What is the Minolta equivalent to OM-2?

Hamster · Mar 5, 2012

I had picked up a 58mm PG-Rokkor and 45mm Rokkor and hope to pick up a body to use with it. I am not really sure which pre-AF body I should be going after reading sites like Rokkorfiles etc. I use the OM-2 and would like something similar namely:

Small and light.
Aperture Priority AE.
Shutter speed dial for when I need to adjust.
Interchangeable screen or Fixed Microprism screen.
Uses LR44/357 battery.

Reasonably stylish looking is good too....

CGW · Mar 5, 2012

Hamster said:
I had picked up a 58mm PG-Rokkor and 45mm Rokkor and hope to pick up a body to use with it. I am not really sure which pre-AF body I should be going after reading sites like Rokkorfiles etc. I use the OM-2 and would like something similar namely:

Small and light.
Aperture Priority AE.
Shutter speed dial for when I need to adjust.
Interchangeable screen or Fixed Microprism screen.
Uses LR44/357 battery.

Reasonably stylish looking is good too....

X-700. They're common and affordable. Good thing since they have a baked-in electronic glitch that, while fixable, can stop 'em dead in their tracks. Had two and both died.

sandermarijn · Mar 5, 2012

You know that the capacitor problem with the X700 is easily fixed? http://www.twid.de/x700/

I have two X700's and one X300s. All had the capacitor problem and all were a simple DIY.

Apart from the lousy capacitors the X700 is a great camera. Only thing missing (for me) is MLU. And I don't think the X700's screen can be changed (easily that is). That said the default screen is fine (micro-prism plus split image).

The X700 ticks all the OP's other boxes.

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 5, 2012

Hamster, I think you will like the 58mm lens. ;-)
I mean no disrespect to the X-700, as it was my first camera, a gift from my Dad back in the day, so I do have a soft spot for it. However, I believe it may feel a bit "plasticy" to you, coming from the well built Olympus OM Series. I would really be tempted to get an XD-11 (also named XD-7 and plain XD in other markets). Try one of those and see if you like the feel. I'm pretty sure it is the match for any of the OM Series with the right glass.
Enjoy your Rokkors!
Jed

CGW · Mar 5, 2012

sandermarijn said:
You know that the capacitor problem with the X700 is easily fixed? http://www.twid.de/x700/

I have two X700's and one X300s. All had the capacitor problem and all were a simple DIY.

Apart from the lousy capacitors the X700 is a great camera. Only thing missing (for me) is MLU. And I don't think the X700's screen can be changed (easily that is). That said the default screen is fine (micro-prism plus split image).

The X700 ticks all the OP's other boxes.

Loved my SRT 101 but not the junky, failure-prone X700. My advice to the OP is buy another if you must or get a bomb-proof Nikon FE/FE2.

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 5, 2012

CGW said:
...My advice to the OP is buy another if you must or get a bomb-proof Nikon FE/FE2.

Not sure I'm following here. The OP uses Olympus gear; just picked up 2 Minolta Rokkors he wants to use. He's asking for a Minolta body "equivalent to an OM-2". He can't really buy another of something he doesn't have, and a Nikon F body is not going to help him here...:munch:

I know I've been gone a long while but I do love to chime in a bit on the Minolta threads.

cramej · Mar 5, 2012

X-570.

Ok, maybe any one of the XD's as well. XD, XD-11, 7 or 5. The 5 is the only different one - the others are the same but for different markets.

Rol_Lei Nut · Mar 5, 2012

CGW said:
Loved my SRT 101 but not the junky, failure-prone X700. My advice to the OP is buy another if you must or get a bomb-proof Nikon FE/FE2.

Is CGW really advocating an older mechanical camera instead of a newer electronic one??? :munch:

CGW · Mar 5, 2012

Jedidiah Smith said:
Not sure I'm following here. The OP uses Olympus gear; just picked up 2 Minolta Rokkors he wants to use. He's asking for a Minolta body "equivalent to an OM-2". He can't really buy another of something he doesn't have, and a Nikon F body is not going to help him here...:munch:

I know I've been gone a long while but I do love to chime in a bit on the Minolta threads.

Point is: X700s aren't reliable. The DIY "fix" isn't a cakewalk and a proper repair is probably more than the price of another. His call. My point was that similarly ancient Nikon equivalents are still ticking; many of the Minolta X 300/500/700 series cameras aren't. He can pass on AE and get an older SRT series body or try an early XD/E electronic.

CGW · Mar 5, 2012

Rol_Lei Nut said:
Is CGW really advocating an older mechanical camera instead of a newer electronic one??? :munch:

Have an SRT 101 and love it. Bought two X700s and both died inside of a year--a very common problem, obviously. Nikons, mechanical or electronic, have never crapped out on me.YMMV...

erikg · Mar 5, 2012

I think the idea was that the OP wants to use the two Minolta lenses he just picked up. Nikon not so good for that. I've had Nikons crap out on me, so indeed YMMV. That said, I think an SRT is good choice, very solid feel.

CGW · Mar 5, 2012

erikg said:
I think the idea was that the OP wants to use the two Minolta lenses he just picked up. Nikon not so good for that. I've had Nikons crap out on me, so indeed YMMV. That said, I think an SRT is good choice, very solid feel.

Got that. Minoltas, like the other orphan system cameras, aren't getting any younger. M4/3 shooters are bidding up lens prices while the bodies, outside of collectibles,are generally tanking in value. Still think the X700 is the worst of the lot.

flatulent1 · Mar 5, 2012

XD-11 would be my choice.

+ Small and light.
+ Aperture Priority AE.
+ Shutter speed dial for when I need to adjust.
+ Fixed Microprism screen.
+ Uses 357 battery.
+ Reasonably stylish looking is good too

Additionally, it has a metal body, not plastic, and has the most amazingly smooth mirror/shutter actuation I have ever felt. It was one of the cameras Minolta designed in conjunction with Leica. You may never want to use your OMs again.

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 5, 2012

@CGW - this is comical man. You were the one who brought up the X-700 in the first place. No one is telling him to get an X-700, and I agree with you - it's OK for what it is, but an OM-2 calibre, it probably is not.
Our man needs an XD-11 (XD-7 or XD). Possibly an XE-7 even for the build, but now that is getting a little heavy, and I feel the XD is actually a superior camera in that it is smaller, lighter, still metal body, better viewfinder, and a lot more like an OM-2 that the OP is used to using.

brian d · Mar 5, 2012

Going against the grain here but I like my X-700's! though one of them does need new seals

Hamster · Mar 5, 2012

Thinks for the pointers guys. So what is the difference between XD and XE? Don;t seems to find it in the Rokkor files. I think X-700 is sooooo 80s looking it is better left to the Hipster crowd.

@Jedidiah Smith, Oh yes I do like the 58mm, I picked one up for $5 with missing parts and stuck aperture. So I converted it to Pentax-K and loved the results. Now I have to experience the 58mm on a proper body as the Gods in Tokyo intended. Hence my request for an OM-2 equivalent Minolta body.

It really is pity so many in the m4/3 crowd are buying the kit and dumping the body. At $20-30 a pop 35mm film bodies are like interchangeable film backs these days.

Les Sarile · Mar 5, 2012

According to a google search, X-700 bodies with serial numbers of 25xxxxx and below have good-quality capacitors, 27xxxxx and higher have cheap, failure-prone capacitors, and 26xxxxx are mixed. I happen to have a couple of bodies that have worked perfectly fine. So find one with a low number and you're golden - at least as far as failing capacitors are concerned.

BTW, the X700 seems closer to the OM2 as it has TTL flash which the XD11 does not have. This is closer to the OM2's pioneering OTF flash although not exactly.

The Rokkor files is not exactly complimentary of the 1981 European Camera of the year which is a disservice and does not cover the XE-7 which has to be the smoothest shutter advance of any camera I have tried.

Les Sarile · Mar 5, 2012

Hamster said:
Now I have to experience the 58mm on a proper body as the Gods in Tokyo intended. Hence my request for an OM-2 equivalent Minolta body.

Then you must look for an XK . . .

Except that it would be more like 3 OM2's . . .

flatulent1 · Mar 5, 2012

I've never understood why the Rokkor Files says nothing about the XE-7, seeing what kind of following it has. It's a large, heavy camera, not, in my opinion, the kind of body you're looking for. It was the first SLR made in collaboration with Leica; they used it as the foundation for the R3, while the XD-11 was used for the R4.

At $20-30 a pop 35mm film bodies are like interchangeable film backs these days.

That's how I'm using them!

Les Sarile · Mar 5, 2012

Supposedly because he didn't want to post at the same time as when this other site was up -> Minolta XE -series

John Koehrer · Mar 5, 2012

Difference between XD and XE series was basically size/weight.
The XD11 was a multi-mode MD camera, shutter or aperture priority in automatic and metered manual.
The XE were MC, aperture priority and manual.

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 5, 2012

I wrote an article on the XE and compared it to the XK throughout with pictures of the bodies I had at the time, but it was never hosted on Antony's site - it was late to the game, I guess. I'll shoot him an email and see if he has time to host it these days.
If you would like a copy of the article just shoot me your email address and I'll email it to you. An XE body is going to be larger and heavier than an OM-2, that's why I was hinting toward the XD.
Oh, and unless anyone thinks I'm negative toward the X-700, I'm not. Like I said earlier, it was my first camera, and therefore I have a soft spot for it. It is a nice little camera body. But, it has its limitations, and definitely is not all metal build, so it lacks the feel & heft of the earlier bodies.

Les Sarile · Mar 5, 2012

Hey Jed, I haven't read your article and would be interested in getting a copy of it. As you can see, I have both the XK and XE-7 and although they were released at the same time - along with the XE-5, it seems to me that they were designed by completely different groups of people isolated from each other! At least that is the impression I have of the two.

I'll shoot you an email.

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 5, 2012

Thanks for your interest, Les. Email is on the way.

edge-t · Mar 6, 2012

XD11 or XD7. U have both aperture and shutter priority to choose from.

What is the Minolta equivalent to OM-2?

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