The Minolta MD Zoom 35-135mm came to my attention through a forum discussion about zoom lenses. Only one of the discussants had heard of or used the lens. At the time (spring 2019), the only images I could find were the few supplied in the forum discussion and this reviewContinue Reading
The XG-M entered my life because it was the last model of the XG series—no romance involved. By the time I bought the first copy, the idea of owning one had been percolating for a while. I wasn’t particularly itching to buy one because I had plenty of other camerasContinue Reading
If I were writing VMLP posts based on how much I’ve used each camera, the 7000i would have been one of the first three posts. The 7000i is the camera that drew me into Minolta madness. For the benefit of those who don’t know my photography origin story, I willContinue Reading
I’ve tested a lot of new-to-me cameras and lenses over the last few years, and the process has become something I dread. Fortunately, all basic testing has been completed, and now I am in the “will I keep this” phase of testing. Most earlier tests were driven by the needContinue Reading
Six months ago, I publicly declared I would declutter and sell off my unwanted gear. It never happened. For those knowingly shaking their heads, I would like to go on record as saying it was not my fault. No, the blame lies squarely at the feet of people selling fully-functionalContinue Reading
Life is full of surprises. From the time I decided to take photography seriously, my focus had been on SLRs. They are perfect for photographing flowers, cheap, and easy to find. However, as I have continued my photography journey, I encounter situations where an SLR is not necessarily the idealContinue Reading
Look through enough forum posts (there are very few reviews of Minolta AF lenses), and you will likely come across a favorable mention of the 35-70mm f4. It is a good performer that is widely available and costs very little. When putting together a newbie Maxxum camera kit, having theContinue Reading
I get that some people love the xi models. I get that one size does not fit all. And I get that Minolta was focused on innovation, which I applaud. I really, really tried to the like the 7xi—I really did. The xi camera series is an example of technologyContinue Reading
Get a Minolta Maxxum camera, then ask around about what lenses to buy. If you already have a 50mm lens, the next suggestion will nearly always be “get a Beercan.” I ran into this advice on just about every blog and forum I visited, so the 70-210mm f4 was theContinue Reading
The VMLP is a quest to relive the history and innovation of Minolta SLRs. Accordingly, the next camera up for review should be either the SR-7 with its built-in meter (innovation step) or the older SR-1 (historical). But here we have the XD11. Why? Love. Generally speaking, I prefer autofocusContinue Reading
