Gear Giveaway: Minolta XG-1

<p>First of all I'd like to thank Cliff Manley for sending me that Zeiss Nettar. I love it.</p>

<p>Alright, I'm giving away a nice Minolta XG-1 body. It's the first model, not the cheap plasticky XG-1n. It's in great shape, the shutter speeds are accurate, but the meter only seems to work in Auto mode. The leatherette is also still good, this stuff usually shrinks with age.</p>

<p>The deal is the first person that wants the camera will post and claim it here, and tell me in an email what they would like to give away in return, whether it be another camera, lens, film, etc. Then I'll send it to him or her free of charge.</p>

<p>I'd like to limit this to the US only, but if you live overseas and would like to pay the difference in shipping I'd be happy to do that.</p>

<p>Nice idea.</p>

<p>Let us know how it turns out, if you can. :)</p>

Steven- nothing wrong with the meter. The XG-1, as well as the XG-7 and XG-9 only have meter function in auto mode.

Manual mode is non-metered. The X series (M, 370, 570, and 700) do have metered manual. That being said the XG-1 is

a very capable camera with access to excellent lenses at bargain prices.

<p>Steven, thanks for keeping this going. I gave away a whole bunch of stuff a while back and I'd kinda forgotten about it. Maybe I'll find some new treasure to offer. </p>

<p>When I did my giveaways, I intended that the recipient also give something away, and so on with the next recipient. I also removed myself from any expectation that the chain wasn't going to get broken. Having said that, I noticed that they usually died out pretty quickly. This means that either someone offered a piece of gear that no one wanted, or they just neglected to give away anything at all. </p>

<p>So, if you get a freebie, give something. If you received something in the past and never got around to reciprocating, it's not too late! Remember, Santa's already keeping score for next year ;-)</p>

Also, since the meter is off in manual mode this is potentially a good camera for learning or even to practice Sunny 16. I

hope someone will snap this one up and put it to use.

<p>Someone needs to throw in a lens for it so it is actually able to be used by a newbie! What are they going to do with a body? I'm sure that if someone is just starting and wants to try out film, they don't know anything about lens mounts for these old classics, and wouldn't know even what to look for. So a complete usable camera is best for them.</p>

<p>Actually, I have an XG-1 that was given to me last year. It makes all the right noises but I think the shutter may need freeing up or something. I haven't looked into it.<br>

Comes with a Rokker 35mm/f3.5 lens which is nice and clear (no lens cap).<br>

Cosmetically it's in great shape. I did put a couple of rolls through it last year but I find I never really use it. Most of my cameras are pre-WW2, so this one's the odd one out!<br>

Free to a good home if you pay the shipping from Ireland - I'm guessing the weight is about 1/2kg.</p>