Took possession with no manual and had no trouble figuring out all the functions. Easy to use, apparently doesn''t use the battery at all.

Tends to drift into "no aperture/shutter combo possible" mode, get a lot of "no-shots" around sunset, but even that is avoidable in Manual mode.

Inherited this from a friend a couple of months ago and have been having a blast. Full range of exposure modes, very versatile for a cheapie.

Customer Service

Haven''t had it long enough

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE-1 Canon A-2

Good design, nice zoom, tons of features, the flash works well, not a lot of red eye.

The lens tended to be made a little cheaply. Also, the price may be a little steep for some.

If you are a casual photographer, then this is a really good camera to try.

Customer Service

Didn't need any.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Small light weight.

Built in spot meter. Non spot meter Honeycomb metering system performed flawlessly for me too.

TTL flash never overexposed my slides.

Had this camera for eight years and left it to scorch in my car every summer and freeze in the winter - never had any problems.

Leave the camera on and it won't drain batteries. Mines been on for months now.

Dummy lights for exposure in viewfinder - no aperture/shutter speed info in view-finder (but it is displayed on LCD panel on top of camera.

Shakes a lot on firing - use heavy tripod for shots of cities at night.

I wished for a date/time stamp.

Will not fire if subject not focused, even at f/16... Will always fire in manual mode though.

Great performer for the price. Get this for $150 and the Minolta 50 1.7 for $50 and you have a great picture taker.

Customer Service

Never had to use.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N60

Extremely easy handled camera. It is as simple as you can get, yet features honeycomb and spot metering, full manual capablity as well as A and S priority modes. A nice touch is a metal lens mount, which pleasantly differs it from low-end si models.

No flash. No viewfinder data display, which makes it impossible to record exposure data in automatic mode. No eye-start or any high-tech features of more expensive models.

Excellent choice for spare body. In many instances I was able to get results comparable to 9xi thanks to manual control and spot metering. I would also argue that this is the best camera for a beginner who wants to really get into it, not just wasting film on snapshots. Besides, you can buy it used (Minolta does not produce it any more) for about a hundred bucks.

Customer Service

did not need since 1993

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Maxxum 9xi, 400si

A good basic camera for amateur/hobbyist. One reason I choose this camera so all my family members can use easily. No complaint so far. If you are a beginner wanting to learn any "non-auto" technique, Try this one.

No weakness for that kind of price I've paid. If you want an ultra automatic camera, maybe this is not the one.

Like all people said, buy a cheap but reliable body, and invest with expensive but high quality lens. 2xi is the thing that u can start with.

Customer Service

No needed so far.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AE-1
Canon Rebel 2000