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Lens Love

Minolta-35 Buying Experience: A Dud, a Head Fake, and a Gem

2023-09-04
On: September 4, 2023
In: Manual, Vintage-Minolta Love

I’ve just had a complete eBay buying experience. It began with an effort to buy a Minolta-35 rangefinder—Minolta’s Leica-inspired rangefinder. The Minolta-35 was manufactured from 1947 until 1959 and proved to be a capable Leica competitor during its run. Eight models were produced—models A-F, II, and IIB. While the Minolta-35Continue Reading

VMLP 30: The Minolta Maxxum 700si—The One with All the Awards

2023-08-14
On: August 14, 2023
In: Autofocus, Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

The Minolta 700si won the 1994-1995 EISA award and a few others after its release in 1993. Today it has faded into relative obscurity. Looking at sold listings on eBay, one finds that only a few are sold in any given period. There are YouTube videos, though, so that’s good. At theContinue Reading

Star Gazing and the Vintage Minolta Love Project

2023-07-31
On: July 31, 2023
In: Lens Love, Photography Journey

The Stars, as I call them, are a group of lenses I longed to try but never thought I’d own—the 24mm f2.8, 85mm f1.7, 58mm f1.2, 100mm f2.5, and the 35mm f1.8. The Stars are expensive but readily available— unlike those I call the Legends (20mm 2.8, 21mm 2.8, 24mmContinue Reading

VMLP 29: The Minolta X-570–Excellent Companion

2023-03-29
On: March 29, 2023
In: Manual, Vintage Minolta Love Project

The X-570 is not flashy. It is best described as a gracious, reliable, helpful companion. It doesn’t chew with its mouth open, expect you to laugh at bad puns, or eat the takeout you tried to hide in the back of the fridge. It is simply there when needed andContinue Reading

Buying Your First Manual-Focus Minolta SLR Film Camera (and Lenses)

2022-12-22
On: December 22, 2022
In: Manual, Vintage-Minolta Love

Manual focus cameras force one to concentrate on the fundamentals of photography. Using a manual focus camera requires a sequence of tasks: compose the image, meter the scene, set the aperture size, set the shutter speed, and shoot. You must be familiar with concepts such as depth of field andContinue Reading

VMLP 28: The Minolta Maxxum 7— I’m Pretty Sure Picard Has One

2022-12-12
On: December 12, 2022
In: Autofocus, Vintage Minolta Love Project

Being in command of an extraordinary machine is an intoxicating experience. I’m a huge Star Trek fan, and the bridge has always held a particular fascination for me. The sense of being in absolute control of an immensely powerful ship–the lights, the screens, the sounds–has never lost its appeal. AlthoughContinue Reading

How I Learned to Appreciate Good Lenses

2022-10-05
On: October 5, 2022
In: Lens Love, Vintage-Minolta Love

My first eBay purchase was a Maxxum 7000i with two lenses: a Minolta 35-80mm and a Minolta 75-300mm from the last generations of Minolta’s AF lenses. At 42.00 for the set, which included a flash, I thought I had done quite well. Generally, I was happy with my purchase, andContinue Reading

VMLP 27: Minolta MC Rokkor-X 80-200mm, f4.5—Better Than Expected (Leica Liked It)

2022-09-12
On: September 12, 2022
In: Lens Love, Manual, Vintage Minolta Love Project

Those following along will remember my quest to try as many Minolta manual zoom lenses as possible. I am doing this for the VMLP and a little bit for the same reason people climb Mt. Everest. However, in the case of the 80-200mm, f4.5, there is a detective story of sorts. When the Minolta-LeicaContinue Reading

VMLP 25: Minolta (1985) AF 35-105mm f3.5-4.54—Buy One (You’ll Thank Me Later)

2022-08-15
On: August 15, 2022
In: Autofocus, Lens Love, Vintage-Minolta Love

The Minolta AF 35-105mm f3.5-4.5 is an oddity. It is widely touted for its sharpness and has an overall rating of 4.64/5 (sharpness, 4.78) on Dyxum, with the main ding against it being relatively poor flare control. I have seen it mentioned glowingly many times in forums. Yet somehow, IContinue Reading

VMLP 23: Minolta AF 28-85mm 3.5-4.5—Not Famous, But Good

2022-06-27
On: June 27, 2022
In: Autofocus, Lens Love, Vintage Minolta Love Project

I had heard good things about the AF 28-85mm 3.5-4.5 lens. However, I never set out to buy one—at least not to use. I purchased an “XX” lens from Goodwill but immediately put it on the shelf with the other hard-to-find “XX” items. Perhaps I would have been tempted toContinue Reading

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Minolta Guides and Info

  • Buying and Collecting Minolta: A Guide for Newbies
  • Minolta Camera and Lens Repair Services
  • Minolta Cameras, Lenses, and Gear: Books, Guides, References, Magazines, and Links
  • What is the Vintage Minolta Love Project?

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  • Gardening Resources–Books, Links, Blogs
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Recent Posts

  • Peach Peace
  • Autumn Fruit (Cezanne-ish)
  • Peace Piece: On Discovering Bill Evans
  • The Land of Coca-Cola
  • Frame Works??? Seasons Change, Light Returns
  • VMLP 31: The Minolta Maxxum 70—The Last Hurrah
  • End of the Season Holdouts
  • Ok, I’ll Go Back to Using Tri-X (I Got Rid of the Curl)
  • Grafitti’d
  • Vintage Minolta Love: It’s the Little Things…
  • Autumn Beauty!
  • The Minolta Maxxum 7D—Wonderful World of Color
  • Who’s Watching Me?
  • My Funny Columbine (Focusing Mishap)

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