Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

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[SiC]
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Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by [SiC] »

Any experiences? What should I pay for a used one?

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AJ Gressette
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Re: Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by AJ Gressette »

Yea its a good camera. Here is a pretty good review done the first part of this month Dynax 60 aka Maxxum 70

http://www.alphamountworld.com/reviews/ ... -maxxum-70
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Re: Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by [SiC] »

AJ Gressette wrote:Yea its a good camera. Here is a pretty good review done the first part of this month Dynax 60 aka Maxxum 70

http://www.alphamountworld.com/reviews/ ... -maxxum-70
Nice! Thanks :D
I think the 7 is a bit too pricey still considering how little film I shoot... but it would be nice to have a decent film camera that takes my lenses from the D7D :)

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bfitzgerald
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Re: Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by bfitzgerald »

Well I did the review ;-)

On balance, I feel the 60 is a good camera overall. I didn't score it, but if I were going to, it gets an 8/10, or near there. Make sure you read it fully though, there are a few minor points to take note of, pros and cons wise. The other alternative as in the review is the 5 film body, both are good, in their own ways. You cannot go wrong with either one. The 60 is IMO the better handling camera though, the 5 is nice, maybe a tad too small, and benefits a lot from a BP-200 battery pack, which adds AA's to the power souce, but makes it more comfortable to hold. Both are pretty cheap, but there are a lot less 60's on the used market. Always a good supply of 5 film bodies..very common

The 7 is a great camera, but prices seem on the up a bit nowadays. Worth a look if you are serious about film. Lots of choices out there with older bodies too, really, there are no real honker models in the range, not that I have used anyway!
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Re: Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by sparaxis »

I have a Maxxum 4, and two 7s. While the 7s are wonderful, the 4 is very usable indeed.

I am assuming the European 60 is the USA 70, so was probably intended to be "more" than a Maxxum 5.

The way KM was economizing at the end, I would not be surprised if the AF module and Shutter were not shared between the 70/60 and Maxxum 7D. The last film Konica Minoltas were an amazing amount of camera for the money, by all means get one if cheap.

Alan
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Re: Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by bfitzgerald »

I have said this one before, but the 60 cannot share the same shutter as the 7d, simply because it's a FF 35mm one! As for the AF, in the review, I did de-bunk that myth of the 5d/7d having the same AF performance as the 60. It is simply not showing in the real world. I have used the 5d and 60 for over 2 years, and both heavily. The AF on the 5d is not as bad as some say, it's not that it is mega slow (it could be a bit faster sure)..the issues are hunting in low light (and failing to lock a bit too often), and AF tracking. The 60 rarely hunts in low light, is faster overall, and from my own use, has better AF tracking abilities.

So I have to strongly disagree on this one. I bet most people just "think" the 60 has the same AF performance, as the 5/7 d, simply because it was released a bit before the 7d (and it has 9 AF points). I would rate the 60's AF as slightly better than the film 5 even, bit faster. The film 7 is unique and very strong for AF, that remains a benchmark in film performance on Minolta bodies. The real challenge with moving objects is keeping the AF point on the subject..though the 7 is good with wide AF..no question.

I based this on real world use too, not forums! lol

The 60 isnt perfect, but for a £30 ebay camera, it's a pretty good deal.
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Re: Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by Greg Beetham »

The Dynax 60 is a nice light camera, very light with a smallish lens like a 24-105, if your used too the weight of a DSLR you will notice the difference. Like Barry says the focus is nice and quick, and the camera has most of the functions you would need for general photography, the only issue I have is the lack of any flash balance facility, (but the flash control with the 36 or 56 is usually very good in my experinece along with exposure accuracy in general), also the auto popup flash can give you a bit of a fright the first time it goes up with a klunk, but only in Full Auto mode and P mode, it is set by default to flash cancel in A S M mode except where the light is low and the AF illuminator is required, (there is two settings that you have to set too stop it from doing it, the main one is Custom 10: AF illuminator OFF the other is Mode dial flash cancel), apart from that the only other improvement I would have liked is to have had the same rechargable lithium battery that is in the KM7D-5D, and I would willingly put up with the slight extra weight. I think the only difference between the Dynax 60 and Maxxum 70 is the latter has the date imprint function.
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Re: Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by sparaxis »

Have a look on KEH, as well as B&H and Adorama for a guide to US prices.

Offhand, I would say not much more than $80-$120 (or local equivalent)

I bought a mint, boxed Maxxum 7 for around $250 about a year ago, which gives an idea of where prices are for film Minoltas.

With respect to the 60/70 sharing the same shutter as the 5D/7D: There is a US patent (or application, I forget which) detailling this concept. The whole point about using a FF sized shutter is to give space for the sensor plus IR filter mounted on AS mechanism to move around. We see this with the oversized shutter on the A900. This was one of the reasons the Canikon "experts" offered as to why there would never be a FF with SS. Whether KM actually did what they patented is another issue altogether. The drawings are very detailled and not in the least like conceptual sketches.

I have no love for the autofocus on the 7D or 5D (I have both....) My little Maxxum 4 has a higher hit rate. I think it would be safe to say that if the last film KM cameras did share the same focussing module with the digitals (Note, only a speculation on my part based on the economics of the issue), the actual computation probably happens on different hardware. Besides it is fairly widely concluded that focus accuracy on digital is more critical than on film, if only because we look at digital images at a much higher magnification. (And think about it too, for any given array of sensors, they cover a larger area on a APS-C digital camera than on a full frame, making it harder to get "spot focus")

The 60/70 is a great little camera if you can find a clean one. There does not seem to be that many around though.

Alan

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bfitzgerald
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Re: Minolta Dynax 60, any good?

Unread post by bfitzgerald »

Not sure I accept focus accuracy is more critical on digital. Some of us are scanning film at very high resolutions, you see everything that goes on, nothing escapes your eye!

There are not that many 60's around, but the odd one does crop up, just keep your ebay eyes peeled, and you should be able to nab one.
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