Minolta Maxxum 600si

[stephaniec924]

Hi, I just recently purchased a Minolta Maxxum 600si.

I was going to purchase an Canon 400D [XTi], but I went to the camera store and the lady told me that since I am a beginner with photography in general, that I should go on eBay and purchase a cheap 35mm SLR camera first and get familiar with all of the functions and how to use it and get a few books or maybe even photography classes before I moved onto the dSLR cameras...

So I got a Minolta Maxxum 600si with 3 lenses for a good, inexpensive price and I was wondering if I made a good deal on an OK beginner SLR camera?

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sure that camera will be a good one to start with. When shooting with film, it's more about the lenses and the film than it is about the camera.

The one thing to think about now (or should have been thought about before) is the system that you have bought into. Now that you have three Minolta lenses...it won't make a lot of sense to get a Canon XTi in the future because the lenses won't be compatible. If you had bought a Canon EOS film camera (with lenses), the lenses would have been compatible with the XTi or any Canon DSLR.

In fact, Minolta doesn't even make cameras anymore. Not to worry...Sony bought their camera division and now makes the Sony Alpha (A100), which is compatible with Minolta lenses.

 

[stephaniec924]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sure that camera will be a good one to start with. When shooting with film, it's more about the lenses and the film than it is about the camera.

The one thing to think about now (or should have been thought about before) is the system that you have bought into. Now that you have three Minolta lenses...it won't make a lot of sense to get a Canon XTi in the future because the lenses won't be compatible. If you had bought a Canon EOS film camera (with lenses), the lenses would have been compatible with the XTi or any Canon DSLR.

In fact, Minolta doesn't even make cameras anymore. Not to worry...Sony bought their camera division and now makes the Sony Alpha (A100), which is compatible with Minolta lenses.

Oh that is a good point... But I got all of the lenses and camera for an inexpensive price so I won't really be that concerned about using those lenses for my dSLR camera. But it wouldve been very helpful if I knew that in the first place, but I never really thought of that... Well thanks!

 

[Mad_Gnome]

No worries about compatibility, since Sony is very serious about the DSLR market. They currently have the Alpha 100 on the market (an excellent consumer-level camera) and within a year, they will be releasing two more models: an advanced amateur camera and a pro-level flagship DSLR. All three cameras are fully compatible with the lenses you already own.

As for the 600si, it's a great camera. It's very intuitive, as all Minoltas tend to be, has a bright viewfinder, and it has one of the best metering systems on the planet. Minolta also tends to excel at flash utilization, and the 600si is no exception. It will fire 3500xi, 5200xi, or 5400HS flashes with wireless sync at a sync speed of 1/60 (using either the built-in flash or the optional infra-red controller), and if you plug a 5400HS flash into the ISO shoe, the 600si is capable of high-speed flash sync at 1/4000!! You could pretty much shoot with an f/2.8 lens wide open at high noon with fill flash.