Is an XG-7 worth picking up, cheap ?

<p>I've seen the XG-7s going really cheap, in some places. Now, I don't need another film body, but I and that camera have a "history" that never happened.</p>

<p>The reason I got my first job, was to save up for an XG-7. I ended up buying a car and paying my dad back for the money he loaned me instead. It took me a long time to actually buy a camera, and it turned out to be a Nikon FG. I still have the FG and have quite a few MF lenses for it and an F4, I got a few years ago. Logically, I should walk away from another body this old, that doesn't take my collection of lenses. But .....</p>

<p>So, was the XG-7 a decent camera, or am I just remembering what I thought as a high school kid ?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>http://rokkorfiles.com/XG%20Series.htm</p>

<p>http://ca.konicaminolta.com/support/manuals/film-cameras/film_mf_slr/index.html</p>

<p>It's a nice camera and gives you access to Minolta lenses but its feature set and build isn't at the XD or XE level, and it's got a CdS meter which is less likely to stand up over time than a silicon meter so make sure to check it. What keeps me from wanting one is that the exposure info in the finder is lacking compared to higher end models. And it's really only full featured in S mode, and S mode works only with MD lenses and not MC, which reduces the lens choices. No 58/1.4 - and it's not really Minolta without a 58/1.4 :) Still, with the personal angle and the low cost, you should get one, with a 50/1.7 MD lens (doesn't look like much but it's an excellent lens) and go to an XD or X570 if you want the informative finder.</p>

<p>As noted in the first link Andrew posted, the XG-M is more fully featured than the early XGs (eg metering is active in the viewfinder in manual mode) and usually goes for less $ than the XD/XE/X series, so that would probably be my choice as a first body if I wanted to sample the Minolta system of this era. That said, despite the more limited functions I find the earliest XG models to be among the most enjoyable of any film SLRs I've tried in terms of "feel" in my hands. Something about the more rounded corners, design and position of the shutter release, sound of the film advance and shutter click, etc</p>

<p>One thing to keep in mind especially with the XG and X series Minoltas though, is that they contained relatively cheap capacitors with (on average) a short operational life. If you buy one over the internet, make sure it is described as being in full working order, and keep an eye out especially for those that are listed as having recently had a capacitor replacement.</p>

<p>Andrew and Paul make some good recommendations. Another possibilty to consider that when the XG-7 (or XD or X series) is paired with the Rokkor 45mm f2 it will fit in many jacket pockets. </p>

<p>After posting, I did some web surfing to remember what I liked about the camera and what it looked like in better pictures. It's rather odd. Looking back at it today, it seems so lacking in features. 60th sec flash. 1000th of a second shutter. Limited exposure options. Just center weighted metering. It seemed to new and flashy, back in 1978.</p>

<p>There is one on an auction site, that needs new flim door foam, going VERY cheap. With an undisclosed lens.</p>

<p>I'm not sure of the Minolta range, from amateur to Pro. I got some good info on the brand, on a few web sites last night, but I couldn't quite figure out the families and how the bodies fell into them.</p>

<p>From my Nikon perspective, the FE/FG/FG-20 were at the entry level, the FM2/FE2/FA were in the solid middle, and then the Pro stuff was always the F2/F3/F4/ F5/F6 models. You knew each level gave you more features and a stronger build. How should I look at the Minolta line ?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Minolta was always more about consumer and high end enthusiast more than pro. The models weren't exactly a progression like Nikon was doing, because with each new line they did a redesign. And while Nikon maintains three lines (entry/middle/high) and upgrades each while keeping the lines separate, Minolta would make a new line for each generation and two or three versions within that line for different price points. So the XD11 and XD5 were out at the same time, looked the same but differed on price and a few features. Same deal with the SRT-200, 201, 202.</p>

<p>The XK is the only real "pro" manual focus camera with very tough build, swappable finders and screens, 1/2000 shutters, etc. In the consumer line, the "modern" SLRs with TTL meter start with the SRTs (102 and 202 are the high end), which is a classic. Very robust metal construction, all mechanical, CdS meter with match needle, clever bits like aperture and shutter both visible in finder. I have several. Ranks with the K1000 as a classic student camera. The XK came out during the SRT era.</p>

<p>Then come the XE7 (a cooperation with Leica - pretty much the same as the R3) and the XD11 and XD5 (like a Leica R4). The XG came out while the XD was on the market as a less expensive option without some of the advanced features and not the same level of build quality.</p>

<p>The "X Series" comes after the XD. The X-700 has A, M and P modes, and was the first TTL flash SLR with OTF exposure. The 360PX on the X-700 is actually really good. Complaints people have about it are plastic construction, there's a capacitor that's likely to fail (and can be replaced), they used the horizontal cloth shutter instead of the nice vertical XD shutter and the display in M is not as informative as the XD's. But it was crazy popular and was produced for something silly like 20 years. The X-570 was introduced after the X-700 as a lower model but some people prefer it because it ditches the (useless to experienced users) P mode and instead gives more finder information in M. The X-370 is lower end than that.</p>

<p>The X-600 was a late introduction, not many were made and it has electronic focus confirmation. There's also the X-9 which was a late model and... I actually know nothing about it.</p>

<p>Then they introduced the AF cameras and those have a whole different mount.</p>

<p>Hmmm. It sounds like the X-570 might be more my cup of tea. I read that it has a really informative finder.</p>

<p>What lens mount are we talking with this ? Are they worth fixing, or are the parts non existent and it would be better to replace , rather than repair ?</p>

<p>I know... It's not the XG-7 I always wanted, but my FG fits in that camera level for me. It does have an X and a 7 in the name !</p>

<p> </p>

<p>These are all MC/MD mount. The MC lenses are older and work in M and A but not P and S modes. (MD adds another post that gives the camera max aperture info - think pre-AI and AI.) This is all not an issue because the 570 doesn't have S or P. The no-brainer lens is the 50/1.7 MD. It's a great, sharp lens. It's the 50/1.8 AF-D Nikkor of the Minolta line. The 58/1.4 MC is a classic with great bokeh. There are a few 135mm primes that are excellent, and very fast 85mm lenses though those tend to cost more. Another favorite is the Vivitar Series 1 28-90, which is so good the apocryphal story is Leica licensed the design for one of their vario lenses. If you're willing to spend actul money there's a wide angle shift lens and the VFC lens which is pretty cool.</p>

<p>The X-570 might have the bad capacitor problem, which is fixable. My X-700 doesn't have that problem. After asking around I was told that Garry's Camera Repair is good for Minoltas, and I've sent them an XD with a few issues. I'll have to see how it looks when I get it back.</p>

<p>One other nice thing about the X-series is that they have the Acute Matte screens, which are some of the best focusing screens you'll see. Minolta supplied these to Hasselblad and they became the high end Hassy screens.</p>

<p>So... what is the most solid, not prone to issues, body, of that era ? I shoot mostly in Manual or Aperture priority. It would be nice to have shutter priority, but I normally take care of that sort of scene in manual. If I had my druthers, I would like spot metering, but center weighted worked for many photogs for many years.</p>

<p>I really shouldn't be taking about ANOTHER film camera, and this could lead to COLLECTING, rather than using cameras. However... the costs of some of these are much less than Nikons of the same age.</p>

<p>The XE and XD are not prone to problems. I'd say XK but there aren't as many in circulation and many were owned by pros so might be extra beat-up. There are also a lot of SRTs in great shape out there. But I think you can go ahead and get an X-570. Make sure it's working and if the capacitor hasn't broken so far it's probably not going to now.</p>

<p>When my family's camera shop sold Minolta's we stocked the X570. While not the big seller the X700 was or as inexpensive as the X370, we had customers who appreciated its metered manual mode as well as its ability to do TTL flash like the X700. Also, you get DOF preview, which I think was absent on the XG-7. BTW, the XG-9 has DOF and accumate screen, but still not as desirable as the X570.</p>

<p>How do the XD 5\7\9\11 cameras stack up against the 570 ? I've been trying to do some reading. The XD-11 doesn't sound bad. I like DoF preview. A bright finder screen would be nice, as well as changeable screens, if possible.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>What's an XD-9? And XD-7 is an XD-11 sold outside the US, the XD-5 is the same camera minus a few features (<a href="http://rokkorfiles.com/XD11.html">see this page for details</a> ). In terms of features the XD and the 570 aren't very far apart.They're both clearly "modern" with autoexposure and silicon meters and all that, and a pretty traditional control layout. Both are just about as feature rich as a manual focus SLR gets.</p>

<p>The XD has the advantage in build (it is a noticeably higher grade camera when held in the hands, has metal parts in several places where the X-series uses plastic and has the vertical shutter) and three exposure modes (A/S/M to the X-570's A/M) but the X-570 has the more advanced flash system, the acute matte screen and one of the motor drives for it does more than 3 FPS. The X-570 also has changeable screens, which the XD does not.</p>

<p>I have an XD11 and an X-700 and the XD gets much more use. That's not really because of features, I just prefer the XD look-and-feel.</p>

<p>The XD series have metal vertical shutters that reach X-sync at 1/100 second. The X series and XG series have horizontal cloth shutters that sync at 1/60 second. Two drives available for the X570: a 2 FPS winder and a 3.5 FPS motor drive. The motor drive includes a grip and has a auxilary shutter release. The camera handles very well with the motor drive attached. The XD takes a different winder and it limited to 2 FPS. One nice feature of the XD- if the battery fails, the shutter will release mechanically at 1/100 second and at B. The XD cameras also allow multiple exposures.</p>

<p>Sorry. No XD-9. I was just on a roll with all the double and triple model names.</p>

<p>I think I like the solid look and feel descriptions of the XD series. Thanks for the Reader's Digest version.</p>

<p>One thing I have seen on more than one auction is what looks like the "leatherette" cover has shrunk away from the edges. Is that common for these models, or just examples of bodies not stored in a good way, and should be avoided ?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The leather problem is common for XDs. Should have mentioned that as a con. They were trying to make a cushioned feel but this involved a layered material and one or more of the layers shrink. I've re-covered two of these using cameraleather.com kits.</p>

<p>I think there was a later generation of XDs where they had realized the problem was there and changed the material. I met a vendor at a camera show who had one of the 50th anniversary edition in black with a different black cover that didn't peel. Didn't want to spend the hundreds of dollars for it.</p>

<p>Darn. I like the XD, from your descriptions, but it has it's weakness. The X-700 or X-530 don't have that issue, I'd guess, as they have a plastic shell. This doesn't make things easy.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The other concern when seeing peeled leather on a used Minolta is that service may have been attempted but not completed. The first step to accessing some of the screws is to pull the leather back.</p>

<p>Well, I'm late in on this post. But the XD-7/11 is the one to go for in my opinion. It's hard to explain but everything about this body just feels right. If the leather has shrunk it's real simple to replace. I've owned pretty much every 7 series Minolta body from the SR-7 to the K/M 7D and the XD-7 is my favorite manual focus camera. I can't truly believe I'll ever sell mine. <br>

Once you hold and fire the sweet shutter on a XD-7 you will understand appeal. As to the original question on the XG-7, I'd pass for certain. I've got one but I've handed it off to my teenage son to use. When I sold off most of my Minolta collection the XG-7 never got anyone's interest even at a dirt cheap price.</p>

<p>I have a X-370 and an X-700 , I just got a XG7 for 12 dollars and i can tell you already i don't like it. The light meter only works in the Auto mode. And that's a real pain where i have to switch to A mode to meter and then pres the button to get it out if i want to use it manually. I prefer the meter of my X-370 the best. Its the same meter as the X-570. Main difference between the two is that the X-370 doesn't have DOF preview button, no exposure compensation and no TTL flash shoe.<br /> I love the ergonomics of my X-370 too , it feels better in my hand and the power switch and dial are placed better than the X-700. The meter is better two i think, with the light matching feature. I just wish there was a way to upgrade it to display the Aperture in the finder like my x700 and the x-370s does. There has got to be a way that can be retro fitted , or maybe a hole can be drilled.<br /> I just Only use my X700 mow because last summer the camera went from sticking on advancing . where i would either have to use my finger nail to finish the cycle by pushing against the winder key underneath or or make sure i flicked the lever fast to advance the film. Or use a Motor winder when I didn't mind the extra weight. But then it stooped altogether and i think its would cost the same to buy another one as it would to fix this one.</p>

<p>However i find myself using the Program function allot on the x-700 when i never thought i would . For those shots where i don't care too much about lighting and composition an i just wanna snap and capture the picture and i know there is plenty of light where it wont be slow or blurry . Mostly like family events where in the P mode someone else can grab and use the camera if they want</p>