If you are new to Minolta autofocus gear, very likely, you are having a hard time deciding on what cameras and lenses to buy. Minolta cameras and gear were marketed in North America as “Maxxum” and in Europe as “Dynax.” There is a lot of info available in blogs andContinue Reading
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
I like knobs and buttons—so do a lot of people. It would seem that by 1995 Minolta had gotten the message and produced the 600si—YES!!!. Like a lot of gear, I heard about the Minolta 600si reading forums posts. I was focused on buying “7” level Maxxums and, at theContinue 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
As regular readers know, I have taken a fancy to rangefinder Minoltas. That new itch has been scratched by three recent rangefinder buys: 7sII, Super A, and basic Minolta A. The 7sII (my second) was bought cheaply for parts, although the seller said only the meter did not work. TheContinue Reading
Starting a blog is the beginning of an open-ended journey. One never knows what path it will take and where/when it might end. Looking back, some things have turned out well; others are still just plans. For example, I expected that by now, the fourth year of the blog, IContinue Reading
The Minolta SR-3 was the next upper-level Minolta SLR after the SR-2. The SR-2 is a collector’s item because it was Minolta’s first SLR and only about 20,000 were made. The SR-7 is noted for its built-in meter, the first Minolta SLR with this capability. The middle child SR-3 goesContinue Reading
After deciding I wanted to try Minoltas other than my Maxxum 7000i, I went for the Sevens in the Maxxum line. The Maxxum 70 was the next purchase (it has a meta-origin story—The People by the Side of the Road). In quick succession, the Maxxum 7, 700si, and 7xi followedContinue Reading
After using the Maxxum 7000i, my first Minolta and real camera in more than three decades, I realized I wanted to try other Minolta cameras. That realization led me to research other models. On learning that Minolta favored the numbers 5, 7, and 9 when naming cameras, I decided that,Continue Reading
