F1.4 [RS]
- Minolta AF 50mm F1.7 [RS] 🔗
- Minolta AF 50mm F2.8 Macro [RS] macro lens
- Minolta AF 50mm F2.8 Macro D macro lens
- Minolta AF 50mm F3.5 Macro macro lens
- Minolta AF Zoom 70–200mm F2.8 G APO D SSM
- Minolta AF Zoom 70–210mm F3.5–4.5 RS
- Minolta AF Zoom 70–210mm F4 🔗
- Minolta AF Zoom 70–210mm F4.5–5.6 [II]
- Minolta AF Zoom 75–300mm F4.5–5.6
- Minolta AF Zoom 75–300mm F4.5–5.6 N [II]
- Minolta AF Zoom 75–300mm F4.5–5.6 D
- Minolta AF Zoom 80–200mm F2.8 APO
- Minolta AF Zoom 80–200mm F2.8 G APO HS
- Minolta AF Zoom 80–200mm F4.5–5.6
- Minolta AF Zoom xi 80–200mm F4.5–5.6 power-zoom lens
- Minolta AF 85mm F1.4
- Minolta AF 85mm F1.4 G RS
- Minolta AF 85mm F1.4 G D
- Minolta AF 85mm F1.4 G D Limited
- Minolta AF 100mm F2
- Minolta AF 100mm F2.8 Soft N soft-focus lens
- Minolta AF 100mm F2.8 Macro [RS] macro lens
- Minolta AF 100mm F2.8 Macro D macro lens
- Minolta AF Zoom 100–200mm F4.5
- Minolta AF Zoom 100–300mm F4.5–5.6 🔗
- Minolta AF Zoom xi 100–300mm F4.5–5.6 power-zoom lens
- Minolta AF Zoom 100–300mm F4.5–5.6 APO [D]
- Minolta AF Zoom 100–400mm F4.5–6.7 APO
- Minolta AF 135mm F2.8
- Minolta AF 135mm F2.8 T4.5 STF
- Minolta AF 200mm F2.8 APO
- Minolta AF 200mm F2.8 G APO Macro macro lens
- Minolta AF 200mm F2.8 G APO HS
- Minolta AF 300mm F2.8 APO
- Minolta AF 300mm F2.8 G APO HS
- Minolta AF 300mm F2.8 G APO HS SSM
- Minolta AF 300mm F4 G APO HS
- Minolta AF 400mm F4.5 G APO HS
- Minolta AF Reflex 500mm F8 catadioptric lens, fixed aperture
- Minolta AF 600mm F4 APO
- Minolta AF 600mm F4 G APO HS
- Minolta AF 3x–1x/1.7–2.8 Macro 1×–3× macro lens
Konica Minolta DT lenses
DT lenses are designed for APS-C sensors with crop factor of 1.5×.
- Konica Minolta AF DT 11–18mm F4.5–5.6 D ~17–28mm-equivalent
- Konica Minolta AF DT 18–70mm F3.5–5.6 D ~28–105mm-equivalent
- Konica Minolta AF DT 18–200mm F3.5–6.3 D ~28–300mm-equivalent
Sony lenses
Sony A mount lenses are mostly directly rebranded last generation Konica-Minolta lenses, with just a few exceptions. With SAM lenses, Sony introduced another set of lenses with in-lens focus motors — Smooth Autofocus Motor.
The dagger symbol indicates lenses that were designed by Konica-Minolta, and recived updated styling and branding; optically they are identical as their original releases.
- Sony Fish-Eye 16mm F2.8 † fisheye lens
- Sony 20mm F2.8 †
- Sony 24–105mm F3.5–4.5
- Sony 28mm F2.8 †
- Sony 28–75mm F2.8 SAM
- Sony 35mm F1.4 G
- Sony 50mm F1.4 †
- Sony 50mm F2.8 Macro † macro lens
- Sony 70–200mm F2.8 G SSM [II]
- Sony 70–300mm F4.5–5.6 G SSM [II]
- Sony 70–400mm F4–5.6 G SSM [II]
- Sony 75–300mm F4.5–5.6 †
- Sony 85mm F2.8 SAM
- Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro † macro lens
- Sony 135mm F2.8 T4.5 STF †
- Sony 300mm F2.8 G SSM
- Sony 500mm F4 G SSM
- Sony Reflex 500mm F8 † catadioptric lens, fixed aperture
Carl Zeiss ZA lenses
Carl Zeiss ZA lenses are A mount lenses built with a premium look & feel — they have metal housing with blue Zeiss badging and Carl Zeiss naming scheme. They are built by Sony to a Carl Zeiss quality standards.
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 16–35mm F2.8 ZA SSM T∗ [II]
- Carl Zeiss Distagon 24mm F2 ZA SSM T∗
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 24–70mm F2.8 ZA SSM T∗ [II]
- Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM T∗
- Carl Zeiss Planar 85mm F1.4 ZA SSM T∗
- Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm F1.8 ZA T∗
Sony & Carl Zeiss DT lenses
DT lenses are designed for APS-C sensors with crop factor of 1.5×.
The dagger symbol indicates lenses that were designed by Konica-Minolta, and recived updated styling and branding; optically they are identical as their original releases.
- Sony DT 11–18mm F4.5–5.6 † ~17–28mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 16–50mm F2.8 SSM ~24–75mm-equivalent
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar DT 16–80mm F3.5–4.5 ZA T∗ ~24–120mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 16–105mm F3.5–5.6 ~24–160mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 18–55mm F3.5–5.6 SAM [II] 🔗 ~28–85mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 18–70mm F3.5–5.6 † ~28–105mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 18–135mm F3.5–5.6 SAM 28–200mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 18–200mm F3.5–6.3 † 28–300mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 18–250mm F3.5–6.3 28–375mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 30mm F2.8 Macro SAM 45mm-equivalent, macro lens
- Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM ~50mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 50mm F1.8 SAM ~75mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 55–200mm F4–5.6 ~85–300mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 55–200mm F4–5.6 SAM ~85–300mm-equivalent
- Sony DT 55–300mm F4.5–5.6 SAM ~85–450mm-equivalent
Adapters
With the introduction of the V mount for APS film, Minolta released an adapter MC-V1 for using A mount lenses on V mount cameras; adapter had a manual aperture ring.
Similarly, since introducing a mirrorless E-mount, Sony released multiple adapters for using A mount lenses on E mount cameras. Since the E mount was initially APS-C only, first versions of the adapter supported only APS-C sensors, and trigger APS-C crop mode on FF cameras. Some adapters have an SLT AF subsystem inside, providing a fast AF with all lenses regardless of the body, at a cost of some light loss due to a translucent mirror, and increades size and weight of the adapter. The latest adapter, LA-EA5 removes the SLT subsystem and uses in-camera PDAF system with all lenses, and includes a redesigned screw-drive AF motor, but its compatibility is limited only to some cameras. With incompatible cameras, it behaves like LA-EA3 adapter.
| Adapter | Sensor size | AF method | Non-SSM/SAM support | Release year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA-EA1 | APS-C | CDAF | ❌ | 2010 |
| LA-EA2 | APS-C | SLT | ✅ | 2011 |
| LA-EA3 | 35mm full frame | CDAF | ❌ | 2013 |
| LA-EA4 | 35mm full frame | SLT | ✅ | 2013 |
| LA-EA5 | 35mm full frame | PDAF | ✅ | 2020 |
Minolta Xi and PZ lenses are not compatible with A-mount adapters, and AF Macro Zoom 3×-1× lens works in manual focus mode with LA-EA1 and LA-EA3 adapters. MonsterAdapter sells upgrade kit for LA-EA4 adapter that upgrades the electronics, removes the SLT subsystem and makes the LA-EA4 adapter behave like the more expensive LA-EA5.
Terminology
- APO — APOchromatic design;
- D — a lens that reports subject-to-camera Distance info to the camera;
- DT — Digital Technology, a designation for lenses designed for APS-C sensors;
- G — Gold, high-end lenses.
- HS — High Speed autofocus;
- SAM — a lens that uses Smooth Autofocus Motor for focusing;
- SSM — a lens that uses Super Sonic wave Motor for focusing;
- STF — Smooth Trans Focus;
- ZA — Carl Zeiss designation for A-mount lenses;
References
- Minolta A-mount system on Wikipedia
- Minolta AF mount on Camera-Wiki
- Sony α on Wikipedia
- List of Minolta A-mount lenses on Wikipedia
- Minolta/Konica Minolta/Sony Alpha lens data by Michael Hohner
- Dyxum Lens Database
- A Guide to Minolta and Sony A-mount Lenses by Nathaniel Stephan
- What are the differences between the LA-EA1, LA-EA2, LA-EA3, LA-EA4, LA-EA5 lens mount adapters? on Sony Global
- What are the differences between the LA-EA1, LA-EA2, LA-EA3, LA-EA4, and LA-EA5 camera lens mount adaptors? on Sony UK
- LA-EA4r – Minolta/Sony A-mount LA-EA4 adapter Upgrade kit (FW v10)
- Minolta Vectis V – Sony E “MONSTER Adapter” Review on Dyxum
Last update: 28. 11. 2025.