Minolta 800si, 20 years later

My first serious slr cameras were a Minolta 700si and 800si. I sold them both about 20 years ago and switched to Nikon. I have had a few Minolta auto focus slr's through the years , but never kept them for long. Last week I saw an 800si up for auction along with a 24-85mm lens and I won the bidding. It arrived today. I was surprised how much I remember about the controls and I am looking forward to taking some pics with it. I just loaded it with Kodak Ektar 100 and will shoot with it this weekend.

Great.

 

We'd love it if you will share the results with us:D

Minolta was my brand of choice for many years, and the excellent lenses are still in use on my Sony Alpha 900. The last film camera I used regularly was a 700si, which I still have. Before that I had a 7xi, which was fast and responsive compared to my first AF SLR a 500si, not one of Minolta's best. The 7xi came in for some criticism because of the user interface but once I got the hang of it it seemed quick and intuitive. You just had to ignore some of the super technical bells and whistles like auto standby zoom (whatever that did) and eye start. The 700si was very similar in capability, but with more dedicated controls. I think that the higher end Minoltas of that era were some of the best film cameras ever made. Edited October 28, 2021 by John Seaman

My first Minolta slr was the 700si. I read reviews in photography magazines and made the choice of Minolta after reading a comprehensive test done by one of the magazines which tested many aspects of several slr's. I think it might have been Popular Photography. The honeycomb metering pattern came out on top in their test over many higher priced cameras. I had it for about 8 or 9 years and never had a problem with it while shooting hundreds of rolls of slides and print film. I just bought a fresh battery for the 800si and am looking forward to getting re-acquainted with it. I will have the film developed at my local lab, and then scan it with my new to me Epson V600.