Bright finder, excellent
Works with any MD series lens
AE works well and accurate

No built in flash but nothing else

The X700 is an excellent camera for the novice or expert appearing fairly rugged. The view finder is brighter then others used in the past with a simple layout on settings. The MD lens are still available new and used with little searching and reasonable prices. Overall, this camera has served me very well equipted with the auto winder, mainly using a 28-105 F4 lens, and the now discontinued Kodak Royal Gold 25 film I have produced many great prints up to 20"x30". I would recommend this unit to anyone who truely wants to learn photography or as a very reliable backup. For the money new one of the best manual cameras I've ever used.

Customer Service

None required to date after 3 years

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FM10, Pentax K1000

The camera is simple to use and fairly reliable. It is also pretty durable considering its plastic body. Mine has held up well over the last 16 years despite taking many lumps and bumps.

Bracketing is important in achieving desired exposures as the light meter strikes me as less accurate than most.
High wear on plastic winder parts resulted in a couple of repairs.
Currently have occasional problem with the mirror sticking in up position. This is likely a factor of age, however.

It's a pretty decent performer and is simple to use. Beginners that don't mind a manual focus camera should be pleased. The price seems high, however, considering how closely more contemporary models are priced. Few new accessories are available, and those that are available brand new are expensive.

Customer Service

Very helpful.

Similar Products Used:

Occasional test drives of a variety of modern gear.

ergonomics,layout,simplicity,older models are Jap built,exp-comp,dof...

in manual you must remove your eye from the finder to check if settings are correct...

very cheap to buy new,or they show up used,often at give away prices.tons of good zooms of every focal combo and brand around,I just bought a 50-135mm MD f3.5 Minolta zoom at a pawn shop for $7.00 that is nearly new.alas,the whole manual focus,low tech,system camera does'nt really suit the photographer on the go,shooting sports,partys,journalism;but for a landscape,a portrait,macro,or just a walk in the woods,this camera system can deliver the shot.for the culmination of minolta's manual focus line to be the x-700 makes me wonder about my need or rather desire for the 800si.in 1967 I would have felt I'd died and gone to heaven to have such a camera in my hands.in 2000 though I see it as a bit of history.starter camera? I'd rather a beginner buy an old TLR and really learn the craft.the x-700 has a reason for being, I'm just not sure I understand what it has that say a 400si lacks.the x-700 falls way short of low end AF systems in flash capability for one thing.for the entry level preson to see an x-700 w/ 50mm f1.7 for$249.99 and a 500si w/ 28-80 4.0-5.6AF for$259.99...which would you suggest? for the pro or wannabe pro,he just snagged an old F-3hp off the used shelf for $495. and bought himself into worldwide,world class support.

Customer Service

minolta usa NJ gets way too much bad mouthing,to have a friend,be a friend...inside old timers give good advise on products they know and personally enjoy.

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ae-1 ae-1p f-1 f-3hp sr-t101,102,201 xg-a, eg-m,beseler topcon auto100,xg-7...

Very easy to use camera, auto exposure settings or you can perform this function manually.

The shutter speed dial can be inadvertently changed. This is a problem when using a flash.

This is an excellent camera for the money. It allows for both auto exposure or manual overide. It is very durable and has a lot of good Minolta technology built into it. Recommended for beginner to expert level.

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

Minolta X -370
Nikon N2000

As my first non-p&s camera it was nice to learn on and it is good for its value.

Has broken several times, and it is expensive to fix. Braketing is a must because the light meter isn't very consistent.

Good for begininers, as you advance in experience it is alright to have but can leave alot to be desired.

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First slr camera

-program mode
-apeture priority mode
-fully manual mode
-accurate metering system
-has motordrive capability
-inexpensive used lenses
-simple to use
-inexpensive(around $50 used; $220 new)

-shutter is operated by batteries
-eats up batteries

Sometimes you can luck out buying these used at your local thrift stores. Most people think they broken. In most cases the batteries are dead. I picked one up for $30 with a standard minolta 50mm/1.7 lens.

This little camera is wonderful for any occation. One can be a begginer or a pro. When you hold this camera, you would be suprised at how easy it is to use. It's user friendly!

Don't worry about not having lenses for this camera. There are many selections. It can easily be a systems camera.

Love it.

Similar Products Used:

canon AE1program; nikon FM

A reliable camera. I can either go totally manual as long as the battery is in good working order or go fully automatic without worrying about the results. I'm on my second body and will get a 3rd just because. I can even trust a refurbished unit. That's how reliable this camera.

Flash synch only goes to 1/60th.

The X-700 is a great beginner, intermediate, advance, expert and professional camera. You can't go wrong with this one. Auto-focus is convenient. This camera will do you no wrong.

Customer Service

Good service from corporate and authorized repair service centers.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta SRT-101

Great beginners camera, wodnerful feel, easily accessed controls, good value for its price

Mine broke, still not sure how-i bought it used so it may have been broken previously. My first problem was a sticky film advancer, which I had fixed. Then the mirror dropped out and couldn't be put back in without repair. I was sad to aprt with the camera, but I was saving up for a much more advanced camera (which i now have) so I returned the camera for a full refund to the dealer and got an X-GM very cheap from a friend to tide me over.

As long as yours is not broken like mine was (it was probably handled poorly before I got it,) its a wonderful camera that I wish I'd never had to give up.

Similar Products Used:

X-GM, X-370, Nikon FM10

Very reliable and durable; I've been using it since 1983 without any problems.

I think the greatest strength of this camera is its flash metering system. Using the Auto280PX flash in Program Flash Mode, it's almost impossible to fool this camera into making a poor exposure even if you try. I've taking flash photos of people's faces from less than 1.5 ft. and the exposure is perfect. In winder-sync mode you can take flash photos at 2fps. And you can control your depth-of-field by setting your own aperture and the system will control the exposure by changing the duration of the flash pulse.

None

Contrary to some of the other reviews, this is not a fully manual camera; it's a fully automatic "program" camera with manual focus. I use mine in Program mode almost exclusively with excellent results. This is an old camera design but it was state-of-the-art in its day. I think it's smart of Minolta to have continued making this camera, because more recent designs can't match it's functionality at anything close to it's price.

Customer Service

Never needed any

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Canon AE-1

Great starter camera. Plenty of features for the amatuer. I sold mine when I purchased my A2 and I wish that I had kept it. The Camera is very durable and exposure is is very accurate. The features on the Camera are very easy to use.

None

Great Starter camera for the price.

Customer Service

Never Needed

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Canon A2
Canon Elan II
Nikon FM2