Minolta XD 35mm film bodies

I am feeling very tempted to venture back into the manual focus 35mm film domain. My last such film body was the Minolta X700 which I liked very much. However, as I browse this and other fora, I've come to the realization that the XD series was considered by Minolta to be a superior, if somewhat older series.

I have read about the XD 11/ XD 7 and XD5, but keep coming upon XDS models about which I find little specific information. Can anyone give me some advice regarding these bodies as they relate to the others in the XD line?

Any info will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Caruso

The XD-s is the same as XD-11/XD-7/XD but was only available in Japan -> http://rokkorfiles.com/XD11.html



Don't forget the XE-7, the fullsize predecessor of the XD-11 and X-700 as it has the smoothest full stroke film advance of any manual film camera I have tried. Of course the X-700 has the full compliment of accessories not available in the other two like a full intervalometer and IR remote to go along with the motor drive.

The XD11 (North America), XD (Japan), and XD7 (Europe) are the same camera, just marketed in different countries. The XD5 is the same as the XD7/XD11 except that it doesn't have the aperture window, the film safe load indicator, or the viewfinder blind. The XD11 is the model sold in North America and is one of my absolute favorite cameras. It's considered to be the first camera to have a de-facto Program mode in that when it's in its fully automatic mode, if the settings chosen by the photographer are not appropriate for the scene, it will shift them to a suitable setting. I also like that it takes another meter reading just as the shutter button is pressed in order to get a reading at the moment the picture is taken for the most accurate metering. This is all in addition to the outstanding build quality and the compact and elegant design. Many consider the XD series to be Minolta's best and, in fact, Leica used the body as the basis for their R4 camera. The XD-S was different in that the viewfinder blind was replaced by an adjustable diopter for eyeglasses wearers. You owe it to yourself to own one of these beautiful cameras!

Andy

Mine is an X500, which is more or less the X700 without program mode. It still works well and was in fact the last Minolta manual focus SLR.

Don't write off the Minolta XE1 whilst possibly not as common ad the XD range. It was an older design than the XD range but appears to be of a better build quality and can do everything that an XD(whatever model) can do. The main difference being the extra weight of the XE1. They must have been good, because this was the 1st Leitz/leica link up in the early 70's which spawned the Leica R3. The XD range went on to form the backbone of the later Leica reflexes from the R4 right up until the Leica R7.

The XE1 had by far the smoothest wind on of any 35mm reflex bar non. I know of no other camera that can come near to it.

I believe it was due to the advanced electronics (for the time) used by Minolta was the reason for the 'marriage', but only small changes were made to the actual camera bodies, such as strengthening the mirror box and adding a spotmeter.

The XE1/XE7 is, indeed, an excellent camera but it’s much bigger and heavier than the XD series and I don’t believe the build quality is any better. It’s also much easier to find a working XD today than it is to find a working XE.

I have both, use both and like both but I think the XD still edges out the XE for reliability and ease of use.

My opinion: the XE (5 or 7) is made to professional standards and the XD series is made 'only' to consumer standards. Both are good, but the XE is better built by a substantial margin. - David Lyga

If you think an XE1 is heavy, you should try a Minolta XM (XK in the US). The wind on isn't anywhere near as smooth as the XE1, but the electronic (8 secs to 1/2000) shutter has the quality and level of noise almost to Leica rangefinder standards. I have one of each of the models (XE1&XM) and they are simply superb. The XM is/was technically superior to a Nikon F2, but lacking in a number of little ways which is probably why the XM never took off in the Pro stakes.....Sadly

I owned an XK for a while and had a lot of respect for it. It was a camera ahead of its time, but it came at a price:battery dependence. When it was released, the pro standard was the mechanical Nikon F2 and Canon F-1, and pros were very leery of battery dependence. Eventually they got over it, but it was far too late for the XK. Another problem with the XK, a fatal flaw I've always felt, is if you wanted one with a motor drive, you had to buy the XK Motor with its built-in motor drive. The XK Motor is beautiful -- it's a work of art. But Minolta should have been thinking more in terms of modularity with respect to motorized film advance. I mean, they had interchangeable finders and focusing screens, why not interchangeable motor drives as well?

When it comes to a very smooth film advance, I like the advance on my XD-11 very much, but I think my lowly Contax 139 Quartz has a smoother one. In fact, of all the cameras I've had the opportunity to use or to try out, the Contax 139 Quartz has the smoothest film advance I've come across.

I also own an X-570 (X-500 in Europe?) and I prefer it overr the X-700. I can live without the X-700's program mode. Where the X-570 excels is in manual mode. Both the shutter speed dial and the aperture ring are fully coupled with the meter, unlike the X-700. So, for an atavist like me, who prefers using cameras in manual mode, the X-570 is much more fun to use. Another plus for the X-570 is it accepts all the accessories that the X-700 does, like the MD-1 motor drive, for example.

I never had a chance to try the XE. Sounds like a very nice unit.
I do own the XD-11. One of my favorite 35mm bodies. It must have the most Quiet/Smooth film advance and winding mechanism of any SLR i own.
I also have the X-570. It definitely has a different shutter response than my XD, but i really like the 570 as well. I prefer the 570 to any Canon A-Series that a person might buy. I do like my Canon AT-1, but that is a different story from the 570. I sold my A-1 and AE-1P after i was able to use my 570 for a while.
I also have the SRT-202 but i have very little experience with it at this point. It does seem to be a nice SLR though.......

My apologies for not responding to these wonderful messages sooner, I lost track of this post. Please accept my thanks for your many helpful and informative replies. My search continues.
Caruso