Minolta X-700 + Extras

[ADavis85]

So I found a steal on Craigslist (IMO) on Sunday.

Minolta X-700 (with original box)
In the box is the Manual, "guide to creative photography", and warranty cards with serial numbers, for camera and each lens
28mm f2.8 (with original box)
50mm f1.7
70-210mm f4
49mm Polarizing filter
50mm Skylight (UV) filter

All for a whopping $40.

Everything is in great shape, barely used. Rubber above the mirror is in excellent shape, no damage at all. Lenses are all near perfect, glass is clear, aperture blades are clean.

Here's a quick picture I snapped from my phone.

 

[dots]

Very nice!

Are these the lenses...?

http://www.dyxum.com/reviews/lenses/reviews.asp?idlens=12]Minolta*AF 70-210 F4 (beercan) lens reviews


http://www.dyxum.com/reviews/lenses/Minolta-AF-28-F2.8_review12.html

http://www.dyxum.com/reviews/lenses/Minolta-AF-50-F1.7_review17.html

 

[ADavis85]

No, those are the same focal length etc...but not the same lenses. The lenses for the X-700 are Minolta's SR mount, and are purely Manual Focus. I do, however, have a Minolta Maxxum 7000 that came with the 70-210 f4 (beercan) and a 35-70 f4 (and a bunch of other stuff, including another camera) all for $50. I use the Beer Can, and the 35-70 on my Sony Alpha.

The 70-210 with this one is a push/pull type zoom, which the Beer Can is not.

 

[dots]

Ok, cool. I had a couple of A-mount, AF Minolta zooms. I thought they were good! Well corrected and beautiful color. And also some Konica AR mount primes. Really good! What was the connection between Konica and Minolta? Did they merge or was it the same company anyway ?

Can you still get the right batteries for your X-700?

 

[ADavis85]

Yeah, apparently it was a merger between the two. I think Minolta is how most people remember it though.

As for batteries, it just uses 2 button cell batteries. Very common. Currently I have Energizer EPX76 batts in it. But yeah, you can get those just about anywhere. I do have a Yashica Electro35-G which used a mercury battery, which is impossibly hard to find...but, luckily the X-700 uses standard batteries.

 

[dots]

Great!

 

[ADavis85]

Definitely! Love it when things are just...simple. No hunting for special batteries etc. lol Can't wait to get my first few rolls developed, scanned, and posted! I might seriously pursue a photography class on film, and try my hand at developing/printing. That would be quite fun to learn I think.

 

[dots]

What's it like, locally, for you, getting film?

 

[compur]

What was the connection between Konica and Minolta? Did they merge or was it the same company anyway ?

Konica and Minolta were both long-lived, separate manufacturers for many years producing a great many cameras, each under their own separate brand names. Konica also was a film manufacturer.

In 2003 the 2 companies merged to become Konica Minolta and some cameras which were a continuation of Minolta's model line were produced under the combined name of "Konica Minolta" but in 2006 the merged company went under and sold their camera business to Sony.

This "last-minute" merger-demise has left many people with a confusion, thinking that all Minolta and all Konica cameras were made jointly but the vast majority of their cameras were made separately, each under their own brands. The only real "Konica-Minolta" cameras were the last few Maxxum film & digital SLRs and maybe a few point & shoots.

There is no compatibility between "Konica" (only) and "Minolta" (only) cameras or lenses. There is lens compatibility between Sony Alpha DSLRs and all Maxxum film & digital cameras & lenses.

 

[cgipson1]

Konica also was a film manufacturer.

man.. reading that brought back some memories.... used to shoot a lot of the SR series 120 back in the day. Hadn't thought about that in many years!

OP... The 2nd or 3rd camera I had was a Minolta X-370.. and then I got the X-700. It was a pretty good camera! All pre-AF of course...

have fun with it!

 

[ADavis85]

What's it like, locally, for you, getting film?

Film is pretty readily available at like Rite Aid/CVS/Walgreen's etc.

Konica also was a film manufacturer.

man.. reading that brought back some memories.... used to shoot a lot of the SR series 120 back in the day. Hadn't thought about that in many years!

OP... The 2nd or 3rd camera I had was a Minolta X-370.. and then I got the X-700. It was a pretty good camera! All pre-AF of course...

have fun with it!

I will! I'm going to use it as my first real full fledged dive into the world of film. Should be fun.

 

[JosephKubik]

This is a nice camera I found one in a thrift shop a few months back that was in mint condition, with an auto winder, for $14... I have fallen in love with it.