New to Minolta

Greetings!

I was just given a prestine Minolta X-700 with a 50 f1.7 and Auto 220X flash. Batteries (borrowed from the Pentax ME-Super) are installed and about to load a roll of T-Max 400 to check her out!

Any advice with the Minolta system is appreciated. I have shot with Pentax and Olympus analog gear for many years and Olympus and Nikon digital for about five years so I am new to Minolta. At one point I was the manager of a photo store and sold many Minolta cameras, but hesitated on the brand when they went autofocus with a new mount (that is when I went Olympus). I could not pass up this camera, though.

Looking forward to the "new" toy!
Aubrey

Hi Aubrey and welcome to Minolta-land.

Most folks like the MD-1 motor drive with their X-700 cameras - it improves the ergonomics and "feel" of the camera. These are fairly common on eBay.

A nice combo if you like zooms are the later model 35-70mm and 70-210mm MD lenses.

A couple of basic Minolta websites, if you haven't come across them yet:


Dead Link Removed

http://minolta.eazypix.de/


Good luck!

Mike

Thank you Mike!

I have been looking at the Rokkor Files site but not the German site. I will be visiting it momentarily.

I shot a few frames with the camera last night and have a deep appreciation for the lovely focusing screen and bright viewfinder.

I think I will enjoy Miniolta-land!!

Aubrey

Hi guys, so very happy to be here with Minolta-ers!
just had my Minlolta-XE7 from my birthday's presents. and im newbie in this land. So hope to explore the world through this camera! Nice to meet you all. ^_^

Welcome to Minolta! I am also relatively new to Minolta but I truly love the system. Enjoy the XE7!

Good morning;

There are some new people trying Minolta cameras in just the last couple of months. Nice.

No, I am not really new to the Minolta Camera Family. I go back to the days of the Minolta SR-1b. As others have said, the Minolta X-700 with the MD-1 Motor Drive really is a nice combination. It does just fit my hand so naturally and nicely. For me it is a true pleasure to use. And, while I also have the X-570, I still prefer the X-700. I know why they designed the X-700 viewfinder system the way they did, and it works fine for me.

The ROKKOR lenses? Dennis Lohmann has the minolta.eazypix.de web site with his most comprehensive listing of the Minolta lenses out there. I do have a reasonable selection of those lenses. The Minolta System really is a very nice camera system. I still feel that the X-700 is the most versatile film camera system out there. With the accessories available, you can make the X-700 do almost anything from microphotography to astrophotography. The ROKKOR lenses have at least one that will fit precisely into any photographic application you will find. And, I am still very happy with the results that appear on the negative.

Yes, there are other systems here also. There is what I call The 1960s Nikon Project. There is a modest Canon FL/FD system here. (I like that lens mounting system.) There are some M42 lens mount cameras. There are the Medium Format or 120 roll film Koni-Omega and Kiev cameras. There are even some 4 by 5 Large Format cameras. Still, the Minolta seems to have a place in my heart. Yes, it is one of those things that is not easy to explain or justify.

Enjoy;

Ralph
Latte Land, Washington