bought second hand w/ 28-105xi zoom for $400. IN 1996, SEEMED A GOOD DEAL AT THE TIME. flawless metering in the P mode. great pop up flash,use it when it pops up to great advantage or simply push it down to cancel. fast accurate AF, made in Japan,substancial in one's hands,solid but don't drop it!

still refer to the manual!almost too much wizardry.no manual zoom or focus with xi lenses. focus lock is trickey.need I say creative cards,yet I still use the ten I own

now I want a new 9xi and minolta pro glass,but the 7xi stays w/ me til something out there proves it can replace it.

Customer Service

minoltaUSA in NJis professional,knowledgeable,polite,and easy to deal with if you ever have a problem,

Similar Products Used:

canon 650, nikon f3,canon ae-1,minolta8000i,9000 etc.

Extremely Rugged Camera. Very easy to use. Has many many features, not found in newer cameras

Creative Cards. What a pain

Very good camera

Customer Service

POOR

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Cameras ( many ) , and Nikon Cameras ( many )

Quality of Build, Speed of Autofocus, Speed of Motordrive, Metering, Flash System.

Uses Batteries Relatively quickly. Now that I don't shoot as often as I used to this isn't such a big deal, but when I used to shoot a couple of rolls of film a week, I was replacing the battery every couple of months.

Very good value in an older camera that still outperforms all but the "pro" models out today. For example, the Pentax PZ-1 came out at the same time as the 7xi, was not as good a camera then, and still is considered Pentax's top of the line.

Customer Service

Wouldn't know. I have never had any problems with my bodies, lenses, or flash.

Similar Products Used:

I have several friends with the Canon Autofocus line. Eos-1n has tons of features, very well built, virtually indestruc

Fairly fast AF, lots of features with potential for more via cards. Fast shutter speed, spot metering, close-to-foolproof automatic metering (14-segment honeycomb), powerful built-in flash, remote flash capability with 3500xi is REALLY nice - allows for great flash shots with a minimum of knowledge and expenditure. Superb ergonomics in terms of shape/fit of camera and position of wheels, also feels very well constructed, esp. compared to 1999 mid-range models from Minolta, Nikon & Canon.

Had an LCD problem just before 2-yr. warranty expired; no problem in many years since. Some features would be better built-in versus requiring cards (cards are a nuisance, but better than not having the option at all). In many years, I never did get used to the button menus that are used to change modes.

When new, the 7xi provided tons of features for the money. In 2000, it's still a very capable camera, and at a price of roughly $200-$250 in the used market, it's an alternative to the low-end Minolta bodies that's worth considering for its capabilities. I recently bought a 600si that I enjoy using much better because of the 600si's retro-style user interface. However, the much-older 7xi is still a more comfortable camera to hold; the 7xi feels much more solid & sturdy; the 7xi has faster AF, and a faster shutter speed. Obviously, the 700si, 800si and 9, are superior to the 7xi. The 7xi does not have DOF preview, a feature I have really learned to enjoy with the 600si. All in all, though, when the 7xi was new, it was a very powerful camera at a great price, and in the used market today, compared to other cameras with a similar price tag, that statement still probably holds true.

Customer Service

LCD problem was fixed by Minolta in NJ and returned to me within a week under warranty. Have not had to deal with customer service again in many years since.

Similar Products Used:

Many manual focus cameras, several AF cameras by Nikon & Canon.

Well built fast and reliable.

Card system.

Great camera, getting a bit old though. Anyone want to swap it with the new Minolta 9?

Similar Products Used:

None

After 7 years of using this camera, I found that currently vendors do not provide same features in a single camera- excluding pro models.

Probably using cards is the best approach to do things in some situations, but in others is not at all. I would say an extension like a data back or whatever should be provided as well (the strength of Nikon in this area)

Minolta is not appreciated in the pro-level but on the other hand it is the company that gives you the best for your money.

This camera gives you the feeling of a pro-camera since the first time you hold.
The camera is pioneering several areas, metering is excellent, AF is near to perfect.
The camera has a P&P mode that you can reach by just pressing the P button but while there you can override S & A to switch to the Pa or Ps mode.

Especially this feature is lacking in most current models by several vendors.

By using the XI-lenses, the camera will zoom the lens to a proper value to execute a shooting decision made by the internal CPU (landscape, close-up, etc...) Using XI-lenses is a bit noisy and eats lots of batteries.

Flash pops-up automatically for you but you can change this default setting.

On the other side, there is no DOP, MLU.

Overall, this camera will satisfy your photographic interests.
The camera received many awards, by the way.

Customer Service

Locally, it is a nightmare and Minolta, or others, should look after those remote service centers.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Heavy body (I like it)

Usually flash pops up automatically (but you can stop this with the custom card),

it could be probelematic to get expansion cards now because Minolta has stopped this system

The only thing I miss is a 100% viewfinder. Everything else is nearly perfect for my use.

Customer Service

Poor ! The small button on the front to arrest the lens got lost. Minolta had to replace the whole front. Repair was about $150 for a 10 Cent piece.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Dynax 500si

Strongly build. The camera never let me down and is still looking very good.

Far too many, and batteryconsuming (!), electronic gimmicks.
No direct visual control of depth-of-field in viewfinder.

This was my first AF-camera. I used it 9 for years (without a case), in Holland and during moutainholidays, in and out of my backpack. During the first half year it was batteryconsuming because I constantly switched the camera off during my walks through nature (just hoping to save the batterie). I hardly ever used the special functions of the XI-camera + XI-lens 28-105 mm. (expert-zoomsystem). Setting different functions takes uneasy combinations of pressing tiny knops and turning wheels.
Nevertheless, a mechanically strong camera, good optical results of the lens and I was happy with the AF-functioning and the exposureresults.
For my taste this camera is out-dated by now.

Customer Service

I asked for the reason why I had to replace batteries so often. Got a satisfying answer within a reasonable time.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus OM-2n.
Nikkormat FT-n

Fast autofocus, especially in good lighting; great metering; excellent build quality; neat features with the expansion cards.

Metering might hunt a little in low light; eats batteries like crazy.

Great great camera. Better than most of the beginner SLRs out there today. I would suggest getting a clean Maxxum 7xi used over a new Rebel almost any day. Even though its an older model, compared to the Rebel 2000, the 7xi's autofocus is much faster, metering is more consistent, and the build quality is much much better. Compared to the Canon A2, I think 7xi has better build quality, flash system, and metering, but not as nice in terms of features, autofocus, and motordrive. A very nice camera, that holds its own in today's market.

Customer Service

Never needed.

Similar Products Used:

Canon Eos A2, Elan II, and Rebel; NIkon F, F3; Pentax K1000 (of course!).

Feels good to hold, ergonomically sound, well thought out overall design. Intuitive controls and 1 button turns it into a point and shoot when you need to hand it off to someone. Wireless flassh with 3500/5400.

Well built and durable?!? My 7xi must have been dropped on the floor and put back on the assembly line. 2 fixes for a shutter curtain and aperture problems. Program cards are ridiculous... I've always thought it a frail camera.

I see numerous reviews with praise for its durability, but mine was 3 years old when I mailed it back to fix a shutter curtain that wouldn't close. When it was 5 years old when I discovered the aperture on my 28-80xi lens wouldn't stop down. A lens problem ,but nonetheless telling of minolta's build quality. It has gone with me into the Colorado Rockies numerous times; I guess babying it in my lap all those years wouldn't help an already frail design. I'm getting a Tamron 28-300 to upgrade this thing while I evaluate my next SLR purchase. At least Tamron does a full 6year warranty... And I'm buying a Nikon next!

Similar Products Used:

Canon, Nikon