price; body is able to use minolta lenses;reliability

auto focus hunts and
sometimes gives up;
flash electronics not
reliable

camera easy to use;bad autofocus and flash electronics control. i bought it as my first foray into auto-focus because it felt
more rugged than the pentax or canon bodies.
after 21 years of medium format i may not switch
to 35mm. am looking for a 600 or 700si
for one last try at 35mm.

Customer Service

not yet needed

Similar Products Used:

pentax zx, canon eos
went from medium format
to 35mm.

Price, price, price (see comments). Easy to use, once mastered. All digital, led, etc. name brand recognition -- I mean did'nt minolta invent the consumer autofocus. Also, once you familiarize yourself with the best photo settings for specific shootings, the camera really does take some fine pictures, worth spending more on developing, enlarging, etc.

The camera actually had problems after being exposed to drizzle and very high humidity in northwest coastal rainforest -- but it did fine after drying out a little. Definitely no biggie.

Okay, here's the incredible deal. Tristatecamera.com has these puppies for an incredible deal: $220. I first called about this deal and the salesperson told me that they are refurbished and currently out of stock and probably won't get anymore -- to call back in a couple of weeks. I decided "what the heck" and instead ordered it anyway online that very same day. About 2 weeks later, just like that, it showed up in the mail. And, I swear it's brand new, everything was in immaculate condition and fully sealed in the original packaging. The only thing missing was the upc scanning bar code on the box. It was cut out -- obviously making reselling it at retail impossible. Folks, this was one of my better online deals, and I only buy big discounted items online as a general rule. So, based on the obvious price-value relationship, how can I possibly give less than great ratings.

Similar Products Used:

olympus om2s, yashica zoomimage 99, minolta maxxum 300si, canon ae1

Versatality, handles very comfortably.
Feels perfect when handling and gives confidence.

None so far.

Excellent choice for a beginner, amateur or professional. Not too complicated to handle.

Similar Products Used:

None

Affordable. Light. Visually pleasing and user-friendly design. Gives you complete control over exposure settings with aperture/shutter priority, and full manual control. Has exposure conpensation.

Cannot really grow with your abilities. Doesn't have DOF preview, multiple exposures, cable release capabilities (so that you must hold on to the button for bulb!), or any metering options. Too many preset exposure options (landscape, portrait, close-up, etc.), I don't see how they make a difference.

This is (or was) one of the most popular beginner camera, probably because salespeople push it really hard onto people buying their first SLRs. I would not recommend buying it even if you are a beginner as it will not be able to grow with your skills since it lacks even the most basic options, especially the cable release and metering control. Spend a couple hundred dollars more for something like the Canon Elan 7e or Nikon N80. You won't regret it!

Customer Service

Never used.

Similar Products Used:

None. This is my first SLR.

Very easy to learn & use
Very good red-eye reducing
Ergonomic
Easy to handle

No auto-flash
Slow auto-focus
No DOF preview
A little problems with light meter
Standard objective has too small range (35-70)

A great camera for beginners and casuals. Gives a full control of picture parameters. It has some useful functions.

Customer Service

Never needed

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 505si Super
Cannon EOS 300

excellent for cassual photographers. am able to expand and learn.

with a big zoom lens or multiplier have to use manual focus. af a little slow. no cable release.

very happy with the unit. it has taught me other ways to take photos. i specialize in taking lightning photos and arson photos. have not experienced any problems except got a drop of water for additional flash unit and flash would not work until was dry.

Customer Service

non

Similar Products Used:

None

Many different programs.
Great picture quality.
+5/-5 1/2 bracketing.

Lacks different mettering patterns.

Great camera for a person just starting to get into photography. Reasonably priced. Multi programs. Also has P M S A programs. This was my first camera and has produced great pictures. I have recently moved up to a Nikon N90s which is a big step.

Customer Service

No need for it.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N90s
Nikon N80
Canon Ellan 7e
Canon A2e
Canon AE-1P
Canon AV-1

Easy to use
Bright viewfinder
Accurate metering

Poor AF - often hunts like mad and is pretty slow
Noisy shutter/mirror
Plastic lens mount

Ditched this for the 600 si as I needed more advanced features and better AF. Good beginner's camera though.

Customer Service

Not used

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 600si

light, easy to use, wireless flash

slow AF, lacks small but imporant features.

one of the most easier to operate cameras I used.
one knob uses to select automatic/creative mode and one button can reset to fully-automatic.
but very slow motor - 1 frame/sec
slow AF
primitive 2-segment metering system
and so and so
If I had to choose again I'd choose the 505si body and pays the not-so-many-more bucks

Customer Service

never needed

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 505si
Minolta 800si

- Light weigth
- Easy film loading
- Wireless flash control
- Manual light compensation
- Continous AF (Slow I might add)

- Poor built
- Plastic lens mount
- Plastic flash mount
- Very slow AF
- Ackward user interface
- Impossible to use the viewfinder in bright light
- Inaccurate light meter
- Slow winder
- Noisy
- Hard to find accesories in Denmark at fair prices
- Missing split-picture for manual focus
- Missing DOF-preview

I think this is the biggest 'purchase by mistake' i have ever done!!!
Looking for a AF body this was offered at a great price, and came included with 28-80mm and 100-300mm zoom lenses from Voightländer. This camera takes picture like a cheap fix-focus point and shoot camera in the 30$ price range. Unsharp, grainy in poor light. A bit sharper in good light, but not nearly as sharp as my good old MF body would produce. I also find the user interface clumsy and very hard to operate 'in blind'.
This was my first and last Minolta Camera period, ill stick with Pentax body's in the future. They are worth the higher price, and are better built.

/Bjarne

Customer Service

Havent needed it.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax MZ-7
Pentax P30T