Opinion: Minolta x-700 and xg-2 with lenses - smart buy?

teague · May 30, 2019

Hey everyone,

Looking to get into 35mm and could do with some experienced opinions. There is a local seller here in Boise that is trying to move their two minolta bodies & lenses along. She claims she paid $200 for these before getting into photography in school:

an x-700 & xg-2 body
Vivitar 28-50 f3.5-4.5 MC
Vivitar 24 f2 auto wide MC
Vivitar 80-200 f4.5 macro focusing zoom MC
Minolta 50 f1.4 MD ROKKOR

She was asking for $160, but when testing things I found that the xg-2 has a problem where no LEDs show up in the viewfinder. I tried in A mode, checked with batteries that worked in the x-700 - no luck. She took it to a local shop and they told her, "it looks like it's an internal issue and not a power one - it would cost more to replace the part than the xg-2 is worth."

What could cause this? Does this sound like a capacitor problem? Busted light meter? Something else? Otherwise, the camera seems to operate properly.

What about those lenses?

What might be a good offer?

Thanks for your help here! I'm new to the film game and have no idea what this stuff is worth. I know there's a ton on ebay, but it seems like so many of the cameras on there are "as-is" or "untested," probably more trouble than it is worth.

mgb74 · May 30, 2019

x-700 is not a bad camera at all, but did suffer from a common defect - failure of a capacitor, I may be overly pessimistic but I'd say if this X-700 has not had the capacitor replaced, it will fail some time in the foreseeable future. Others may have a more knowledgeablev view on this.https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...n-a-minolta-x-300-370-500-570-600-700.149035/

Vivitar 28-50 f3.5-4.5 MC, Vivitar 24 f2 auto wide MC, Vivitar 80-200 f4.5 macro focusing zoom MC - nowadays, 3rd party lenses such as these don't have a lot of market value. The 24mm would be a slight exception I think.

The Minolta 50 f1.4 MD ROKKOR is the most valuable item in the batch.

Value is as much dependent of utility to you as it is "market value". For example the 50mm 1.4 sells for a hefty premium over a 50mm 1.7. But do you really need that extra 1/2 stop?

Overall, I'd say $120 for the X-700 and 3 lenses. A bit more if you really, really want the 1.4.

cramej · May 30, 2019

I would leave all the Vivitar lenses alone. At first, I thought the 24mm might be interesting but after a little research it seems that it falls in line with other mid level lenses. You would be much happier with one of the Minolta 24mm's - they are excellent. I would only go for the X700 and 50mm and if all is working well, I'd give $80-100 depending on condition.

As justification for my opinions expressed, I have used Vivitar lenses in the past including the 28-90 f/2.8 that is supposed to be a pretty great lens. It was just so-so. It focused backwards from the rest of my Nikkors and was really soft and glowy at f/2.8-4. The Minolta Vivitar lenses were also just 'meh'. All of the Rokkors, Nikkors and even the Series E 75-150 are far better.

Ariston · May 30, 2019

cramej said:
I would leave all the Vivitar lenses alone.

I have a Vivitar Series 1 for Nikon that I love. Except it focuses backwards.

donkee · May 31, 2019

I had an x-700 years ago. Nice enough camera but I preferred the SRT, XE, and XD lines. I would look at the SRTs since they are cheap and built like tanks if you want to stick with the Minolta line. Lenses are still fairly inexpensive too. I used them for years doing newspaper (local papers), wedding candids, work for Michigan State University, State of Michigan, and a couple federal alphabet agencies. The cameras never let me down. I always used Minolta branded lenses and to this day I still stick with them. Hit garage and estate sales, I picked up great cameras for little money that way.

Paul Howell · May 31, 2019

I have a X700, I quite like it, needs to be serviced which is expensive, around $250 to 300 with $300 for a complete refrub. Minolta MC./MD is glass is some of best, and like Canon when Minolta changed it's mount when it moved to AF there is not much of demand for the older glass compared to Nikon and Pentax. The really fast primes are still up there in price, the slower lens are very reasonable. 3rd party lens are hit and miss, early Vivitar S1 are quite good, the rest, you really need to do your homework to find the best of breed. I got a Soilgar 100 to 300 CD zoom, it came with the user manual or flyer, which lists the test results. Best it can resolve is 100 lines PMM, which about TriX, no where near the 200 LMM of Tmax 100.

dynachrome · Jun 1, 2019

An X700 is capable of excellent results if its in good working order. It does not cost anywhere near $300 (U.S.) to get one serviced. Just send it to John Titterington. The XG cameras are not terribly well made. If one thing is fixed, something else will go wrong. I have a NOS XG-M with 50/2 which I got earlier this year. It's supposed to be the least bad XG model. The XD cameras are pleasant to use if they are working. Most of them are not working and getting repair parts is very difficult. The same goes for the XE models. What about the lenses? The 28-50 is not bad of stopped down a little. There were different Vivitar 24/2 lenses. The lens with the 22XXXXXX serial number is quite good but is often found with oil on its aperture blades. The lens with the 28XXXXXX serial number is not terribly sharp wide open but does not usually have oil on the aperture blades. The 80-200 must be stopped down several stops to give good results and won't be great at the 200 end. The 50/1.4 MD Rokkor is a good performer. I prefer the earlier MC Rokkor-X, which has a metal aperture ring but the MD is also a fine lens. I have several examples of the Vivitar 28-90/2.8-3.5 Series 1. If you have one in good condition and your camera is working properly and you are using it with a film camera and your results are not good, it isn't the lens. A Soligar (Soligor?) 100-300 resolving 100 l/mm? I'm skeptical. Do you know someone who actually recorded 200 l/mm on TMAX 100 or did you just read that it might be possible. I'm skeptical of that too.

cramej · Jun 1, 2019

dynachrome said:
I have several examples of the Vivitar 28-90/2.8-3.5 Series 1. If you have one in good condition and your camera is working properly and you are using it with a film camera and your results are not good, it isn't the lens.

Stopped down, it's pretty good but where I want to be using it - 2.8 or 4 - it isn't good enough to compel me to use it over primes or a (in this case Nikon) 35-70 f/3.5 zoom.

Sirius Glass · Jun 1, 2019

The Series I Vivitars were a great improvement over their predecessors, I had a pre Series I 70mm to 205mm which paled compared to the MC and MD Rokkors. Now I have a Tamron f/3.5-6.2 AF 28mm to 300mm lens that is optically equal to my Nikon 28mm to 200mm AF lens.

Theo Sulphate · Jun 1, 2019

Sirius Glass said:
... Now I have a Tamron f/3.5-6.2 AF 28mm to 300mm lens that is optically equal to my Nikon 28mm to 200mm AF lens.

Zooms have really improved over the decades. There was a time when anything broader than 3x (e.g. 28-85) was living in a state of sin. The Nikon 28-200, 28-300, and that Tamron perform pretty well. A review and MTF chart here:

https://dustinabbott.net/2014/08/tamron-28-300mm-f3-5-6-3-di-vc-pzd/

cooltouch · Jun 5, 2019

When it comes to Vivitar lenses, it helps to know who made them. Serial numbers beginning with 22 (Kiron), 28 (Komine), and 37 (Tokina) are the ones to pay attention to. Even non-Series 1 Vivitars with these S/N prefixes are often quite good lenses. I have no experience with the three Vivitar lenses mentioned above. I have a Tokina-made 17mm f/3.5 (S/N prefix 37) and it is an excellent optic. A couple more that are excellent, but I don't recall the S/N prefix offhand are the 35mm f/1.9 and the 135mm f/2.8 Close Focus (the only Vivitar 135mm with a 62mm front filter size). There are others, but these are a few of the best. When it comes to Vivitar zooms, I prefer the Series 1 offerings. My favorite is the 28-90 and mine doesn't show any flare at wider aperture settings. I don't care which way it focuses because I shoot both Canon and Nikon anyway. I agree, the Rokkor 50 is the jewel of the lenses offered.

The X-700 is a solid good camera, and was made for many years. They are plentiful on the used market and can be picked up for reasonable sums. I prefer the X-570, however. With the X-570 you lose the Program mode, but you have a much better manual mode than the X-700's. It takes the same motor drive options as the X-700. It isn't nearly as common as the X-700, though. That XG isn't good for much besides parts.

cramej · Jun 5, 2019

cooltouch said:
I prefer the X-570, however. With the X-570 you lose the Program mode, but you have a much better manual mode than the X-700's. It takes the same motor drive options as the X-700. It isn't nearly as common as the X-700, though.

The X570 is the best of the bunch by far! It's so satisfying to shoot - especially with the 45mm f/2 but the 58mm f/1.4 is my favorite.

mklw1954 · Jun 5, 2019

I've had two X-700s (and two X-370s) for a long time and don't agree that capacitor failure is inevitable. For reference, KEH.com currently has an X-700 body in EX+ condition (90-96% of original condition) for $149, so I imagine EX condition (80-89% of original condition) would go for around $120. The Minolta MD 50mm f1.4 lens, an excellent lens, has been going for about $70-80 on ebay these days if in excellent condition. Extrapolate the value of what you are looking at based on these values.

As noted by others Vivitar lenses with Serial No.s 22XXXX are made by Kiron and usually excellent as long as they have no oil on the aperture blades. I have a 28mm f2.5 Vivitar lens made by Kiron for my Konica Autoreflex T and it is excellent. I also have a Kiron 70-210mm f4 zoom for the Autoreflex T and it is one of the best lenses I have.

The XG-2 body, the European version of the XG-7, does not meter in manual mode, only in A (Auto or aperture-priority) mode; therefore LEDs will not show up if set to manual mode (i.e., the shutter speed dial is moved off "A" to a shutter speed). If there are no LEDS in A mode it could be the capacitor. Garryscamera.com does a good job on Minolta's and could CLA the XG-2, including a capacitor replacement for $45 + $8 s/h + your shipping cost. It might worthwhile to negotiate the price down if there actually is a problem with the XG-2 and then get it repaired. It is nice to have two bodies, one loaded with b&w film and one with color.

The nice thing about Minoltas is the excellent lenses and many are available pretty inexpensively on ebay.

See this for comprehensive Minolta manual focus gear info: http://www.subclub.org/minman/

cooltouch · Jun 5, 2019

cramej said:
The X570 is the best of the bunch by far! It's so satisfying to shoot - especially with the 45mm f/2 but the 58mm f/1.4 is my favorite.

I have to muddle along with the last generation of the MD 50/1.4 with my X-570. Eh, I manage.

DF · Jun 6, 2019

I've been using Minolta X-700 for 30 +years and never had this problem. There are thousands of them on the used market - try Craigslist for local and then E-Bay.

cooltouch · Jun 7, 2019

If you're feeling lucky, you can also try Goodwill's auction site, shopgoodwill.com. X-700s are fairly common there. And they can often be picked up for cheap, sometimes for less than $20. Only drawback to buying stuff there is it is all as-is with no returns. I've had decent luck buying gear from them, though. You can improve your chances, for example, by bidding on cameras that come with neverready cases. Chances are, they've lived their entire lives in those cases, and weren't used much. Otherwise, I just make close visual inspections of the photos. Cosmetic condition is usually a pretty good yardstick to overall condition.

Martin Rickards · Jun 7, 2019

I picked up my European version, all black X500 for 40€ complete with a Hanimex 35-70 mmf2.5-3.5 zoom. It works fine.

Opinion: Minolta x-700 and xg-2 with lenses - smart buy?

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