The collection of 7 series saga continues!

[jamesdak]

Well, I just learned a valuable lesson this morning. Don't try to

sneak in Ebay bidding while I work. I accidently wound up bidding

and winning two different X-7A's for my collection of Minolta 7

series bodies. I was popping on line real quick at work yesterday

bidding on one and mistakenly put a bid on another I was watching.

Won both, go figure! Gonna be in the doghouse with the wife again

when they both show up! Maybe I'll be able to trade one down the

road for another 7 series I need. Oh well, lesson learned. Now,

back to the hunt!

[andykowalczyk]

<p>Who knows - maybe you'll need the second for parts.

 

<p>Isn't this disease terrible? A few years ago I won an auction for an SRT-101. The seller was somebody who just scrounged estate sales and didn't know cameras. He just advertised it as "old Minolta camera". But the picture of the items showed the unmistakable profile of the MC 58 f/1.2 - so I wound up with an SRT-102, a rechargeable Vivitar flash with spare battery, and my dream lens - all for less than what the lens would have sold for if properly advertised! I figured I would resell the SRT and flash and wind up with a nearly free treasure.

 

<p>Then I made a fatal mistake - I burned a roll of film through the SRT. I fell in love with the camera. So I even paid for a <a href="http://www.photo.net/mjohnston/column18/index.html"> "Clean, Lube and Adjust" </a> and wound up getting other lenses so I can have separate kits - an all-metal early MC and SRT kit; 2 X-570 with late MC and MD Rokkor-x lenses; and an X-700 with MD lock lenses.

<p>I lived in Lexington, Mass. for 8 years and got to know a lot of re-enactors - I guess some of their attitude rubbed off and I needed to keep things authentic within their period :)

[jamesdak]

Boy it is a disease. I first starting shooting with a 7000i then upgraded to a 7xi and finally bought a Maxxum 7. Then my teenage son said he wanted a camera so I decided to get him a manual camera that he could really learn on. I hit E-bay looking for a X-700 and made the mistake of discoving all the wonderful prices for used MF gear. I got his X-700 and then bought myself a SRT-101. Wow, what a solid camera! From there the fever just grew and grew. I now have around a dozen Minolta 7 series bodies along with the SRT-101 a SRT-101b, and a Mamiya 645 1000s that I've used for years. And I actually still use them all for different purposes. While it's convienent to use the 7D there's just something satisfying about slowing down and really working the composure with a body like my XE-7. I won't even go into how sexy the XD-7 looks and feels to use, I love that camera. But anyway, I still need to pick up another 7000i (sold my original years ago) and a 700si and I'll at least have all the AF bodies covered. Not taking into account the European and japenese version. At least, not yet, LOL!!

[theaudiodoc]

Sorry Jim!

If you got my tip about one of them, then maybe I'm partly to blame! If you need me to take one off your hands to save you some grief with your wife, let me know.

Robert

[john_wehlitz]

Jim,

I know what you mean about the XE-7. It's still my favorite 35mm SLR; the one that usually get's used when I shoot 35mm. My collection of cameras isn't exactly systematic though, I have the the XE-7, my old SRT-101, a Maxxum 7000, and another Maxxum that's been stashed away and whose model I can't remember right now.

[jamesdak]

My problem is solved. My son's X-700 just died so he'll get the extra X-7A. His X-700 had blinking low batt light. We replaced the batteries and the low batt light did not change. Cleaned battery compartment, no dice. Then it just died. We were out shooting in the middle of a wildbird refuge at the time. Luckly I had brought one of my SRT's with me and he was able to use that as a backup.

[andykowalczyk]

Does the dead X-700 still count for purposes of your collection, or does it have to be working? :)

[jamesdak]

I prefer working as I do use them all at different times. We were out in the field when it died and I had a spare SRT-101 for him to use so I really didn't look closely at it. I had given him new batteries to put in but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed so it would not surprise me to find that he got the new and old batteries mixed up. I just haven't taken the time to check it out. If the batteries are good I'll try to open it up and check the power circuit. The mirror did return the last time it fired so I don't think it's the common capacitor dying problem. Fortunately, if it is dead it'll give me a excuse to buy another X-700. This one is quite beat up looking and that's why I felt ok handing it off to my son to use. The SRT-101 I originally bought him was much to nice to hand over to him. His idea of camera storage is to throw it and the lens into a junk drawer with a bunch of other misc. stuff.