Minolta Maxxum 800si

[nichols]

What are the good points/bad points of this camera...Is it too out of

date?

[greg_mason]

what are you planning on using it for? although it has been superceded it is still a nice camera. minolta genrally gives you a lot of camera for the money. their weaknesses are in both wide and long lenses. if you do not forsee spending $1000 on a lens then the camera and glass will serve you well and be able to handle most reasonable abuse and give you great long term service. i think that too much emphasis is often placed on the latest camera functions. although i have a maxxum 9 i still shoot with my minolta 7000i which is three generation removed and am currently teaching my 9 year old son with it, and it holds up well for him.

[emaxxman]

A major plus for this camera was that it had a ton of features. Some might consider that a fault.

 

I don't think this camera is out of date really. Alot of fine photos were taken with this camera. It was also used by alot of pros who did not need a rugged outdoors type camera.

 

My only complaint about this camera, when I was looking to buy it, was the grip was slightly too large for my hands. I would say I have averaged size hands for a 5'10" 195 lb. male.

 

Depending on what you want to use it for, it may or may not focus fast enough. The flash metering is also the somewhat dated off the film metering. If you know how to use this, which just comes from a basic understanding of flash photography techniques, you shouldn't have a problem with it. I compared the Maxxum 7's ADI, 4 segment, and standard TTL flash metering modes. I couldn't detect a difference for 90% of the shots that I took during the test. The only time the new ADI preflash metering would help is if the subject is near a highly reflective surface like a mirror.

 

For the record, I didn't buy it because the Maxxum 7 was released. Currently, I think B&H sells the Maxxum 7 for about $100 more. Therefore, I saw no reason to buy the 800si. The Maxxum 7's grip felt better in my hands and I like the dial interface much more.

[robert_krapfl]

I have an 800si and a Maxxum 7. They are really very different cameras. I actually prefer the grip of the 800si. The 7 feels a little too thin to me. The 800si also has a more powerful flash built in and it zooms as well. The 7 is fixed. I have not noticed any difference in the metering ability of the cameras for flash or otherwise. The 800si has lots of automatic modes. If you like to shoot with these it is an ideal camera. However I do prefer the way the 7 works. I like the dial controls and the ability to quickly change whatever setting I can imagine. The 800si requires the opening of a door and a really good memory to change most of the settings. The dials on the 7 make it very easy to set over and under exposure conditions for both the ambient exposure and the flash exposure independently. While the 800si can also do this it is nowhere near as intuitive as simply looking at the appropriate dials. The 7 also does quite a few things that the 800si can't do but none of them are vital to getting a good shot.

 

I would not describe the 800si as being "out of date". If you are the type of photographer who wants to, for instance, set the camera for "landscape" and know that it will always pick a fast enough shutter speed to allow hand holding at whatever focal length you are using while trying to stop down the lens as much as possible. This truly allows you to worry about other things. In this situation with the 7 you also have to keep an eye on the shutter speed to make sure it is fast enough to hand hold. I'm not sure I have explained it well but my point is that some photographers would prefer the 800si to the 7.

 

For myself, I consider the Maxxum 7 to be a superior camera. But the 800si is still a great camera. I hope this helps.