Opinion on X-500????

Hi guys

 

Well, I got this offer on an X-500. $300 for body, 4 lenses, winder

and a bag for the lot.

Now I want to know what experiences you guys have with the camera!

Is it worth it? It's supposed to be in near mint condition.

 

Do you perhaps have any ideas for cameras used for commercial

photography (ie. product, model etc.) and still keeping it in

the "cheap" end??

 

Thanks....

 

Torben

The X-500 is a very nice camera, and has all you ever need in a camera to take great pictures. Some people think it's the best manual focus 35mm SLR Minolta ever built. It is not just a downgraded version of the X-700, but has some features (like full info viewfinder) that the X-700 doesn't offer. What you loose is the program mode, but IMHO that takes the fun out of photography anyhow. Only the X-700 and X-500/570 offer TTL flash metering.

 

Most importantly, the X-500 provides you with an entry to the manual focus Minolta system, which I love. The biggest disadvantage of this system is that it has been discontinued a long time ago; ie no new lenses and other accessories will likely become available. However, this is also the system's biggest advantage, because it ensures that second hand items can be ridiculously cheap. Also, there are lenses from 7.5mm to 1600mm available, and as long as you don't need a 600mm f/4, there isn't much that you cannot get.

 

If $300 is a realistic price for the set depends entirely on the lenses. An X-500 body can be had for $50-100 on eBay, but a 1600mm lens would be around $1500. Maybe just tell us what lenses are included and we can give you a better idea.

The camera itself is, as Frank said, probably the best of the more modern Minolta manual focus SLRs for serious users, because of it's superior ergonomics in Metered Manual mode, as well as offerring Aperture Priority Automation and Dedicated TTL flash. Also, as Frank mentioned, the camera itself can be gotten in excellent shape on ebay for under $100 (although $50 would be a rare bargain indeed), so the value of the outfit is largely dependent on the lenses. If they are mostly off-brand junk, then the whole outfit might only be worth $150 or so, but if they are high quality lenses from Minolta, or top tier 3rd party lenses (like Tamron SP, Tokina ATX or older Vivitar Series-1 lenses) in excellent condition, then the lenses alone might be well worth more than the $300.

Hi..

 

Well, he didn't mention what brand the lenses was, but Im going down there to test the camera and then at the same time check out the lenses. It sounds to me that he just wants to get rid of this cam. Its been lying around for 4 years...

But I'll get back to you when I know more about the different lenses etc. At this point I can say:

1 50mm f/1.8, 1 135mm f/something small :), 1 24mm f/around 2, and then some lenses I can't remember...

 

Take care

 

Torben

Well, of those, the 50mm is probably a 50mm f1.7 Minolta - a very good lens, but only worth $25-30 on the market due to being easily available. The 135mm is probably not too valuable either, for the same reason, altough it could be a cheap aftermarket lens worth almost nothing, or a good quality Minolta lens worth $40-80. A 24mm f2 lens, if it is from Minolta and in good shape, would certainly make the outfit worthwhile, as that's roughly a $250 lens. A 24mm 2.8 Minolta lens is worth around half that much. There were only a few 3rd party lenses that made fast 24mm f2 lenses, such as Kiron, Vivitar, Tokina and Sigma, and they are all pretty good, and worth roughly $80-120. If it's a third party 24mm f2.8 lens, it could be junk, or it could be a decent lens worth $60-80. Good luck.

Minolta never made a 50mm f/1.8 lens, so let's assume it is a 50mm f/1.7. That's a great lens, but not very expensive, and already incuded in the $100 I put on the X-500. BTW - do a search on eBay on 'X-570', completed items. You will be surprised - body only they sell for as little as $30. This is less than I would expect to get for a XG-1 or X-300, and I can only attribute this to the fact that few people know the X-500/570. I should probably mention that the X-500 is the same camera as the X-570, but the latter was sol in North America and is usually black, while the formar was sold in the rest of the world and is usually chrome.

 

A Minolta 135mm f/3.5 would be worth about $30, a 135mm f/2.8 about $50. The Minolta 135mm f/2.0 is rare enough that a price is hard to establish, but $300-$600 would probably be in the right ballpark. If you see one of those, grab the set for $300 and run! ;-)

 

In 24mm lenses, Minolta only offers a 24mm f/2.8. This is an awesome lens and depending of the version and circumstances sells for $100-250. There is a VFC (variable field curvature version) that is very sought after, and would be worth $250-500. Third party 24mm lenses for Minolta wouldn't be worth much more than $50.

what about a Sigma 24mm 2.8?

 

These lenses consistently sell around 170-180 Canadian in Toronto, and the lens gets a super grade of 4.0 on photodo.com

 

I have this lens, and it is fantastic - I doubt that it is inferior to the one that Minolta made.

 

If that lens in the package, that is smth to consider.

I specifically listed Kiron, Tokina, Vivitar, and Sigma as 3rd party vendors who made good 24mm lenses. I probably should have included Tamron as well.

The X-500 is great, but it can be had for ~ $120 US. Depending on what kind of winder it is, it is worth ~ $50 (Winder G), ~ $100 (MD-1 Motor Drive), or ~ $30 (cheapo brand).

 

The question then becomes whether the four lenses are worth ~ $150 or so. I would find out exactly what you're paying for first. If they are all Minolta lenses, it sounds like a good deal. I'd just make sure you have some mechanism for getting your money back if they turn out to be lemons.

I wanna thank all of you for your responses. I ended up buying the camera. First of all the test photos looked great so no prob there. Second the lenses were all Minolta except for the zoom which was a Soligor with build in makro down to 1:1.6. All lenses are in good condition so Im pleased.

Unfortunately the development many places here in Denmark tends to make people hang on to their old cameras because they are so cheap. Therefore there aren't a lot going around.

 

But again... thanks for your time. I'll see you around here... :)

 

Torben