Minolta reccommednations?

[Tagore]

Welcome to the expensive hobby.

 

[reny]

Hello people,I am new to photography and this forum. Just thought I say hi

Am itching to buy a SLR for myself. I have decided that minolta is the way for me but I am still deciding between Dynax 60 and 7. Basically I am just looking for a good camera that allows me room to grow. And not something I will have to chuck aside within the next 2-3 years.

Anyone has any recommendation? Also are all the lenses plastic now ?

Thanks in advance for all your input.

you're right about the minolta winning when comparing with other brands. that's what tempts me to minolta also. my dynax 5 is comparable to nikon's F80 in many aspects. even reviews are comparing them side by side and nikon's f80 is considered the highest in their amateur range.

dynax 60 is beautiful... but speed only limits to 1/2000. dynax 7... if you dun mind the weight. hehe. one thing that won't make me change a camera is the lightness of dynax 5 (though the databack of 7 is appealing.)

i believe any camera mentioned... 5, 60, 7... u won't bear to chuck them aside, and any one of them will allow u lots of room to grow (even the sky is not the limit). of course, if you're a beginner, u may want to consider starting with something cheaper. there are second dynax 5 in the buy/sell now. can consider. cheap cheap. heh.

take note about 2nd hand market of minolta accessories though. while nikonians and canonians are resisting temptations from 2nd market, minoltians can only wait patiently for their ideal buy to appear.

 

[cora]

Wah! thank you for all your input! You make a newbie feel so damn welcomed

Will review my choices again. I actually have a minolta x700 passed down to me and realised that buying a new camera meant setting up a totally new collection of lenses altogether. A little heart pain. So i am trying to see if I can actually merge the two separate collections. That means the body matters thats why the headache.

 

[deslim27]

Wah! thank you for all your input! You make a newbie feel so damn welcomed

Will review my choices again. I actually have a minolta x700 passed down to me and realised that buying a new camera meant setting up a totally new collection of lenses altogether. A little heart pain. So i am trying to see if I can actually merge the two separate collections. That means the body matters thats why the headache.

May be this can be a solution for transition..

Adapter for MF lens to AF body.

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=88968

 

[Snowcrash]

Wah! thank you for all your input! You make a newbie feel so damn welcomed

Will review my choices again. I actually have a minolta x700 passed down to me and realised that buying a new camera meant setting up a totally new collection of lenses altogether. A little heart pain. So i am trying to see if I can actually merge the two separate collections. That means the body matters thats why the headache.

When comes to the lenses thing. I jump from dynax 5 to my eos5. Why? more canon users equal to more 2nd hand lenses on sale.

I sold my dynax 5 although I like it but no money to buy good first hand (and hard to find) lenses in singapore.

Strong point I like about dynax7 (bright and big viewfinder).

Invest wisely. Not cheap to switch system later on.

Happy shooting.

 

[cora]

you're right about the minolta winning when comparing with other brands. that's what tempts me to minolta also. my dynax 5 is comparable to nikon's F80 in many aspects. even reviews are comparing them side by side and nikon's f80 is considered the highest in their amateur range.

dynax 60 is beautiful... but speed only limits to 1/2000. dynax 7... if you dun mind the weight. hehe. one thing that won't make me change a camera is the lightness of dynax 5 (though the databack of 7 is appealing.)

i believe any camera mentioned... 5, 60, 7... u won't bear to chuck them aside, and any one of them will allow u lots of room to grow (even the sky is not the limit). of course, if you're a beginner, u may want to consider starting with something cheaper. there are second dynax 5 in the buy/sell now. can consider. cheap cheap. heh.

take note about 2nd hand market of minolta accessories though. while nikonians and canonians are resisting temptations from 2nd market, minoltians can only wait patiently for their ideal buy to appear.

You know a strange thing...a brand new dynax 5 is selling at about S$650 - 700 (cathayphotos/ mustafa) whereas a brand new dynax 60 is going at S$400 (allan photo) why huh? and the sales person tells me that dynax 5 is better than dynax 60. boy am i confused. I did check out the second hand prices for dynax 5 going at about S$280+ one year old.

pointers?

 

[blurblock]

You know a strange thing...a brand new dynax 5 is selling at about S$650 - 700 (cathayphotos/ mustafa) whereas a brand new dynax 60 is going at S$400 (allan photo) why huh? and the sales person tells me that dynax 5 is better than dynax 60. boy am i confused. I did check out the second hand prices for dynax 5 going at about S$280+ one year old.

pointers?

The morale of the story is ....... Minolta system has no resale value ..... outstanding camera, but no resale value. Good for people who are going for the photograph then going for investment.

 

[tbteng]

I just feel that Minolta has not done enough to create their value. That's why their customers are dwindling and jumping "ship".. They really need to step up a bit on their marketing efforts now that D7D is coming out soon.

 

[deslim27]

I just visited Buy/Sell and search thru page 1 to 4, not difficult to see that any film SLR is difficult to sell. The point is, film demand has dropped likewise for film camera including SLR, not brand specific..

 

[cora]

I just visited Buy/Sell and search thru page 1 to 4, not difficult to see that any film SLR is difficult to sell. The point is, film demand has dropped likewise for film camera including SLR, not brand specific..

actually even for digital depreciation is so great...sad sad. thanks for the input.

 

[TME]

Suggest that u start off with a 2nd hand Dynax 5... it has almost everything the 7 has except the databack and some functions like flash compensation, fewer AF points (I think only)... it's more than sufficient for a newbie's needs... invest on a good zoom lens Minolta's 24-85mm D lens would be excellent.... U can find this lens 2nd hand if u are patient....

 

[-7-]

Suggest that u start off with a 2nd hand Dynax 5... it has almost everything the 7 has except the databack and some functions like flash compensation, fewer AF points (I think only)... it's more than sufficient for a newbie's needs... invest on a good zoom lens Minolta's 24-85mm D lens would be excellent.... U can find this lens 2nd hand if u are patient....

Hi TME,

Sounds like someone is gonna let go his / her 24-85mm ... hmmm... interested in this lens, any lobang, pls. PM me...

 

[vivientan]

Hi TME,

Sounds like someone is gonna let go his / her 24-85mm ... hmmm... interested in this lens, any lobang, pls. PM me...

Hiyo, Stanley asked u guys to buy the 28-85mm right? Trust me, that lens has really good contrast!

 

[Toto38]

Hiyo, Stanley asked u guys to buy the 28-85mm right? Trust me, that lens has really good contrast!

OH YES!! I did told u and blurblock about it, but the rest don't know lah:dunno: Any way i have been using it with my 700si for long long time.
Cora, trust me! trust me! until now this camera still working very well and help me to earn alots of $$$$$!!The meter system no others brand can bit it. Even my son can take good exposure with no mistake but composition :blah:
VISIT my place with some kopi talk, you will be surprised all the wonderful pic. were taken by MINOLTA camera! So don't go for branded and expensive camera, SKILL come first!!
MINOLTA WORTH FOR YOU TO INVEST IT :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[vivientan]

OH YES!! I did told u and blurblock about it, but the rest don't know lah:dunno: Any way i have been using it with my 700si for long long time.
Cora, trust me! trust me! until now this camera still working very well and help me to earn alots of $$$$$!!The meter system no others brand can bit it. Even my son can take good exposure with no mistake but composition :blah:
VISIT my place with some kopi talk, you will be surprised all the wonderful pic. were taken by MINOLTA camera! So don't go for branded and expensive camera, SKILL come first!!
MINOLTA WORTH FOR YOU TO INVEST IT :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

lao shi! did you know that -7- is one of the students in your new intake? you must must have told him abt the lens during the course...don't be blur leh! :blah:

 

[deslim27]

Stanley = Toto38?? :bsmilie:

Jiu Yang Da Ming..

 

[splatt]

I hate to rain on this little Minolta party, since I am a long time Minolta user, but you should really think very, very hard before buying Minolta AND before buying a film based SLR.

Fact: The VAST majority of pros and semi-pros use Canon or Nikon gear
(not because they are inherently better but because they have a wider range of gear which is widely available and they provide better support for pros)

Accepted fact: Hardly anyone will be using film cameras within 3 years.

The problem here is that you will inevitably start to build up a system of lenses, flashes etc which will be worth far more than camera body. Because the market for Minolta gear is so small, it is hard to get hold of both new and used equipment. You will always feel like you are swimming against the tide.

Furthermore, any money you spend on film bodies now is likely to go up in smoke within 2 or 3 years (lenses should be fine). Worse still, Canon & Nikon are already 2 or 3 generations of digital SLR ahead of Minolta and are likely to play catch-up in the immediate future. They also have much larger R&D budgets for sensor development etc.

I suggest that your easiest, cheapest, safest route would be:
1. Buy a 2nd hand Canon/Nikon film body and a used 50mm f1.8 lens for very little money which will help you to learn all about photography. You should not have to pay more than S$300 for this combo.
2. Add other lenses e.g. a good 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 but very slowly (by the way, there is a HUGE difference between a 28-85mm f4.5-5.6 lens and a 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 lens).
3. In a year or two, pick up a 2nd hand Nikon D70 or Canon 10D/20D when the price will probably be around $500.

Now I know I'll probably get flamed for this message, but these are the facts of photography life.

 

[sulhan]

I hate to rain on this little Minolta party, since I am a long time Minolta user, but you should really think very, very hard before buying Minolta AND before buying a film based SLR.

Fact: The VAST majority of pros and semi-pros use Canon or Nikon gear
(not because they are inherently better but because they have a wider range of gear which is widely available and they provide better support for pros)

Accepted fact: Hardly anyone will be using film cameras within 3 years.

The problem here is that you will inevitably start to build up a system of lenses, flashes etc which will be worth far more than camera body. Because the market for Minolta gear is so small, it is hard to get hold of both new and used equipment. You will always feel like you are swimming against the tide.

Furthermore, any money you spend on film bodies now is likely to go up in smoke within 2 or 3 years (lenses should be fine). Worse still, Canon & Nikon are already 2 or 3 generations of digital SLR ahead of Minolta and are likely to play catch-up in the immediate future. They also have much larger R&D budgets for sensor development etc.

I suggest that your easiest, cheapest, safest route would be:
1. Buy a 2nd hand Canon/Nikon film body and a used 50mm f1.8 lens for very little money which will help you to learn all about photography. You should not have to pay more than S$300 for this combo.
2. Add other lenses e.g. a good 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 but very slowly (by the way, there is a HUGE difference between a 28-85mm f4.5-5.6 lens and a 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 lens).
3. In a year or two, pick up a 2nd hand Nikon D70 or Canon 10D/20D when the price will probably be around $500.

Now I know I'll probably get flamed for this message, but these are the facts of photography life.

Good one splat....

You have just written a classic example of.....something that opposes the fact that.....

Photographers takes photos.....and not camera take photos.....

You can have all the user support that you can from your camera manufacturer......and all the new or 2nd hand lens that you can have...
if you equipment (be it film, digital or polaroid...etc) spends most
of its lifetime sitting in the cool dry .....box.....then whats the point.

Many ppl want PRO labelled equipment but hardly use them - only make them look cool and make them feel good through the reflections of the mirror or glass panels in town.......even a simple holga film camera can do wonders i....
....its not the camera ....it the photographer......

Accepted fact: Hardly anyone will be using film cameras within 3 years....err....any data or statistics........BTW.....FYI only 12% of the world population have internet access.....

:nono: :nono:

rgds,
sulhan

 

[forbytes]

I suggest that your easiest, cheapest, safest route would be:
1. Buy a 2nd hand Canon/Nikon film body and a used 50mm f1.8 lens for very little money which will help you to learn all about photography. You should not have to pay more than S$300 for this combo.
2. Add other lenses e.g. a good 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 but very slowly (by the way, there is a HUGE difference between a 28-85mm f4.5-5.6 lens and a 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 lens).
3. In a year or two, pick up a 2nd hand Nikon D70 or Canon 10D/20D when the price will probably be around $500.

I have no problem with this piece of advice. Just follow your heart. I meant for new entries.

 

[TME]

II suggest that your easiest, cheapest, safest route would be:
1. Buy a 2nd hand Canon/Nikon film body and a used 50mm f1.8 lens for very little money which will help you to learn all about photography. You should not have to pay more than S$300 for this combo.
2. Add other lenses e.g. a good 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 but very slowly (by the way, there is a HUGE difference between a 28-85mm f4.5-5.6 lens and a 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 lens).
3. In a year or two, pick up a 2nd hand Nikon D70 or Canon 10D/20D when the price will probably be around $500.

1) U can get the same capability and that 50mm lens from Minolta for a lot less...

2) U can also add on the same lenses for less money. U can get hold of Minolta lenses if u know where to look...

3) It is most unlikely that u can obtain a 10D at $500.... most people who want to upgrade will keep it as a backup body.... after paying $3000 for it and then selling it for only $500? Might as well keep it as a very capable backup.... dun see the logic there....

As Sulhan said, any camera brand will do.... it's how u use it.... even a good P&S can do wonders....