$3,000+ Minolta

[compur]

I guess vintage camera collecting is still alive and well:
Minolta XK Motor Vintage 35mm SLR Camera Body AE-S Finder X1/XM/X-1 MUST SEE!!! | eBay

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[2WheelPhoto]

with 35 bids!

[usayit]

My money is that the winning bidder will be a non-payer.

[skieur]

Nice camera. I bought one for my work a long time ago. Extremely robust and reliable. I used it on a slide duplicator, copy stand, and as an extra camera body on location.

skieur

[DiskoJoe]

Damn! Thats pretty steep. but the old minolta glass is really killer.

[compur]

My money is that the winning bidder will be a non-payer.

I wrote to the seller and asked him and he said:

"Yes the winner paid within hours of winning!"

So, I guess lunch is on you.

[Mitica100]

Still have a beautiful 85/1.7 MD Minolta lens in pristine condition. They go for quite a few hundreds too. Their glass was fantastic!

[Derrel]

"Only from the mind of Minolta." That was a big advertising slogan Minolta ran with for a few years.

"Only in the mind of a Minolta collector," would that XK and motor be worth $3,250!

[BlairWright]

Heh... I just sold my 9000 for 50 bucks, maybe I should have held out 35 years

[compur]

Here is another Minolta goodie.

[usayit]

"Only from the mind of Minolta." That was a big advertising slogan Minolta ran with for a few years.

Disparity between the rich and everyone else......

If I recall correctly, that slogan was introduced with the Maxxum... right? If so, what was their slogan prior?

[fotoshooter]

"Only from the mind of Minolta." That was a big advertising slogan Minolta ran with for a few years.

Disparity between the rich and everyone else......

If I recall correctly, that slogan was introduced with the Maxxum... right? If so, what was their slogan prior?

Actually it was started in 1983 to market the X-700 two years before the Maxxum.......

[usayit]

cool learn something new....

[Derrel]

"Only from the mind of Minolta." That was a big advertising slogan Minolta ran with for a few years.

Disparity between the rich and everyone else......

If I recall correctly, that slogan was introduced with the Maxxum... right? If so, what was their slogan prior?

"We're as good as Nikon. No, really, we are. In fact, here are some tiny,tiny comparison photos shot with the leading systems. See how they all look the same at 1x2 inches in this magazine? Buy Minolta."

THAT print ad campaign was basically Minolta's entire advertising strategy for about five years. Meanwhile, Canon undertook the world's FIRST wide-spread, worldwide television ad campaign for 35mm SLR cameras.

[usayit]

In addition to the TV campaign... Canon took a big risk in the 1990s. I gotta give credit to them... it was a huge business risk and things like that simply gets my attention.

Pentax created the first 35mm AF system..
Minolta created the first in-body AF system...
Nikon followed...
Canon followed...

By the early 1990s, Pentax screwed up AF design. Minolta couldn't capitalize on bringing early AF to market. Nikon was too worried about maintaining legacy stuff. Canon took risk with a ground up redesign and took over sports photography with their superior AF performance. A risk that paid off because sports photography gets lots of media attention. Fortunately, Nikon eventually caught up and we have the big two ever since which I like since competition breeds better products.

Sports photography == media coverage on TV. Just like all the kiddos lookup to those athletes on TV, photog's wanted to be just like those white lens carrying pros on the sidelines.


What I can't figure out is why the market sets $3000 value to the minolta featured in that ebay auction. I have to admit I'm no expert in Minolta products even though I give credit to my father's Maxxum 7000 for keeping my interest going. Was it a first in something? or a ground breaking design? or gain a cult status? or a jewel of mechanical art?