Minolta Maxxum 7000 - Landmark AF camera

[maiku]

<p>Photo 6</p><div></div>

[maiku]

<p>Photo 7</p><div></div>

[maiku]

<p>Photo 9</p><div></div>

[maiku]

<p>Last one</p><div></div>

[JDMvW]

<p>Nice work, Michael. I'd love to try one of the primes on my Maxxum. I've been watching for one, but with the alpha Sony systems and all, I suppose, they have maintained their values very well.</p>

<p>Not the least of the joys of shooting and writing up these older cameras, is then reading about how people remember them, and how they used them.</p>

<p>In the meantime, I shall be more 'deliberate' when I shoot it, and my cute little, slow zoom seems optically decent when you don't rush it. It is a very nice camera.</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Awesome pictures, Michael! I'm getting more and more excited about this camera. You seem to have high regard for the 50/1.7...is it worth adding to the inevitable list of Minolta AF lenses to acquire?</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>By the way, the Maxxum 7000 (and apparently the 5000, too) had different holders for different batteries, and here is some information that may be of use. The 4AAA holder (BH 70S)was the standard.<br>

There were 3 options:</p>

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<td colspan="2" width="147"><strong>Maxxum 7000 & 5000 battery holders</strong></td>

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<td>4 AAA batteries</td>

<td>BH 70S</td>

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<td>4 AA batteries</td>

<td>BH 70L</td>

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<td>1 2CR5 lithium</td>

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<p>BH 70T</p>

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[Mike Gammill]

And the small 1800AF flash could use either 4 AAA batteries or a single 6 volt lithium.

[maiku]

<p>Andy,</p>

<p>I loved the 50mm f1.7. In retrospect I should never have sold it. I sold it because I was totally ignorant about lenses at the time. It is the one sale of a camera item that I really regret.</p>

<p>Here is a link the Minolta AF first generation 50mm lenses. http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/maxxum7k/index7.htm.</p>

<p>I think the premium price would be for the f1.4. Good luck finding one!</p>

<p>Mike</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>Not many early Maxxum primes are available at reasonable prices. Besides the 50mm f1.7, the 28mm f2.8 is inexpensive. While it doesn't enjoy the reputation of the 28mm f2.0, it is a lot less expensive. The 24mm f2.8 is good, but more than the 28mm f2.8. The 135mm f2.8 was once reasonably priced, but in the last few years the price has really jumped. I have this lens and find it an excellent performer, even wide open. If you don't quite need the speed of the f1.7, the Maxxum 50mm f2.8 macro is a good bet as well. It is a good general purpose lens as well as a superb macro, but is big. On the plus side, it will focus down to 1:1 without extension tubes or supplementary lenses.</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Thanks for the link, Michael. I didn't realize mir.com had an article on the 7000, but I'm not surprised since they have so much info on so many different, significant cameras. KEH has some 50/1.4 lenses and several 50/1.7s as well. I may have to spring for one soon.</p>

[maiku]

<p>Andy,</p>

<p>Good luck with the purchase. I am sure you will be happy. Wide open the lens is a bit soft, but that is why I like it. If you want super sharp then just stop it down to f5.6, f8 or f11. You can see the funky bokeh and softness in the photo I post of the cattle. I like it a lot.</p>

<p>Here are some more.</p>

<p>I have a few more rolls of BW film that I need to scan taken with Minolta 7000 and 50mm f1.7 somewhere in my house.</p><div></div>

[maiku]

<p>Photo 11</p><div></div>

[maiku]

<p>Photo 12</p><div></div>

[maiku]

<p>Wrong Title for the last photo. DUH!</p>

[maiku]

<p>Photo 14</p><div></div>

[maiku]

<p>Photo 15</p><div></div>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Nice! Those are <em>very</em> sharp! Hmmm...time to shop for a lens.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>The 50 is very nice, and also fast enough to make the auto focus an actual, useful feature.</p>

[mdma]

<p>Hope you dont mind if another 7000 owner weighs in! Unlike JDM I think the camera is the epitome of mid-80s industrial design, and reckon its good looks are the best thing going for it! As has been mentioned before, the AF is slow, noisy, and requires alot of light. How much light? It struggled on an overcast day...<br>

IIRC Its not the easiest camera to operate either, mainly because it lacks any sort of control dial. Dont get me wrong, its not as if you need a degree in rocket science to use it, but operations on other cameras that would be trivial take longer on the 7000 due to the need of pressing two buttons at once. At least this is what I found when I last used it in December. Anyway I think Ill shut up now and let the camera do the talking :)</p><div></div>

[mdma]

<p>The first roll (which came with the £26 outfit) was Superia 400 X-TRA. I took it to the Park:</p><div></div>

[mdma]

<p>I scanned the negatives using a Epson v300 photo ( hey, Im a poor student!)</p><div></div>

[mdma]

<p>I made some minor adjustments with Photoshop Elements 8</p><div></div>

[mdma]

<p>This was my attempt at using the macro mode on my lens (more on that later)</p><div></div>

[mdma]

<p>I shot them all in P mode, and had a great time not focusing nor adjusting shutter speed/aperture for a change (my main camera was a OM-1n at the time). </p><div></div>