Having only relatively recently fallen into photography, and allowed myself to be seduced by the corporate image of Sony, I am now discovering the rich and interesting history of Minolta cameras.

Do any Photoclubalpha forum members have any sort of collection of Minolta cameras and lenses?

I am determined to explore the film world, before it is too late and aquired an SRT 100b a little while ago but won on ebay over the holiday an XG9 for less than a tenner, and it arrived today. The cameras from the manual focus era appeal and DK's poster is becoming something of a reference work, as is the Rokkor Files.

Am I alone?

Am I very sad

Brian

My pre-Sony and pre-Canon list of Minolta cameras are below. I still have all except the ones I mention that are gone.

- Minolta XK, bought in 1976, sold in 2000
- Minolta X-700, bought in 1983
- Minolta Maxxum 7000i, bought in 1988
- Minolta Alpha 7xi, bought in 1991
- Minolta Alpha 707si, bought in 1993
- Minolta Alpha 9xi, bought in 1997, sold in 2000
- Minolta Maxxum 7, bought in 2002
- Minolta Dimage 7i, bought in 2002, sold in 2004
- Konica Minolta 7D, bought in 2005, KM replaced it with another in 2005, sent it in 5 times to get the same problem repaired, Sony gave me a full refund in 2006

X-700 (2)
MD 28mm f/2.8
MD 50mm f/1.4
MD 100mm f/2.5
MD 200mm f/2.8
Auto 360PX Flash

None

I was a Nikonist.

Aren't you a doctor H? Surely you can get some cream for that

Brian

Frankly, I did apply a cream in the mornings and a lotion for the nights, and everything turned out to A-mount.

I shot with a Maxxum 5 and a Quantaray (Sigma) 28-90 from 2000 to 2008. In 2007 I went shopping for a flash gun and found to my surprise that Minolta wasn't in the camera business anymore. The only one I could find was a $400 Sony unit, and that's how I discovered the Alpha brand. The following year in 2008, I got a Uniomat for $15 on ebay, and my brother gave me an a700 as a wedding present.

Without digging out my film cameras and lenses, I'll rattle off what I've bought over the years. I still have most of it, even though some of it's been stolen twice!

Bodies -
XGM (2), one still here, one sent to Brazil for a friend.
X700
X570 lost when it went for repair, and the shop owner died. By the time I went back for it everything was gone!
XG1 My buddies gift to me when he went to Maxxums.
SRT 102 Bought after having a battery failure in the Amazon jungle on my X700, w/ no spare camera or batt!
SRT 202 or 201, I forget which.
a HighMatic - rescued from a 2nd hand shop
Minolta 16 (EE)? w/ flash - given to be by my old boss - he picked it up while in Korea in the 60's

Minolta Lenses -
50 /1.7
50 /1.4
50 /1.2
58 /1.4
45 /2.0
135 /2.8

Non-Minolta glass -
20mm or 21mm that came from Spiratone - stolen not recovered
28 /2.8 Albinar
28 -80 ?? forgot brand
80 -200 /4-5.6 Sears and Roebuck
70 -260 Vivitar
135 2.8 Osawa - I LOVED that lens
500 non-auto 5 Star (Spiratone)
Albinar Super Wide Fish Eye Converter (Screws on to normal or wide lens to create fisheye)

Accessories -
Various 2x, 1.4x and I think a 3x multiplier.
a couple of Kalimar autowinders
Vivitar 283 Flash (2)
360 PX flash - stolen not recovered
280 PX flash
2 Kmart (Kalimar made) "potato masher" thyristor twin bounce swivel flashes - would cover 28mm, high GN
a Metz "potato masher" flash

That's what I remember. There may be more tucked away somewhere.

Dusty

Dusty, you have some wonderful oldies there.

Yes, and I hated to retire them. I'll still use them sometimes, I'm sure, but now that digital comes pretty much on a par w/ 35mm film, there's really no 'need'. The combination of needing to shoot a wedding again, the local pro developing lab switching to sign printing (no film business, and digital printing mostly done at home now, or the local pharmacy), and worrying about manually focusing with my bad eye (torn retina taking out the shooting eye), made me switch.

Now, if only I could get a 4x5 quality digital at a price less than the cost of a new house....

Dusty

Mine are:

Cameras
SRT 101b bought from R G Lewis in 1976 - I still treasure it and it has its original strap
XGM - given to a friend
XD7 - re-covered in maroon leather (the original vinyl was notorious for dropping off these cameras) - still have it
Dynax 7 - just bought my second - fantastic camera
Dynax 7D - great camera
A700 - not sure yet; returned the first because of sensor mis-alignment and inaccurate focusing - hope the replacement is OK

Lenses
Rokkor MD 24/2.8
Rokkor MC 58/1.2
Tokino RMC 80-200/4.5
Rokkor MD 28-85/3.5-4.5
Rokkor MC 85/1.7
Soligor 135/2.8 (MC fit)
Soligor 45-150/3.5 Macro (MC)
Vivitar 35/1.9 (MC) (since sold)
AF 85/1.4 G (D)
50/1.4 AF
135/2.8 AF
200/2.8 AF Apo
1.4 APO TC
28/2.8 AF
17-35 AF/2.8-4
Sony 18-250 AF

Don't use the MC/MD ones much now but they and the bodies are still functioning perfectly.

Minolta is the only camera company I have, will ever, only use.
It started with the:
Minolta Hi-Matic F (Used it up until last summer. 12 years of great service)
Minolta Talker (shutter broke)
Minolta Autopak 450E (used it for a year)
Minolta Freedom Tele
Minolta Freedom III
Minolta X700. Complete with Minolta Motor Drive 1, Minolta Multi-Function Back, Minolta Auto Electroflash 280PX, Minolta 28mm MD Wide Angle, Minolta 50mm MC Standard, Vivitar 70-210mm MD Zoom Telephoto with a Match Multiplier, Quantary 70-200mm MD Zoom Telephoto (Got this last year, LOVE IT)
JVC Everio Camcorder (Why is that on the list? It has a Minolta Lens)
Minolta (cough cough sony) Alpha 700 (Coming soon either Oct or Dec of 2009)

All camera's on the list I still own except the Talker.

My first camera, 20+ years ago, was a SRT 101 with a 50mm 1.7 and a Tokina 35-105 f3.5-4.5 Then I went to Nikon for a while.

Now, other the AF stuff, I have
SRT 101
X700 (2) with Motor Drive 1
MD 24mm f2.8
MD 35mm f2.8
MD 50mm f3.5 Macro
MD 50mm f1.4
MC 58mm 1.4
MD 135mm f2.8
MD 200mm f4
MD 300mm f4

Now I'm waiting for Seagull to came with a Digital X700, FF if possible...

Regards

Well after Don's list here is my masive list

3xi (still have it, but it's faulty)
600si (trade-in to buy the alpha 350, should have kept it )

min 50 1.7
min 70-210 5.6 (sold)

sig 170-500 (sold)

currently I have :
2x XD-7
Dynax 700Si
Dynax 800Si
Maxxum 5QD
Dynax 7D

Minolta 110 SLR
Minolta 110 SLR MkII
Veectis S-1