Advice for beginner with Minolta X-700

Hello all,

 

I am a college student and have decided to finally get somewhat

serious about photography (I've always been interested, just haven't

done much about it). Anyway, up until the other day, I was thinking

about going out and buying a new camera. But after not being able to

decide which one is the "best", I remembered that I can use my dad's

old (but hardly ever used) Minolta X-700. From what I hear, this seems

to be a fairly solid camera. The only real disadvantage I see is a

lack of autofocus. So I've decided that I'll save some money and use

the X-700. Do you all think this is a wise move?

 

If so, I'd like to get a couple lenses for it. Right now I've got the

standard 50mm/f1.7. I'm not sure what my budget is right now, as I

haven't made a trip out to the local camera shop to see how much used

lenses for this camera cost, but I'd like to pick up two lenses in the

near future: one that will let me do really wide landscapes, and one

that will let me do some fairly nice close-ups.

 

Do you all have any suggestions? Please bear with me; I'm still

learning a whole lot. As soon as time permits, I plan on taking some

classes. Until then, I want to learn as much as I can on my own.

 

Thanks for your help. Photo.net has been a very valuable resource thus

far!

 

Charlie

I have 2 X-700 bodies and some other Minolta X series cameras with several lenses, mostly Minolta MD primes and zooms. This is a great camera! The choice of additional lenses is a highly personal one, and must be based on your needs, wants, and budget. If you don't have the owner's manual, I urge you to get one.

Advice no. 1: Don't use the "program" setting.:o)

 

"Advice" no.2: you can buy any used manual focus lens "just to try", since if you don't like it, you can sell it with very small or no loss. Go for non-zooms, like the wide-enuff minolta 24mm f/2.8 (good luck with finding it!).

 

Advice no.3: if you dare, try to buy it on internet (keh, ebay, marktplaats, whatever), the variety is much larger than in a local camera shop, while the prices are lower.

advice no. zero: use the 50/1.7 as much as you can. It's good stuff.

I have owned the X-700 for 21 years. Despite owning approx 20 cameras including Mamiya, Contax, Eos etc. it is a camera I keep on returning to. You can buy prime lenses for the camera very inexpensively. If you are used to point and shoot cameras or inexpensive zooms, you might find these lenses to be a revelation. The camera is lightweight but solid and in twenty years I have never needed a repair. It is a great camera to learn about exposure and composition, since I think that more modern cameras with autofocus tend to foster a point and shoot mentality.

 

As the earlier poster said, the 50mm f1.7 is a great compact lens. I also like the 24mm f2.8 lens. 135mm lenses can be picked up dirt cheap. You can also use the earlier MC lenses if you don't care about program mode. Add a PX 360 flash and a motor drive and you have a very capable system.

I meant to inquire about flashes in my original post: I've got an Auto 132px flash. What benefits would I get if I upgraded to the 360px? Is it worth the +/- $120? Thanks to all who have responded so far!

132px -> 360px means alot more power and, i think, mechanically more flexible head(rotate/swivel). Maybe more features, dunno.

I got stuck home on a Saturday night, so you get a long reply. ;-)

 

The X-700 is a very solid camera. It will not get in your way--which I mean as high praise. If you don't have a manual, do a Google search and you can download one.

 

It is plenty wise to spend your money on lots of good film and processing, a tripod and cable release, and good prime lenses for a good camera you already have. You will probably never miss autofocus.

 

Read all you can about exposure. Learn how center-weighted spot metering systems like those in the X-700 work. Then you can use exposure compensation and exposure lock effectively when needed.

 

Read all you can about focus and depth-of-field. Hyperfocal and zone focusing are good, when appropriate.

 

I recommend finding a place that uses a Fuji Frontier machine if you plan on getting 4x6's made from each roll. Fuji Reala, Ilford XP2 Super, Kodak High Definition are reasonably-priced films that I find produce good results on a Frontier.

 

As for lenses, the Minolta 24mm f/2.8 is awesome. The Minolta 50mm macro is great, and more affordable than the 100mm. I can't say anything about flashes; I hate all flashes. :-)

 

If you have a local shop with a decent selection and decent prices, by all means buy there. If the locals fail on either count, buy from http://www.keh.com/, Excellent grade or better. (some will say Bargain, but I say Excellent for guaranteed complete satisfaction).

 

Good luck, and have fun.

 

BTW, you should post further equipment questions in the Minolta forum!

The X-700 is a real workhorse! I mostly shoot with Leicas, but have an X-700 with a couple of lenses. My reccomendation for a flash is the Vivitar 283, also a real workhorse! Inexpensive, unchanged since the mid 70's, it just keeps on going and going! And autofocus? A pain in the butt. I want the camera to FIRE when I push the button, not start to focus!

Learn to use the metered manual exposure. I really like the way the shutter speeds are displayed in the viewfinder (as opposed to the +,- LED type) Get a "prime" (non-zoom) wide angle lens (even a 28mm is fairly wide) and also consider a tele-zoom (if you can find one, the 75-200mm f/4 is great!) You might really like a "macro" lens... even a 1:2 ratio is very useful. Choose the focal length according to the working distance you like (with a 50mm you have to get very close to subject... something around 100mm is easier to work with) Get a tripod... even a $40 one is fine.

I just went back to a manual focus set up after going the AF route- I found I was always taking the lenses out of AF anyway. MF primes are cheap. I have a 28, 50, 135, 200 and look at add a fast 85 for portraits then maybe a superwide and a modest f/stop long telly.

 

You're trying to learn, and it is a hobby. Let the pros worry about the "have to get the shot tech" and enjoy the solid feel of MF lenses and real, large pentaprism viewfinders. Plus primes with f/2.8 and a real focus area in the viewfinder are heaven compared to modern AF SLRs with slow zooms.

 

Nothing wrong with technology, but its a hobby. Even F22 pilots start off in Cessnas.

Advice #??: For the best optical results stick to primes or constant aperture zooms.

 

Best regards ,

Yakim.

Charlie stick with the x-700. I recently purchased one myself and have been testing it out. It's a GREAT camera and I constantly find myself playing with mine.

 

Understand this is coming from someone that has quite an investment made into Canon professional optics and camera bodies, Hasselblad V system and Schneider lenses on Toyo large format bodies. ;)

 

I love my Minolta x-700. It will force you to learn photography the "right" way. And like some previous posts said, don't use any of the automatic modes. Stick with full manual and SLOW IT DOWN. =)

The lenses you are looking for seem to be ´some at least 24mm or lower, maybe you should try a 28mm, which is cheaper first. For closeups get 90 or 100mm macro. If you aren't sure if you 'll stick to Minolta get Tamron adapt-all lenses.

If you're looking for a wider lens try the Minolta MD 28mm f2.8. This is low priced on the used market but is a superb lens. Minolta's wider lenses - the 24mm and 20mm - are great performers also but somewhat steep in price.

You can't go wrong with the X-700. Minolta didn't make a bad fixed focal length lens, many still comparable with many newer lenses. The choice depends upon what type of photography you want to do, and what you can afford. Even the slower lenses are quite good, and many are quite affordable (<$50-100). Take a look at KEH's list of lenses for a range of prices for lenses and condition. Ebay is a good source if you're careful, but prices are the market at the time.

 

Some good lenses for what you describe is a MD 35mm f1.8/2.8 lens and the MD 100mm f4 macro which doubles as a short telephoto lens. The former is a good general wideangle lens and the latter their great macro lens. MD lenses have the MD tab for the X-700's program to know the smallest aperture of the lens.

 

For a flash, the 360PX is the top Minolta flash for the X-700 system, and highly recommendable with lots of features (adjustable manual and ttl intensity, tilt-rotate swivel, pc sync - works with external sync such as pocketwizard, etc.), but similar third partly flashes have many of the same feature. Find one that fits your needs.

 

I agree with the notion to stay off program mode unless it's helpful. The apertue priority mode is my most often used mode. The X-700 has a quirk in manual mode that the viewfinder display is the recommended shutter speed, not the set speed. You have to check it is set right, and why aperture mode works easier (displays recommended and actual speed).

 

Good luck.

 

--Scott--

I also have an x700 and its great. However, I also find that quirk about the shutter speed indicator annoying... funny thing is, is that on the x-700's little brother, the x-370, the quirk doesnt exist: a solid bar indicates current shutter speed, and a flashing one for the suggested one. Of course, the x700 is a more solid camera, but the x370 was my first so i still have a little fondness for it. This problem of the shutter speed indicator is just something that has to be worked with, as the x700 is too good to pass up.

Another thing, when selecting a 50mm lense, make sure you get a 50mm f/1.7. after my x370 was stolen, i was stuck with a 50mm f/2.8 and its capacity for close up shots is dissapointing.

as an amature like yourself, i find the best way to get better results is shoot shoot shoot.

-ryan

A lightly used X-700? Grab it! Some focal lengths, like 24 and 85 are a bit scarce and priced that way, others like the 28, 35 and 135 are terrific and great value. While I prefer a 24 they tend to be expensive because of scarcity so the value choice is a 28 (or even an inexpensive Vivitar 19-35 zoom). I'd buy the MD lenses because the coatings are a bit better but the MC lenses were also very good. When I got my first X-700 I phoned Minolta and they sold me a new manual. I don't remember the price but it must have been cheap if I bought it. As for flashes I'd recommend the 280PX, a step down from the 360PX, but usually about $75 in nice condition with the wide-angle clip-on. That's what I use, with an off-camera cable and a aftermarket flash bracket. Don't be in a rush to buy accessories - the Minolta system was very thorough and also well made - there'll be a good selection for a number of years. There's a separate Minolta forum here at photo.net so if you have specific equipment questions you'll get many answers, many of them correct. A class or two can really be helpful but I'd suggest that one of the best ways to learn is to shoot first, ask questions later. If you're not getting back what you thought you'd captured then find out why - the answer will stay with you.