2 questions about cameras?

[vigilantvice]

I posted this in the Q&A but then saw this forum and thought maybe thequestion would be better answered in here......

Im pretty new to photography and only worked with a pentax through school, and am looking to buy my own cam here very soon. I was looking into a minolta xt-si because its both automatic and manuel. It seems to have a ton of different settings. I havent really found any other camera that seems as good. I was wondering if anyones ever had this camera or know if its good quality or had any probs with minoltas? Or if you have any suggestions as to any other good cameras.

Also I was looking into buying a negative scanner and am definately not sure as to which ones are good, Ive never worked with one, and I dont wanna spend a thousand dollars on one. So a decent price for good quality would be nice. Thanx for any siggestions you guys might have.

 

[voodoocat]

I'm copying and pasting my answer here and deleting the duplicate thread

Minolta Scan Dual III. Nothing else in that price range comes close to it's quality. There aren't really options on the consumer side of the house. The only dedicated negative scanners that are better cost well over $1000.

 

[vigilantvice]

ok thanx, U dont know about the cameras tho?

 

[voodoocat]

I don't know too much about the minolta AF systems. I own a manual Minolta and it serves me very well. When I make the leap to AF, I'm going to Nikon.

 

[dru]

you're looking into the minolta xt-si because it's both auto and manual ? aren't all AF SLRs today both auto and manual?!? unless you have a certain spot in your heart for minolta, i suggest you check out comparable canon and nikon.

i own a 30 yr old minolta manual - love it.
played with a nikon n80 for day - pretty sweet.
had a canon rebel ti for half a year - pretty sweet.
now i own a canon elan 7e - i sleep with it.

lots of different fishes in the water - check them all out! good luck!

 

[havoc]

Thats funny, i also sleep with my Elan 7e. I like Minolta cameras, they make great bodies, but i lean more toward the Canon and Nikon lenses in terms of quality. I quality Camera body is nice. (which you also get with Nikon and Canon) But what matters most (besides the photographer) is the lense. If your on a buget try a canon rebel (prefferably newer) and check E-bay, they are the cheapest place in town. If you wanna spend alittle more then try the elan series, either the Elan II or Elan 7 are great choices, the 7e is really sweet as well.
Best advice though is to do all your research, (go to camera shops & check out the cams.) then go to E-bay and pay about half the price. 8)