Hopefully someone can help me out with this. I have been price comparison shopping for the Maxxum 7 and it always brings up a Maxxum 70. Is this the same camera?? The price is usually around 400.00 but includes a lense (thought that was strange). If I decide to purchase, I want to make sure I am purchasing the correct camera! Thanks!
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Maxxum 70 same as Maxxum 7
- Thread starter pjfnme
- Start date
Hi again Mendi. I was holding off repling in favour of someone with current film camera experience answering your question first.
No one seem to be, so I thought I would.
According to the KM website the difference is vast, the Maxxum 70 appears to be a much lower spec camera than the 7.
The shutter speeds alone tell a good part of the story.... 30-1/2000sec plus 1/90sec flash sync for the Maxxum 70 vs 30-1/8000sec plus 1/200sec flash sync on the Maxxum 7
There are many more differences and I would suspect the build quality would also be much superior on the 7
Perhaps someone else could back me up on my observations?
In the meantime have a look at the spec of each here
http://kmpi.konicaminolta.us/eprise/main/kmpi/content/cam/cam_product_pages/Maxxum_70_Date?mDetail=Specifications
http://kmpi.konicaminolta.us/eprise/main/kmpi/content/cam/cam_product_pages/Maxxum_7?mDetail=Specifications
Regards.
Den.
No one seem to be, so I thought I would.
According to the KM website the difference is vast, the Maxxum 70 appears to be a much lower spec camera than the 7.
The shutter speeds alone tell a good part of the story.... 30-1/2000sec plus 1/90sec flash sync for the Maxxum 70 vs 30-1/8000sec plus 1/200sec flash sync on the Maxxum 7
There are many more differences and I would suspect the build quality would also be much superior on the 7
Perhaps someone else could back me up on my observations?
In the meantime have a look at the spec of each here
http://kmpi.konicaminolta.us/eprise/main/kmpi/content/cam/cam_product_pages/Maxxum_70_Date?mDetail=Specifications
http://kmpi.konicaminolta.us/eprise/main/kmpi/content/cam/cam_product_pages/Maxxum_7?mDetail=Specifications
Regards.
Den.
The 70 is definitley not the same as the 7. The 7 is far superior in just about every way. You should be able to get a 7 in the $400-500 range or even lower (I think mine was $490 new about a year and a half ago), but you may have to try ebay or buy a used one since it is no longer in production.
Back to your questions about the 7D, if you invest in a couple of large memory cards you should be able to get several hundred photos before having to tranfer them. If you also get a nice small laptop computer with a built in card reader and CD/DVD burner and make it a part of your kit, you can transfer and burn your pictures in the field and your storage becomes effecively unlimited. Several manufacturers make photo backbacks designed to hold a laptop and your camera gear, so carting it around won't be too bad. If you want to get serious about digital there is a significant investment required, but keep in mind you won't be paying for film processing anymore. Some other things you will want to consider is how you will print your final pictures. There are several options. Most camera stores and labs can print for you from your digital files, there are several internet based print labs, and you could invest in a photo printer and print your own. Even though I don't have a digital yet, I shoot on slides and scan and print my own images. I use a Canon IP6600D and I am extremely pleased with the results. It is fairly inexpensive at about $200 and it has a built in card reader and USB port so you can print directly from your camera or card. There are separate ink tanks for each color so you don't have to waste ink when just 1 color runs out.
This is probably a lot of info to digest but just post if you have any other questions.
Back to your questions about the 7D, if you invest in a couple of large memory cards you should be able to get several hundred photos before having to tranfer them. If you also get a nice small laptop computer with a built in card reader and CD/DVD burner and make it a part of your kit, you can transfer and burn your pictures in the field and your storage becomes effecively unlimited. Several manufacturers make photo backbacks designed to hold a laptop and your camera gear, so carting it around won't be too bad. If you want to get serious about digital there is a significant investment required, but keep in mind you won't be paying for film processing anymore. Some other things you will want to consider is how you will print your final pictures. There are several options. Most camera stores and labs can print for you from your digital files, there are several internet based print labs, and you could invest in a photo printer and print your own. Even though I don't have a digital yet, I shoot on slides and scan and print my own images. I use a Canon IP6600D and I am extremely pleased with the results. It is fairly inexpensive at about $200 and it has a built in card reader and USB port so you can print directly from your camera or card. There are separate ink tanks for each color so you don't have to waste ink when just 1 color runs out.
This is probably a lot of info to digest but just post if you have any other questions.
Hi again. Thank you both for all of the information. I am thinking that I will most likely go ahead and purchase another film camera for now. I have been talking to my husband about it and he has not warmed up to the digital yet either. Oh well..one thing is for sure, they will be around for a while and hopefully the prices will continue to go down! Maybe we can purchase a nice one to use in conjunction with our film camera in the near future! I am still thinking about going ahead and purchasing the 7...everyone seems to think it is a pretty good camera and would definitely be an upgrade from our STsi. I found one online, new for 356.00 for only. Does this sound like a pretty good price?? Also....does anyone know if the lenses from our other Minolta should fit without a problem?? We have newer lenses..Minolta as well as Sigma.
One more thing too --- is the Maxxum 9 better than the Maxxum 7???????
A lot of questions I know...thanks for taking the time to help me out!!
One more thing too --- is the Maxxum 9 better than the Maxxum 7???????
A lot of questions I know...thanks for taking the time to help me out!!
That sounds like a good price for a new one to me.
The 9 is also a very nice camera. It has almost all of the features of the 7 and it is a professional level camera and it is built like one (in other words it's built like a tank). It is a good deal heavier and larger than the 7 though (and even the 7 is bigger than your STsi). Even though it is a higher level camera than the 7 it lacks a few of the 7's features. The control layout is very good and similar to the 7's, although I think the 7 is slighlty better in that respect. It does (if I recall correctly) have a little bit higher maximum shutter speed and a faster motor drive speed. For me the extra weight and cost was not worth the tougher build and faster drive (since I end up shooting still subjects most of the time anyway). Still, if you can find an extraordinarily good deal on one it is an excellent camera.
Also if you end up with a 7, look into getting a VC-7 vertical grip for it. It will give you a duplicate shutter realase and control dials for vertical shooting and has a second battery compartment that accepts either AA batteries (even rechargables) or the same 123 lithium cells the camera normally uses. You should be able to get one for under $200, and it is well worth the money if you do even a moderate amount of vertical shooting.
The 9 is also a very nice camera. It has almost all of the features of the 7 and it is a professional level camera and it is built like one (in other words it's built like a tank). It is a good deal heavier and larger than the 7 though (and even the 7 is bigger than your STsi). Even though it is a higher level camera than the 7 it lacks a few of the 7's features. The control layout is very good and similar to the 7's, although I think the 7 is slighlty better in that respect. It does (if I recall correctly) have a little bit higher maximum shutter speed and a faster motor drive speed. For me the extra weight and cost was not worth the tougher build and faster drive (since I end up shooting still subjects most of the time anyway). Still, if you can find an extraordinarily good deal on one it is an excellent camera.
Also if you end up with a 7, look into getting a VC-7 vertical grip for it. It will give you a duplicate shutter realase and control dials for vertical shooting and has a second battery compartment that accepts either AA batteries (even rechargables) or the same 123 lithium cells the camera normally uses. You should be able to get one for under $200, and it is well worth the money if you do even a moderate amount of vertical shooting.
One thing you may want to bear in mind re digital and film, is the cost of film. I saw in one of your emails that you shot prolifically when on vacation. Admittedly, the start-up cost is higher and post-processing time is longer on digital but, once you have purchased memory cards, the film/processing is free.
I'm a long-time Minolta fan with both a "7" and a "9" but recently have shot almost 100% with the digital 7. I shoot a lot more as I can see results immediately and, I'm not counting shots as e.g. with film, I only have 36 shots and film is expensive. As far as vacations go, I took approx. 1200 shots (equivalent to 30 films!) last year when on a 3-week trip to Scandinavia on medium JPEG mode using 4 around GB worth of cards that I had purchased when on sale, and still had room left for a few more before returning home to Canada. The medium JPEG mode, while not the best quality setting, still gave me good 11 x 14 inch prints.
I think, that you may be surprised at how good digital is even, to longtime film fans like myself.
Good luck with your choice and Happy Shooting.
Tom
I'm a long-time Minolta fan with both a "7" and a "9" but recently have shot almost 100% with the digital 7. I shoot a lot more as I can see results immediately and, I'm not counting shots as e.g. with film, I only have 36 shots and film is expensive. As far as vacations go, I took approx. 1200 shots (equivalent to 30 films!) last year when on a 3-week trip to Scandinavia on medium JPEG mode using 4 around GB worth of cards that I had purchased when on sale, and still had room left for a few more before returning home to Canada. The medium JPEG mode, while not the best quality setting, still gave me good 11 x 14 inch prints.
I think, that you may be surprised at how good digital is even, to longtime film fans like myself.
Good luck with your choice and Happy Shooting.
Tom
All lenses with a Minolta AF mount will be mechanically compatible with the any of the newer cameras. However, I have heard of some problems with some older 3rd party lenses (Sigma, Tokina, etc.) on the 7 and 7D because of the control microchip in the lens. If this happens you will need to send the lens in to the manufacturer to be re-chipped. As I recall it was most common with Sigma, but it is fairly rare even then. The older the lenses are, the more chance that there will be some sort of problem. With that being said, I originally bought a Quantaray 28-80mm (which was just a rebadged Sigma) with my XTsi about 6 years ago, and I didn't have any problems with it when I upgraded to my 7.