I would like to have an XE7 if it would prove to be reliable.
XE 7 is reliable. The film advance lever is not as bad as having electronics issues with XD line. Of 4 XE bodies I have, 2 have film advance problem. Both can still be used "reliably" but fiddly. I have not worked on it yet, but my understanding is it is not a major fix. Outside of that bit, camera is absolutely prime tool to work with.
Never had one ... But since I got two beautiful MC Rokkor lenses almost for free I'm lusting for this one http://rokkorfiles.com/XK.html
Minolta made many, wonderful manual focus bodies and good, clean, working examples of each can be found if one is lucky or persistent but the OP asked which were the most reliable and that would be the SRT series. When asked which our favorites are I could easily see many different answers for many different reasons but that's not what the OP asked.
I would like to have an XE7 if it would prove to be reliable.
I love minolta glass. If the 25$ rokkor-PF mc 58mm f1.4 was a Leica brand glass, we’d be reading about the legendarity of this collector 15,000$ piece of glass, right now.
A lot of minolta lenses are exceptional.
Maybe have something to do with the fact that back then Minolta was only one of two companies in Japan and one of only a few in the world that make their own optical glass and lenses . . .
I love minolta glass. If the 25$ rokkor-PF mc 58mm f1.4 was a Leica brand glass, we’d be reading about the legendarity of this collector 15,000$ piece of glass, right now.
A lot of minolta lenses are exceptional.
Leica prices really distort the cost/performance dynamic. I'll see a Summicron 50 v5 for $1600 and think "great price!". And yet spend hours on ebay looking for the best deal on a $40 Pentax SMC-A 50mm f2..
I love minolta glass. If the 25$ rokkor-PF mc 58mm f1.4 was a Leica brand glass, we’d be reading about the legendarity of this collector 15,000$ piece of glass, right now.
Leica prices really distort the cost/performance dynamic. I'll see a Summicron 50 v5 for $1600 and think "great price!".
Yes!
And another advantage for Leica shooters wanting a slr system, or for Minolta shooters wanting to try a Leica M, is the fact that lenses Focus and Aperture go in the same direction.
Switching from Leica to Nikon S or F has been a hassle many times, trying to rewire my brain...
So Konica, Minolta and Pentax is about equal?Konica Minolta sold it's camera factory and patents to Sony but kept it's lens factory. I don't know if KM sill makes it's own glass, but it does make lens for Sony and others, the last round of patents for lens in Sony E mount were filed by KM. In the day, 60s and 70s many commercial and industrial photographers used Minolta in order to use Minolta lens. My personal take was that Konica was as good or better than Minolta, both were as good as Pentax, and a bit better than Nikon. Nikon made some really good glass, but also made some oh hum to dogs, while Konica made really solid lens. I do have a Minolta 28mm 2.8 MC mount that is only so so.
Between my father, my two brother's and my nephew we've been using the same srTsc-II since the early 1980's and it still works great. It's never been serviced and still has the plastic on the wind lever which is probably the most common problem with the srT models. The srTsc-II is basically the srT201 without the self timer and memo holder on the back. It was made for sale at Sears stores (SC). Besides the great lenses and reliability I think what I like most about them is the familiarity since I've been using them for so long.
I also have two srT201's and an SR-7 that all work great. The SR-7 is a really well built camera but it was pre TTL metering. It has a meter built in but you have to take a reading from it's readout on the top of the camera and make sure your finger doesn't cover the meter eye. I think I probably changed the light seals in most of my Minoltas, that's about all I have done with them as far as repairs. I use hearing aid batteries with an O-ring which are cheap and work great.
Minolta srTsc-II by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr
Minolta srT201 by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr
Minolta SR-7 by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr
I use the 675 hearing aid battery with a #9 O-ring to hold it in place. You can get a 6 pack at the drug store for under $10 and the O-ring at the hardware store for less than $1. It may be a bit too thin to make proper contact. You can bend the spring post in the camera up a little or wad up a little tin foil to put between the battery and threaded cap. The voltage may be off slightly, 1.4 instead of 1.35, but I’ve never had a problem with exposure.Bac1967 - what battery do you use?
Yet the R3 (XE) is considered to be Leicas least reliable model, followed by the R4 (XD).
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