Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR?

Posted by: julf

Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 23/09/2007 07:03

Oh, great collective empegbbs wisdom,

It so happens that Elaine has a Minolta traditional, film-based, Minolta SLR and a couple of lenses (28-80 and 100-300 AF zooms). Being film-based, we don't use it that much anymore, so the idea is to get a reasonably-priced digital SLR but keep using the lenses. Does this make sense? Do the old Minolta lenses still work with a Minolta digital SLR? Any recommendations for a suitable digital camera frame?

The "analog" camera is a Minolta alpha 7700i, (that's the Japanese name for it, seems it was called Maxxum 7000i in the US, and Dynax 7000i elsewhere), seems it was released in 1988.

Posted by: mlord

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 23/09/2007 11:19

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Oh, great collective empegbbs wisdom,

It so happens that Elaine has a Minolta traditional, film-based, Minolta SLR and a couple of lenses (28-80 and 100-300 AF zooms). Being film-based, we don't use it that much anymore, so the idea is to get a reasonably-priced digital SLR but keep using the lenses. Does this make sense? Do the old Minolta lenses still work with a Minolta digital SLR? Any recommendations for a suitable digital camera frame?

The "analog" camera is a Minolta alpha 7700i, (that's the Japanese name for it, seems it was called Maxxum 7000i in the US, and Dynax 7000i elsewhere), seems it was released in 1988.

Minolta is now called "Sony".

If you are comfortable purchasing stuff from a company with Sony's record, then they do happen to have a couple of digital SLRs in the marketplace, which work with pretty much any Minolta lenses.

Check out this site for more information:

http://www.dpreview.com/

Cheers

Posted by: julf

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 24/09/2007 05:34

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Minolta is now called "Sony".

Ouch! That is not good news. I had already sworn that I had bought my last Sony. But I might have to relent

Posted by: Roger

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 24/09/2007 12:50

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But I might have to relent

Bung it all up on eBay, and buy something else?

Posted by: julf

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 24/09/2007 17:42

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Bung it all up on eBay, and buy something else?

Tempting, but Elaine is somewhat attached to the old Minolta. She dragged it, and those lenses, all over Nepal, across Mongolia and Siberia, and over the Atlantic in a freighter...

Posted by: siberia37

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 24/09/2007 19:21

If she's really attached to the lenses you could get an olympus 4/3rds SLR and get one of these adapters so she could use them on the new camera. But really though, those lenses aren't worth it. Maybe if she had really long telephotos, or rare zooms, or nice primes. But zooms? Not worth it.

Posted by: julf

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 25/09/2007 13:14

Well, the adapter seems to be for pre-AF lenses, but Elaine's stuf seems to be AF. Telling her the lenses aren't worth much made her respond "But I paid $500 for the longer one, and when I dropped the shorter one on the floor on the transsiberian railway trip, it was still worth repairing it for $100 instead of replacing it. And they were actually selling them in the GUM in Moscow in 1998, along with other really posh luxury products, so there!"

Posted by: DWallach

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 25/09/2007 15:24

My advice: buy a used Konica-Minolta-branded D-SLR rather than a new Son-branded model. The older ones are "only" six megapixels, but that will more than do the job and keep things happy, while also letting you avoid spending money on anything labeled "Sony".

Posted by: canuckInOR

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 25/09/2007 15:42

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Bung it all up on eBay, and buy something else?

Tempting, but Elaine is somewhat attached to the old Minolta. She dragged it, and those lenses, all over Nepal, across Mongolia and Siberia, and over the Atlantic in a freighter...

It seems that the attachment, then, is primarily emotional. For the number of lenses involved (2), I'd probably also recommend just getting rid of the lot, and starting over. I just looked at adapters to use Minolta lenses on Canon or Nikon bodies, and they don't exist (aside from a few one-off hacks). If you stick with something that lets you use your current lenses, would you feel like you're going to be restricting your options for future expansion?

I'm sort of in the same boat -- I have a Nikon film SLR that's just sitting around, and only two lenses (roughly equivalent to the lenses Elaine has, even). I've been looking at a DSLR, but... do I stick with Nikon, just because of the lenses I already have? Personally, I don't think that's enough of an investment to justify staying locked to Nikon -- even though I've dragged them around the world, too.

So, once it comes time to look seriously at a DSLR (I'm still in drool mode, at the moment), I'll probably take a close look at a Canon, as well. Fortunately, though, I do really prefer Nikon's controls, and feel of the body, to that of Canon, so Nikon is still my leading choice, anyway -- that I'll be able to still use my old lenses is just a plus.

Posted by: siberia37

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 25/09/2007 16:35

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that I'll be able to still use my old lenses is just a plus.

If your Nikon Lens don't have electronically controlled aperture then you can use them on an EOS camera with an adapter. In manual focus stop down mode only.

Posted by: hybrid8

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 25/09/2007 18:01

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I've been looking at a DSLR, but... do I stick with Nikon, just because of the lenses I already have? Personally, I don't think that's enough of an investment to justify staying locked to Nikon -- even though I've dragged them around the world, too.

Of course not. You stick with Nikon because they simply have better bodies.

Canon do have some nice features on many of their cameras, but none of them are enough to make me lust after any of their models as I do for a Nikon (even the previously exclusive lure of the full frame sensor couldn't sway me). I don't have anything invested in glass for either brand.

Posted by: canuckInOR

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 25/09/2007 18:33

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I've been looking at a DSLR, but... do I stick with Nikon, just because of the lenses I already have? Personally, I don't think that's enough of an investment to justify staying locked to Nikon -- even though I've dragged them around the world, too.

Of course not. You stick with Nikon because they simply have better bodies. Canon do have some nice features on many of their cameras, but none of them are enough to make me lust after any of their models as I do for a Nikon (even the previously exclusive lure of the full frame sensor couldn't sway me). I don't have anything invested in glass for either brand.

Well, that's why I later wrote:

Fortunately, though, I do really prefer Nikon's controls, and feel of the body, to that of Canon, so Nikon is still my leading choice, anyway

Posted by: mlord

Re: Recommendations on Minolta digital SLR? - 26/09/2007 14:45

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I've been looking at a DSLR, but... do I stick with Nikon, just because of the lenses I already have? Personally, I don't think that's enough of an investment to justify staying locked to Nikon -- even though I've dragged them around the world, too.

Of course not. You stick with Nikon because they simply have better bodies. Canon do have some nice features on many of their cameras, but none of them are enough to make me lust after any of their models as I do for a Nikon (even the previously exclusive lure of the full frame sensor couldn't sway me). I don't have anything invested in glass for either brand.

Well, that's why I later wrote:

Fortunately, though, I do really prefer Nikon's controls, and feel of the body, to that of Canon, so Nikon is still my leading choice, anyway

Totally agreed. I stick with Canon nowadays simply because of the Kbucks of Canon glass that I have now.

Like Avis, Nikon definitely tries harder.

cheers