newbie questions

Hi folks,

 

I am just getting into photography and I purchsed a Minolta Dynax

7000i second hand.

 

I have a couple of stupid questions.

 

1. Will my camera fit onto any tripod? I would like to start with a

basic tripod.

 

2. The digital display that tells you f stops and shutter speed as

viewed through the veiwfinder is not fully working. It does not

display the f stops properly. is this sometning i will have to live

with or can it be repaired and how much?

 

Many thanks

 

Paul

<ol>

<li>The camera has standard 1/4" threads. It fits on 99.9% of all tripods. Buy the best tripod that you can afford. The cheap ones are the ones you'll want to fling into the trash one week later.

<li>Please define "not properly". What <em>does</em> it display?

</ol>

Thanks for the reply,

 

1. When i say that the digital disply inside the viewfinder doesnt dipsly properly, i mean that the digital numbers are not fully working. that is, the numbers do not display at all. but only the f stop numbers.

Welcome to the Minolta club Paul,

 

If you are going to use a tripod, then as Michael says, it's worth getting a good one. If you intend to carry it around with you, then you need to make sure you buy something that is not too heavy otherwise it will just be left behind. At the same time, a tripod that is too flimsy will not be much use.

 

Not sure what it is you are not able to see in the viewfinder, even after your second explanation. I would expect that you would see the shutter speed followed by the "f number". The "f number" is usually displayed in half stops. So you might see something like 60 9.5 where 60 is the shutter speed and 9.5 is the f stop.

 

 

What exactly do you see in your viewfinder?

I think we also need to know what lens you're using - some non-Minolta lenses may not interface fully, so it's possible that that may be the cause of the shortage of viewfinder info.

Thanks for the replies folks. Basically all I see in the veiw finder is the shutter speed and not the aparture. I dont know why. The lens I have at the moment is a Tokina 28-70 AF.

 

And another question, if I may. Can I detatch the lens from the camera body without exposing the film to any light?

 

Thanks

 

Paul

There are sometimes problems with third party lenses not working 100% with the camera systems. You could consider borrowing a Minolta lens to see if it gives the correct display - if not the camera is probably faulty. Is the aperture displayed in the LCD?

 

(Nearly) all SLR's have focal plane shutters which prevent light from hitting the film. You can remove the lens with no problems. Even with the lens fitted, the light passes through the aperture into the camera body.

There has to be a suspicion that if the aperture is not being displayed then the camera auto-exposure system is not going to be working with that lens.

 

Suggest you remove the lens and have a look at the contacts, on both the camera and the lens. My Minolta lens has 5 gold square contacts (fairly large) just inside the fitting that align with 5 small contacts inside the camera body (near the top of the lens mount), check that the contacts on your lens and camera are not damaged. Do not touch them.

 

When you insert the lens into the camera body, you have to align the the red mark on the lens with the mark on the camera body and turn the lens about 30 degrees until the red mark on the lens is horizontal with the body and next to the lens release button. This brings the lens contacts in line with those on the camera body. Check that when you fit the lens, it is turned sufficiently for the contacts to align.

 

If all looks well and still does not work properly, then as suggested try the camera with a Minolta lens. You could always take the camera to a local store and ask if you can try one of their demo lenses.