Long battery life. Ergonomics excellent
Sturdy and well made
Very accurate exposures
AE lock

1/60 flash sync

Lots of talk of the X700 being a beginners camera. I am 80 years old and have been dotty over photography since I was 13. I have used many cameras including Leica M6, Rollei, Olympus OM-1 plus point and shoots. I have had the Minolta for 17 years and find it the best of the lot. Nature pictures, party pictures, sport pictures, what have you? Very rare to have a failure with this camera.Good MD lenses available but I prefer the f1.4 50mm.for grab shots. I use A and M and find that P, with the 132 PX dedicated flash, always seems to use a wide open f ftop, screwing up flash shots at weddings and parties. Rarely do I use P and see little need for it. I should buy another new X700 body as a reserve but the one I bought so long ago shows no sign of failure. Lots of brass showing and I am pround of that. The MD lenses are outstanding and I don't think I would give up my Minolta system for any plastic AF on the market.
This is not a beginner only camera. It will do excellent work for any photographer

Customer Service

Never had a need

Similar Products Used:

Olympus OM-1

perfect metering system, lots of accessoires, lots of lenses on second hand market (both own brand en independent manufacturers), rugged, size.

You must be kidding!

A very well built camera, suitable for beginners, advanced amateurs and professionals. In fact I know a couple of professionals who favour the X-700 over a Nikon! I own several Minoltas (a total of 7) and a couple of X-700s, since there is not one camera out there which has all the features one needs. They all have the same rugged built quality; my XMs are showing signs of use but work perfect. One of my X-700s once got jammed with the mirror up and the aperture control pin in closed position. But the camera was not to blame: I should not have connected 2 Vivitar 283 flashguns and a Minolta 360PX all together to the hotshoe... The power of the current fried the electronics. Oh, by the way: the X-700 does not have a spot meter; it is center weighted with Minolta's "final check". This means the camera's metering chip actually decides on the final exposure just after the aperture is closed and just before the mirror flips up. (The slap of the shutter as some people call it is in fact the mirror!) This system is used by the XD-7 as well. It works perfect; you can use old Auto-Rokkors without MC-lug even in P-mode. You will not get any information in the viewfinder about the shutterspeed, but exposure will be perfect. The shutterspeed can be as long as 30 seconds in Auto-mode, which is not mentioned in official documentation. All my Minoltas have been bought second hand, so they already have seen a life of duty before. I do not abuse my gear, but I use it frequently and all bodies are in perfect working condition after quite a lot of years. The X-700s are the "youngest", but I expect them to keep on working for quite some time.

Customer Service

Needed once; expensive! I had the screen changed as well, so I saved some money on shipment en service.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta SRT-303, XM, XE-1, XD-7.

easy to use controls, meter is usually right on, lots of used lenses that are good quality but cheap, has Program, Aperture-Priority and full Manual modes, Depth of Field preview

only shows suggested shutter in viewfinder not speed that is set

Purchased this camera to replace a Minolta SRT 202 that was my dad's he already had a few lenses and this seemed the most cost effective route to go. I love this camera!! It is a bit heavier than most new SLRs but is still great. You can pick up used lenses at ebay or KEH for a steal and rapidly have a great system. Since it isn't auto focus I find myself spending more time composing a shot and get better results. This is a great beginner camera that will grow with you.

Customer Service

have not used

Similar Products Used:

Minolta STR 202, Minolta 700si, Pentax, Minolta Vectis S-1

Excellent body, solid

None

This is a great camera. I find it an absolute shame that Minolta have discintinued this camera for cheaper plasticy bodies and idiot proof cameras. In spekaing with Minolta Canada I was told there is NO demand for manual cameras anymore. Perhaps but if you look at the way MD equipment goes on places like Ebay then Minolta is missing a business opportunity. A real shame in this age of the retro Thunderbird that Minolta doesn't reintroduce its manual beauties. Just my 5 cents worth.

Similar Products Used:

SRT101, 201, XG1

Solid construction
Easy to use
Numerous lenses available
Long battery life

No shutter speed in viewfinder

A real work-horse suitable for freelance photography

Customer Service

Never had to use

Similar Products Used:

SRT 101, Ricoh, Yashica

Solid construction
Auto setting works well
Buttons in right places (such as DOF preview and exposure lock)
Can use cable release
Feels good in hands

Viewfinder doesn't give manual shutter setting (can be misleading while shooting)
Slow flash sync speed

For quite a while, I had a Minolta X-370 and a Nikon FA for use. Since it was a royal pain to lug duplicate lens sizes for both cameras, I had to choose one over the other. This is going to drive some people insane, but one of the reasons I chose to keep the Minolta is that it was a gift from my father. It was that simple.

I've always been very happy with the X-370, and I've found that the lenses to be comparable if not superior to their Nikon counterparts (say what you will; I'm just going by my own experience).

The X-700 has worked wonderfully, with one exception, which is why it's getting four instead of five stars. When shooting manually in the X-370, the display comes with two lights, the one the light meter recommends shooting at and a blinking light that indicates your manual setting. It could act as a type of shutter priority; you simply set the shutter speed to where you want, and keep turning the aperture ring until both lights occupied the same shutter setting.

For reasons unknown to me, Minolta abandoned this, probably thinking it was too confusing to have two lights in the viewfinder. For me, it's quite the opposite. Since I usually set the camera to 1/1000th of a second when advancing a new roll of film, I sometimes forget to switch it back over to aperture priority. So when I look through the viewfinder, I just see the meter recommendation EVEN THOUGH I'M STILL SET AT 1/1000. Now, I know that there's a small "M" on the upper right, but I'm just not used to looking there. I assume I'm in automatic mode, and I start shooting. I've lost more than a few photos because of this.

Overall, it's still a great camera, and if you don't mind taking your eye from the viewfinder to check your shutter speed, it's well worth the money. WELL worth it.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

None

• tuff plastic over metal body.
• program exposure useful for beginers
• good asa range(with compensation up to 6400)
• indicator on top of film counter that shows if film is loaded.
• 95% viewfinder
• built in hand grip
• 2 motor drive options
• accurate electronic timer
• exp comp indicator in viewfinder
• nice shutter sound?
• beep beep sound can be switched off.

• doesnot show shutter speeed in finder in manual mode, which can be irritating
• discontinued

very good value for money especially for a 95% viewfinder.
it is nice to hold and feels solid even though it is make of plastic.
if yo ucan find a good one second hand buy it with a 50mm lens, then you have a good small body for everyday use.

Customer Service

none yet

Similar Products Used:

• nikon fe, fe2, fg

best camera for a beginner

None

i'm only 20 this year, my uncle passed down this camera to me 'cause he knew i was gonna study in a art collage and i was so very into photography.

i've used this camera for about 3 years and it has'nt given me any problems at all. this camera is gonna stick with me for life! (well.. not until i get a mamiya of course.. heh)

Similar Products Used:

None

ABILITY TO CONTROL NEARLY ALL FACETS OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESS.
WIDE VARIETY OF LENSES TO CHOOSE FROM
QUALITY CONSTRUCTION
SERVICE AND REPAIR MINIMAL (IF ANY!)

NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION

I REALLY, REALLY LOVE THIS CAMERA! IT IS A WORK HORSE. I HAVE TAKEN IT OVER LAND AND SEA, HIKING, CAMPING BOATING, I HAVE NEVER DAMAGED IT (WHICH I CANT SAY FOR MY OWN BODY!) AND PICTURE QUALITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD.

Customer Service

ONLY HAD TO HAVE THE CAMERA SERVICED ONCE. THIS WAS BY MY CHOICE NOT BECAUSE OF DAMAGE. IT WAS A CLEANING I HAD DONE AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF CAMPING AND HIKING-AND I MOSTLY JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS IN TIP T0P SHAPE BEFORE I HEADED OUT FOR ANOTHER LONG SET OF PHOTOGRAPHIC TRIPS.

Similar Products Used:

IN COLLEGE I USED A PENTAX AND A NIKON, BUT ONLY BRIEFLY, ONCE I GOT THE X-7OO I NEVER WORKED WITH ANYTHNG ELSE. THE VERSITILITY AND EASE OF USE JUST CANT BE FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE.

It's an inexpensive, quality camera, with good availability of lenses & accessories.

Metered manual exposure mode should be better. It's a nearly 20 year old design, Minolta isn't putting much effort into the MD lens line anymore.

I bought mine used, so it was an outstanding value, still a good value new. It's a pretty sturdy camera, with a good set of features. Program and the more useful aperture priority modes, plus metered manual (but it doesn't show the set shutter speed in the viewfinder in manual). The PC sync socket is cool, as is DOF preview. Used lenses & accessories are plentiful & inexpensive. A good, solid value in a camera.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FG, Canon AE-1.