Nikon N75 or Minolta MAXXUM 70DATE?

[wojtek]

Hi,
I want to buy an entry level film SLR ($200-$300 range) I narrowed the choices down to Nikon N75 and Minolta MAXXUM 70DATE. - They sell for almost exactly same price and have very comparable AF/metering etc features (at least I think so -corerect me if I'm wrong) . The Nikon comes with 28-80 f/3.3 lens vs Minolta with 28-100 f/3.5 lens.
What sets them apart for me is the flash sync capability.

The Nikon camera flash can be synced to the rear curtain, which is very cool - I can imagine playing around with all sorts of motion blur effects using this feature.
Minolta doesn't have this feature but it has a High speed sync feature (which I couldnt find any other camera until models which are out of reach for me):
It will accept a flash lamp (which I wouldn't buy at least for now but possibly in the future) with which you can go up to 1/2000 flash exposure times. - I am not especially interested in photographing bullets etc but - would that be good to have? What could I use this feature for?

Minolta also has a wireless remote flash capability which Nikon doesn't match...

What would be your advice?
Anyone used any/both of these cameras?
Any other camera in this class you would recommend?

thanks a lot,
Wojtek

 

[mattvillano]

I'd go with the Nikon.

 

[gecko]

minolta is a pretty good choice, but im curious have u considered anything from the pentax line?

 

[ajmall]

i've been using an F/N80 for just over a year and i love it! its a slight step up from the 75 as u don't have pre-programmed shooting modes like sports, portrait etc. however u need to understand apertures and shutter speeds to use it effectively and im sure u do! plus u can put a vertical grip on it and it looks much better! if u have $200-300 i would get a used N80. i got mine in mint condition for £200 (about $280) body only.

you can also buy a hot shoe adapter for wireless flash use for about $10.

 

[Mr.ReDEyE]

yeah go with an N80 if you have a little extra money.....i have an N75 and its a great camera.....the only thing that bothers me is that for some reason Nikon didn't include a manual ISO on the N75's.....the N80's have manual ISO.....which comes in handy if you ever want to get creative and have any real control over your images.....