Why Sony / Minolta at all?

[Hans7]

Hi,
I started with a XG-1 after this a X9 and my current minolta is a Dynax 8000i.
I started with Minolta because I liked the feeling of it. Olympus (OM-10 in those days) was to small for my hands. And the camera before I bought the Minolta was a Russian Zenith of approx. 1kg. (In a way it's te perfect tool to learn to take pictures)
My target is the Dynax 7D. But my budget doesn't allow it at the moment... Perhaps in a couple of months.

 

[kjohn]

A very polite and patient K-M rep took an hour to show me the workings of a 7D at a promotional show at a photo shop. I liked the camera, and appreciated the down-to-earth explanations he gave me. Thankfully, he recognized a newcomer to SLR and didn't use gobbledygook.

 

[houckster]

Though I've been using Minolta cameras for over 30 years, when I finally decided that digital photography had progressed far enough, I had no real desire to buy a Konica-Minolta. I was leaning toward Canon or Nikon. What sold me on the Maxxum D7 was the anti-shake feature which seemed extremely useful when confronted with the generally slower lenses available today.

So far I've been generally pleased with my D7 but it does need lots of improvement. The autofocus system gets fooled too often and the focusing screen is not coarse enough for critical manual focusing, at least for my tired old peepers.

That said, when the camera gets it right, it does great but that only about 50-60% of the time. I guess I should add that I'm no professional but I am very picky about quality.

 

[n8zf]

The anti-shake also caught my attention, so I guess that was the deciding factor. I must admit I did'nt do alot of comparison shopping. I started with the A200 because of the 8MegPix and shortly thereafter purchased a 5D, I love them both.

 

[jim_maxxum_7d]

I picked the Minolta Maxxum 7D because I own the Minolta Maxxum 7000 35mm. That had most of the lenses that I needed so I saved money by not rebuilding my lens inventory. Had I not purchased the 7D, it would have been the Canon 20D. I have added two new lenses to the 7D - a Minolta AF 17-35mm wide angle and the Tamron 200-500 AF Telephoto. So far, I love the 7D.

 

[daijin]

No more Minolta?

Being reported in Japan - Konica-Minolta have announced a pull out from the camera market because of the level of competition on features and price. The camera unit will be sold to Sony with 3700 jobs to go. They will concentrate on copiers and electronic components.

 

[tigerrr]

Hi, I wasn't sure where to post this because I have never been on here before. I was just hoping someone could give me some information about the Minolta Maxxum Dynax 5xi. Even if you could direct me to a site, I would be very grateful. Specifically, I need information about the positives and negatives of the camera as well as how it actually captures the image and how the image is printed or viewed. Also what impact does the technology have on society and the environment. Please can someone help me?

 

[wayne]

> it's a camera, tigerrrr, not a bomb...i doubt whether it's had much impact anywhere, in any terms...i've used one for years and it's most probably as good a camera in it's class as any of them...the only problem for me is that the autofocus hunts a bit...and it's made of plastic. It's a normal 35mm camera, you buy some film, take your pictures, send your pictures to a lab to be developed....or do it yourself if you want...what lenses will you have access to? I suppose the best thing about it is that you can use it fully automated as a P&S through different control programs to the point where you can use it pretty much as a manual camera. I reckon it's a great little camera especially to start off with

wayne

 

[RamRay]

Wow...lets see...my first good camera was a Minolta HiMatic 7s, then my first SLR, based on the great results from the HiMatic was an SRT-101. Over the years I have owned and used Contarex, Nikon, Canon, Olympus and in recent years an entire Leica M6 outfit along with different medium format gear.

Now? I have sold almost everything, including the M6, but I am keeping what I love best: my Minoltas. In manual focus I am keepng an SRT-101, an XG-9 and the venerable XD-11. Lenses? 16, 28, 35-70, 70-210 and a VIvitar 600-1200 (for fun). I have a Leitz/Minolta CL and CLE rangefinders with a mix of 6 lenses (15, 21, 28, 90 & 135). I also have a Maxxum 7000 and 9000 with motordrive (LOVE that camera!). Lenses are a 15 Sigma, 24, 35-105, 70-210 and a Sigma 600 RF. Even got a 110 SLR!

Yet what do I keep handy for casual shooting and travel? a Vectis S-1!! actually, 2 of then as APS gear took such a dive, they can be had for a song on ebay. I really like the results up to 5x7 and have the following Vectis AF lenses: 17, 22-80, 80-240 APO, 50 macro and the 400 RF APO.

When your Nikon and Canon gearheads puff-up with pride over their "Pro" gear, remember some of the great Photographers of the 70's & 80's who were Minolta loyal: W. Eugene Smith and his groundbreaking photojournalism coverage on murcury poisining in Minamata, Japan (shot with an SRT-101). Remember the famous child photographer Suzanne Szasz (SRT-101). Remember David Hamilton and his trademark soft images of young women a la impressionists that started a whole trend on soft-focus phtography (SRT-101) ...and remember my favorite, Harry Benson, famous LIFE photographer who covered the rich and famous for years, earned the admiration of none other than Leica great Alfred Eisenstadt and only used minoltas (mostly XD-11).

When the gearheads say Minolta is dead, remind them it is still alive..as SONY DSLRS! the Alpha with MAXXUM lenses! Long live Minolta!

 

[dioden]

> Too bad that Minolta was closing the manufacturing of the cameras, I really love my A2 and I was expecting the A3, too bad that it never showed up really.



The only thing I don't like with my A2 is the resolution when taking pics with UHS, it's only running in 640x480, sorry to say that Dimage 7Hi was better on that. Anyone know how to fix this? I can't understand why they lower the resolution, stupid move!