Minolta Maxxum 9000...Oh Yeah....

<p>The Minolta Gods have been smiling on me lately. Made an offer on a 9000 that was listed on Ebay as non-working - "film advance jammed and cannot test". I ended up buying it for 25.99 along with a CF-90L case.<br /><br />Got the camera Friday and sure enough, the film advance wouldn't move, because it had already been advanced and the shutter was cocked. Popped open the battery door and, no batteries. I know this one won't work without them so I put in a set of fresh AAs. I got "100" blinking on the LCD but the shutter won't fire. Shut off the camera, opened the back and closed it, turned on the camera again and the LCD showed "4000" on the Speed and "F27" on the Aperture. Worked the advance lever, fired the shutter, repeat, got to the Number 1 frame on the film counter and….it's ALIVE! I was able to set all functions and everything works.<br /><br />Here she is wearing a Sigma AF 24-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens<br /><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8041511735_7e3a13764d_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="452" /><br /><br />Typical edge bleed on the LCD - still see everything though<br /><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8041513307_c73c7f38fe_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="428" /><br /><br />Here's the case<br /><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/8041517144_e80bc52e5e_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="428" /><br /><br />And with her younger sibling - the 9xi<br /><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8319/8041510457_acc26eb24c_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="424" /><br /><br />Isn't life grand?<br /><br />Mike : D</p>

<p>That's the sort of deal I always shoot for ! I've not found it , yet. Good for you !</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thank you John! I've gotten so lucky lately with Minolta "non-working" cameras. I scored a XE-5 and XE-7 the same way.</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>You lucky dog. I lust after one of these and keep searching craigslist for a deal on one. I did stumble on a 7000 that had a tasty little AF 24/2.8 on it in perfect condition, but my search for the 9000 continues. I use some Minolta AF lenses on my NEX 7 with an adapter and I would love to carry one of these so I can use the same lenses but get that film look. Im so jealous.</p>

<p>The 9000 is such a good looking camera. Well specced and feels great in the hand. I think it has the honor of being the only auto focus film camera ever made that has a manual film advance lever. Classy, like all Minolta stuff.</p>

<p>Thanks David! I am a lucky dog! You know, that manual advance does trip me up at times...I think it's an AF so sometimes I forget I have to wind the film!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>I got a Maxxum 9000 for my birthday. Looked to be in great shape, not even any LCD bleed. Unfortunately it was very wonky on the AF, so I eventually sent it to Sun Camera in Toronto (even though I'm a USA guy) for CLA, based on a highly positive article about them doing a Maxxum 9000 repair over at Dyxum.com. That was September 8th. Not a word from them so far, despite several emails. They have my camera and I have nothing. I imagine I'll hear from them eventually. Maybe.</p>

<p>I heard from Sun Camera, today. They say my camera has been received and is in the progress(sic) of being repaired. I'm excited!</p>

<p>Excellent news Patrick! For a minute I thought your camera might be lost somewhere between you and them!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>Fantastic! Not to brag, but I scored a pair of Nikkormat FTn bodies for $25 bucks a couple weeks ago, and they both work just fine.</p>

<p>Thanks Randy! And good job yourself!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>I got my 9000 back from Sun camera and well, it's better, but honestly the AF still sucks. I have three Maxxum 7000 bodies and all of them perform as well as, and in some cases better, than this "higher end" pro body. Maybe they age differently. :)</p>

<p>Still, comparing the 7000 to the 9000, you got to wonder, what were they thinking? The rewind crank is goofy, none of the buttons and levers are marked in any way - compared to the easy, straightforward 7000 layout. I have the feeling the 9000 wasn't strictly a pro development. I think they started working on the first AF camera and that's what they designed first, and then someone said - this stinks. Try this - and the 7000 was born. They released the 9000 too, as a "pro" variety because it used a motor drive, had faster flash sync, and the higher max shutter speed, but the AF was no better than (maybe worse than) the 7000.</p>

<p>On a side note, comparing two other early AF cameras, the Maxxums both compare badly against the Nikon N8008 and even Canon's original EOS 650. They do beat Nikon's N2020 by a bit.</p><div></div>

<p>It looks like the AF worked this time Patrick! I had a 7000 and a 7000i and I never used them much. I wish I had them today so I could compare them with the 9000. The only thing that I have noticed with my 9000 is that the AF is easily fooled - something "catches" it in front of or behind what your intended focus point is. It confirms focus and if you don't really pay attention, you shoot the picture and your focus point is well, OOF.</p>

<p>Not sure if this is indicative of the 9000 AF in general or if it is just my camera.</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>I asked the folks at Sun camera, and here's the reply, when I asked about the 7000 versus 9000 autofocus:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>The tech who worked on your camera also owns the same 9000 and was equally frustrated with it's performance compared to the 7000 years ago. Seems that the 3V power supply it uses, affects the speed at which it hunts and locks focus. It can't be improved beyond the original specs. This is only my opinion but back in that time autofocus still wasn't trusted by pros who were trained with manual focus and they weren't too concerned as they still used it manually.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, it would appear that your observation of the 7000 AF vs. the 9000 AF was correct!<br>

Interesting info Patrick, thanks!</p>

<p>Mike : D</p>

<p>I am coming into the discussion late, but I have a similar story. A guy I work with had a Maxxum 7000 that wasn't working. He told me I could take it. If I could fix it, I could keep it. It turns out there was a bad battery in there. I changed them all, and it worked like a charm after that. </p>

<p>Tried for years to get used to a nice 9000 found in a 2nd hand store. While struggledwith the heavy beast my wife breezed along using my late Dads 7000. After years of frustration I gave in and found one for myself. A pretty thing it must have been left in some dark corner unused for years! My find matches my fathers mint-like camera purchased at his retirement as his "last" camera. The plastic on the 9000 is "peeling", but the pair of 7000's (my wife is now unable to carry even the lighter 7000) look and function perfectly. As much as I like them, easy to use, easy to carry, the one time I tried to carry both gave me that feeling that a porter or "gun bearer was in order! Now I just bring an extra lens if needed, to avoid that safari feeling. The solid 7000 is to me a bit heaver but a little more ruggedly built camera than the lighter but also easy to use Canon 650. Both nice cameras of their time. A note: reading advertising of the manufacturer, it's kinda interesting how "cutting edge and let-us-pat-ourselves on the back" the paperwork is. (not unlike the current self-rave reviews that appear on new offerings. Still I prefer the older boxes over the newer digit's. </p>

Hi All,

Its been a while since this thread has been added to - but it seems like the right place to add my story to.

I was flicking through eBay last week at work for vintage 35mm cameras when a supervisor from a different area sat down next to me. He asked if was interested in photography, I thought he was making small talk and played along. No, I'm not much of a photographer but I LOVE old cameras and film. My partner is a professional photographer and dabbles with film as well.

"I have an old Minolta camera at home" he added. "It is a Minolta 9000, it was my fathers camera that he bought new in the 80's and passed it on to me years ago but I dont use it"

Good story, happy to talk about cameras with anyone interested...

"Do you want it? I dont use it and it would be better off in a good home being used"

UMMMM HELL YES!

So - I am now in the possession of a Minolta 9000 with a couple of nice lenses absolutley FREE! Everything is in great condition and clean, besides the standard LED leak. I am waiting on a delivery of new film to put through it over the weekend. Cant wait to see how it shoots and how it compares with my Canon A-1.

Feeling rather lucky at the moment! Will post some example shots in time when I have some film developed.

Hi All,

Its been a while since this thread has been added to - but it seems like the right place to add my story to.

I was flicking through eBay last week at work for vintage 35mm cameras when a supervisor from a different area sat down next to me. He asked if was interested in photography, I thought he was making small talk and played along. No, I'm not much of a photographer but I LOVE old cameras and film. My partner is a professional photographer and dabbles with film as well.

"I have an old Minolta camera at home" he added. "It is a Minolta 9000, it was my fathers camera that he bought new in the 80's and passed it on to me years ago but I dont use it"

Good story, happy to talk about cameras with anyone interested...

"Do you want it? I dont use it and it would be better off in a good home being used"

UMMMM HELL YES!

So - I am now in the possession of a Minolta 9000 with a couple of nice lenses absolutley FREE! Everything is in great condition and clean, besides the standard LED leak. I am waiting on a delivery of new film to put through it over the weekend. Cant wait to see how it shoots and how it compares with my Canon A-1.

Feeling rather lucky at the moment! Will post some example shots in time when I have some film developed.

 

Sounds like you rescued a fine vintage film camera from the pound. Congrats. I recently had an old friend give me a Canon FT QL with a 55mm and 200mm lens, I believe it is a circa 1966 film camera. I have yet to buy some film for it. lol. But I'll bet it still works. That brings me up to four film cameras in my collection one of which is a Minolta. It should be five, but my 35mm from my college years was stolen in the late 1990's.