DPR Forum

Welcome to the Friendly Aisles!
DPRF is a photography forum with people from all over the world freely sharing their knowledge and love of photography. Everybody is welcome, from beginners to the experienced professional. Whether it is Medium Format, fullframe, APS-C, MFT or smaller formats. Digital or film. DPRF is a forum for everybody and for every format.
Enjoy this modern, easy to use software. Look also at our Reviews & Gallery!

Should I purchase a Maxxum 7

pjfnme

Member
Hello everyone. I am brand new to the forum and this is my first post! My husband and I are most definitely amateur photographers but we enjoy it verry much and are always using rolls and rolls of film. We have been using a Minolta Maxxum STsi for several years and at first had no problems with it. Lately, however (well...the past year and a half) the AF seems to take FOREVER and I have missed numerous shots because of this problem. Also, the photo quality is not as good as it used to be. Many times it seems to be focused but will refuse to take the photo! At any rate..my husband has been talking quite a bit lately about purchasing a new camera. I was actually looking at a NIKON F100 but it has a steep price and I would have to buy all new lenses (we have several for the Minolta). I found the Maxxum 7 while on epinions and have been reading the posts here about it. Can anyone give me any opinion about it? I have read the reviews but, I want some from "real" people about it. I want a camera that will shoot several frames very quickly..and that will focus quickly without being in manual. We also want good quality clear photos...is this the camera for me? Thanks in advance!!!
 
The 7 is an incredible camera. It is incredibly well laid out and has almost every feature you could ever want. The control layout is the best I have ever encountered and you can set almost anything purely by touch. The focusing is quick and precise and it is easy to select a specific AF sensor to get the correct part of the frame in focus. As far as getting clear photos though, your lenses and your technique will contribute far more than even the best and most expensive body ever could. Clarity will be determined almost entirely by optics and camera movement. If you have mostly low quality kit lenses the 7 isn't going to help much. Sadly my 7 and all of my other gear was stolen just after Christmas, and I miss it badly. Oh well I guess I just need to start saving for a 7D. Speaking of which, if you can afford one, I would highly reccomend giving it serious consideration (unless you are still seriously commited to film). It has all of the advantages of the 7's ergonimics, plus digital, plus anti-shake; how can you go wrong with that.
 
Thanks for the information Jason! I am also glad that you mentioned the digital. I have really been looking at the digital SLR cameras but, I am extremely hesitant about buying one over a good 35mm film camera. Here are my issues with it..maybe you can give me your thoughts on it.

Number one..we travel a fair amount and seem to take an ungodly amount of photos when we do. I am afraid that having a digital camera will limit me as to how many photos I can take. We are always running into people who have had to delete some of their photos b/c they ran out of memory. Secondly, I like to take photos quickly back to back..I know that digital cameras take much longer to process and save in between frames. I am afraid I would miss too many shots this way. Also..I have verry little time to sit at my computer fiddling with the downloaded photos. I have a small point and shoot digital now and take little snap shot photos with it around the house sometimes...most of the time they remain in the camera for a month!! LOL Sooooo...do you think I can overcome these obstacles and make a digital right for me?? Or would one think that I should remain with the film?
 
The one golden rule of Dslr is that post processing is essential if you want to get the very best out of it.
This of course means sitting at a computer. However, the results will blow you away
happy.gif


The first thing I noticed about the 7D was now clean the images are, plus no more cleaning negs before ordering large prints and better quality than film too.

I have a 1Gig memory card and numerous smaller cards. I can get about 160 shots on the 1 gig card and the 7D will do about 14 frames at 3fps before it starts to slow down. Unless you need more than 14 frames at a time there is no problem. Wait just 12 seconds and it will be ready to do another 14.

I think the post processing may put you off, but it you can bear with it the results are well worth the effort IMHO.

Hope that helps
 
That most definitely helps. I didn't realize that digital photography had become so advanced! I know..I dont get out much! LOL Well..maybe I should rethink my decision awhile before I purchase another film camera.
 
Thought I should mention the 14 frames is continuous shooting with the release held down. The camera is very responsive and I've never missed a shot even at sporting events. Reading your post again I think the time needed in front of a PC would be the most off putting thing. You can set the camera up to give sharper shots straight off the card, but to get the optimum quality it still takes a PC and Photoshop (or similar)

Dslrs are deliberately designed to produce softer images the a compact would, it's only after processing the massive superiority becomes obvious.
 
If you can beg or borrow a Dslr (off a friend perhaps?), it should help a lot in your decision. I know these cameras are not cheap, so try before you buy may be good advice.

Before I bought my 7D, I tried my friends Nikon D70, it was a revelation!
I was still using my 1988 Minota 9000 at the time! lol
 
While I am on here..I need another answer to a question. Is the Maxxum 7 the same as a Maxxum 70???? I am really confused! I was doing some price comparisons and when I search the online camera stores for Minolta Maxxum 7, it brings up a Minolta Maxxum 70! The price is only around 400.00 which seems a bit low..(although 1 website had it listed around 700.00) Can someone shed some light on this please?? If I do decide to go the way of film again, I would like to make sure I am purchasing the right camera!! The local Wolf store doesnt carry the 7 yet...
 
Back
Top