SJGordon
02-21-2012, 02:51 PM
Any Minolta shooters here yet? Let's hear your memories (good or bad) of your Minolta cameras. From the old Medium format Minoltaflex (1937ish) to the last models the Minolta 7D and 5D.
As someone who has shot with Minolta since they came out with their Maxxum line in 1985 (still have that original body as well). I really have a soft spot for the whole Minolta line-up of camera bodies and lenses. I firmly believe they are one of the least appreciated camera makers there was. Back in 85 if you even thought it was possible to have a camera body with auto-focus AND auto-metering together and wanted one, there was only one game in town... the Minolta Maxxum line. It took a couple of years for the other Camera makers to catch up to Minolta in the technology department after they introduced the Maxxum line-up.
I remember the first time I held a Minolta Maxxum. It was a 7000 and I HAD to have it. Of course it was out of my price range right then, but by the end of 1985 I had one in my hot little hands for good. That camera still feels like a camera should to me. All the controls are where I think they logically should be, and while the performance is now far behind newer film bodies and not even in the same universe as a DSLR, that camera still makes my heart skip a beat that first time the shutter trips on an outing.
I still shoot a roll or two of film on a regular basis and still drag a film body around once in a while. There is always at least one of the old film bodies loaded up with a roll of film and ready to go. Right now I am shooting a roll out of my Maxxum QTsi (my least favorite of the Minoltas I own) and just finished off a roll in my Maxxum 9000. I am going to load up one of the Maxxum 7000 bodies I have and shoot that one next. I think it is a great way to remember to slow down, pick your shot, and not just "spray and pray" with the digital. It grinds me to hear a shutter going of like a machine gun at an event like a parade, or a school concert. I went as a chaperone to one of my sons field-trips last year and one of the parents I know was there with her dslr ( like I was) and every time she took a photo it was a rapid fire series of 8+ frames. When it was all over and done, she asked if she could have a copy of my photos of her son because "they always turn out better than mine." I like to believe that that comes from taking my time and taking the shot or two I want, not a series and hoping for the best. Film keeps me grounded in that practice and I can't think of a better system to still use after 27+ years of owning it than the Minolta line.
My film bodies: All Minolta Maxxum: 5000, 2-7000's, 9000, 300si, 400si, QTsi.
As someone who has shot with Minolta since they came out with their Maxxum line in 1985 (still have that original body as well). I really have a soft spot for the whole Minolta line-up of camera bodies and lenses. I firmly believe they are one of the least appreciated camera makers there was. Back in 85 if you even thought it was possible to have a camera body with auto-focus AND auto-metering together and wanted one, there was only one game in town... the Minolta Maxxum line. It took a couple of years for the other Camera makers to catch up to Minolta in the technology department after they introduced the Maxxum line-up.
I remember the first time I held a Minolta Maxxum. It was a 7000 and I HAD to have it. Of course it was out of my price range right then, but by the end of 1985 I had one in my hot little hands for good. That camera still feels like a camera should to me. All the controls are where I think they logically should be, and while the performance is now far behind newer film bodies and not even in the same universe as a DSLR, that camera still makes my heart skip a beat that first time the shutter trips on an outing.
I still shoot a roll or two of film on a regular basis and still drag a film body around once in a while. There is always at least one of the old film bodies loaded up with a roll of film and ready to go. Right now I am shooting a roll out of my Maxxum QTsi (my least favorite of the Minoltas I own) and just finished off a roll in my Maxxum 9000. I am going to load up one of the Maxxum 7000 bodies I have and shoot that one next. I think it is a great way to remember to slow down, pick your shot, and not just "spray and pray" with the digital. It grinds me to hear a shutter going of like a machine gun at an event like a parade, or a school concert. I went as a chaperone to one of my sons field-trips last year and one of the parents I know was there with her dslr ( like I was) and every time she took a photo it was a rapid fire series of 8+ frames. When it was all over and done, she asked if she could have a copy of my photos of her son because "they always turn out better than mine." I like to believe that that comes from taking my time and taking the shot or two I want, not a series and hoping for the best. Film keeps me grounded in that practice and I can't think of a better system to still use after 27+ years of owning it than the Minolta line.
My film bodies: All Minolta Maxxum: 5000, 2-7000's, 9000, 300si, 400si, QTsi.