Scoop 0 #1 February 2, 2006 Hi, So my uncle has been down with his wonderous e-bay purchases and when he sees i'm keen hes given me one of his cameras. Its a Minolta X-700 and hes thrown in a 28-80mm Vivitar Lens. Now to me this doesnt mean a great deal but I understand its a minimal 'zoom' lens but the actual camera unit itself is pretty good. I was hoping to go and use this to get some nice landing photos at the DZ amongst other things (also into motorsport) I know its not modern with all bells & whistles but anyone got any experience with them? Im not really an accomplished photgrapher so its more to try and get some cool pictures and have a play with aperture/exposure settings etc. Any feedback on these? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites brabzzz 0 #2 February 2, 2006 Before the 'minor' revolution known as digital, cameras like these were cutting edge and cost hundreds. Indeed, what is available for a few hundred off eBay (camera and lens wise) would cost ten times that for a digital slr. You'll not be limited by the camera if you're after nice pics! --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mattjw916 2 #3 February 2, 2006 Cool!!! I have put 1000s of rolls of film through a Minolta X-700. Mine is still around somewhere... they tend to have problems with the manual film advance lever when they get old just so you know. I had mine repaired twice and finally added a motor drive which I also ran into the ground eventually. Actually they are very good entry-level manual focus cameras. With a compatible lens installed, when used in "P" mode, all you have to do is focus and shoot and the metering system will select the optimal f-stop and shutter speed for you. Alternatively you can use it in full manual mode or aperture priority mode "A" IIRC. Hopefully the lens you have will work with the P mode. This is usually denoted by the min aperture (18 or 22) setting being color-coded with a green number. This usually means that the lens has the additional camera interface to have the aperture mechanically adjusted on the fly by the body. If you have any more questions I'll try and remember how the thing works. Have fun with your new toy. Remember, it's not the camera that makes good photos, it's the photographer. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Scoop 0 #4 February 2, 2006 Ive been looking on e-bay and there are loads of lenses and other accesories floating around. Im not a digital kinda guy anyway. I like to hold my pictures and look at them though I do get the shop to whack them on a CD for me too. Quality is awesome and I can use that to send to people if I need to. Better get some film and start snapping next time im down the DZ and not jumping! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mattjw916 2 #5 February 2, 2006 Oh yeah, I _highly_ recommend buying only genuine Minolta lenses for it. For general shooting you should be able to pick up a used 50mm f/1.8 for near-nothing, I regretted selling mine, it was a sharp lens. Other than that lens, I would stick to zooms since prime lenses mostly just weigh down your gear bag in the long run. Don't be tempted to cheap out and buy third-party stuff, the Minolta lenses are very good and you will be able to see the difference if you plan on printing any 8x10s. Cheers!NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites diablopilot 2 #6 February 3, 2006 I've got one and some of the best film shots I've ever taken were with it.....of course it and it's lenses never see daylight anymore......---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites wingnut 0 #7 February 7, 2006 QuoteI've got one and some of the best film shots I've ever taken were with it.....of course it and it's lenses never see daylight anymore yup i can say the same thing..... i even have the motor drive for it.. thought about mounting it once apon a time but thought it was too tall with the drive atatched to work very well...... ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
brabzzz 0 #2 February 2, 2006 Before the 'minor' revolution known as digital, cameras like these were cutting edge and cost hundreds. Indeed, what is available for a few hundred off eBay (camera and lens wise) would cost ten times that for a digital slr. You'll not be limited by the camera if you're after nice pics! --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #3 February 2, 2006 Cool!!! I have put 1000s of rolls of film through a Minolta X-700. Mine is still around somewhere... they tend to have problems with the manual film advance lever when they get old just so you know. I had mine repaired twice and finally added a motor drive which I also ran into the ground eventually. Actually they are very good entry-level manual focus cameras. With a compatible lens installed, when used in "P" mode, all you have to do is focus and shoot and the metering system will select the optimal f-stop and shutter speed for you. Alternatively you can use it in full manual mode or aperture priority mode "A" IIRC. Hopefully the lens you have will work with the P mode. This is usually denoted by the min aperture (18 or 22) setting being color-coded with a green number. This usually means that the lens has the additional camera interface to have the aperture mechanically adjusted on the fly by the body. If you have any more questions I'll try and remember how the thing works. Have fun with your new toy. Remember, it's not the camera that makes good photos, it's the photographer. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scoop 0 #4 February 2, 2006 Ive been looking on e-bay and there are loads of lenses and other accesories floating around. Im not a digital kinda guy anyway. I like to hold my pictures and look at them though I do get the shop to whack them on a CD for me too. Quality is awesome and I can use that to send to people if I need to. Better get some film and start snapping next time im down the DZ and not jumping! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #5 February 2, 2006 Oh yeah, I _highly_ recommend buying only genuine Minolta lenses for it. For general shooting you should be able to pick up a used 50mm f/1.8 for near-nothing, I regretted selling mine, it was a sharp lens. Other than that lens, I would stick to zooms since prime lenses mostly just weigh down your gear bag in the long run. Don't be tempted to cheap out and buy third-party stuff, the Minolta lenses are very good and you will be able to see the difference if you plan on printing any 8x10s. Cheers!NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #6 February 3, 2006 I've got one and some of the best film shots I've ever taken were with it.....of course it and it's lenses never see daylight anymore......---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #7 February 7, 2006 QuoteI've got one and some of the best film shots I've ever taken were with it.....of course it and it's lenses never see daylight anymore yup i can say the same thing..... i even have the motor drive for it.. thought about mounting it once apon a time but thought it was too tall with the drive atatched to work very well...... ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
