New? Gear!

[Jeff A]

Yesterday I got a package from my Son that lives in Seattle. In it was a camera I bought, probably in ’93 or ’94. I loaned it to my Son when he went off to College in Montana. It is a Minolta Maxxum-Dynax 7xi. This camera is basically in new condition, not a scratch on it. So are the lenses and the flash unit and even the original Minolta strap that it has on it. The Prime lens is a 50mm f/1.7 and the second lens is a 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5w/Macro. Of course I have all the manuals with it. I have no memory of this camera, where I bought it, or ever using it. It was the 3rd SLR that I had purchased and was the replacement for SLR #2 that was stolen from my Son's car while he worked at an after school job. Stupidly, the Tamrac camera bag it was in looks familiar to me, but not the camera. This worries me because I am and always have been a "Gear Centrick" kind of guy. This was a Premier camera in its day, and a damn nice camera even today. I had to have paid a good price for it, but I’ll never know. In my personal files I found Minolta literature and multi-page brochures for the camera, but no receipt. I found some digital photos I took in ’97 & ’98 in Europe with a real “Turd” of a digital camera. I also have family photos taken in 1999 with a Kodak DC200 Digital camera. They were not great pictures but Digital cameras had arrived and my Son still had my Maxxum.

Today, Amazon brought me a new battery and I fired it up. It had a roll of ISO 400 Color Film in it that had not grabbed the feed sprocket. I re-loaded the film, and mounted the Maxxum 3500xi Flash unit and shot a few pictures. My son tells me he hasn't touched the camera in over 20 years. I wonder how that film is going to work? I feel like I have opened a Time Capsule. It was fun. I'm not sure what I will do with it. We'll see.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Makes me nostalgic for mine. Such great cameras.

 

[Jeff A]

Makes me nostalgic for mine. Such great cameras.

Which model did you have?

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Which model did you have?

A few! Started with a Dynax (Maxxum in the US) 7000i, then a 7i and finally a 700 si, which I still have somewhere.

 

[Jeff A]

A few! Started with a Dynax (Maxxum in the US) 7000i, then a 7i and finally a 700 si, which I still have somewhere.

Did those cameras serve you well?

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Oh definitely. I stayed with Minolta into the digital age until I wore the shutter out on my Dynax 7D. I would have gone Sony then, but I hated the feel and build of the cameras at that time and so went Pentax.

 

[Jeff A]

Oh definitely. I stayed with Minolta into the digital age until I wore the shutter out on my Dynax 7D. I would have gone Sony then, but I hated the feel and build of the cameras at that time and so went Pentax.

Thank you for your comments. If you knew me, you would think that I would am the type of guy who studies products carefully before making a purchase and you would be correct. I generally go overboard when selecting equipment, no apologies there. I have just found numerous pieces of literature in my filing cabinet which showed me that I had made a well informed purchase. It was in a period in my life where I was working hard in my career and trying to support my family. It was also around the time that Digital cameras were arriving on the scene. Then my Son borrowed the camera and it left the state. The end result is that although I wanted to immerse myself in Photography, it didn't happen. I made a good choice and never really got to use it. So now I have a nice new shiny A73, also a pretty good choice as well, IMHO. Now, if Covid can let up a bit, I may have time to play. It sure is great to have good equipment.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Thank you for your comments. If you knew me, you would think that I would am the type of guy who studies products carefully before making a purchase and you would be correct. I generally go overboard when selecting equipment, no apologies there. I have just found numerous pieces of literature in my filing cabinet which showed me that I had made a well informed purchase. It was in a period in my life where I was working hard in my career and trying to support my family. It was also around the time that Digital cameras were arriving on the scene. Then my Son borrowed the camera and it left the state. The end result is that although I wanted to immerse myself in Photography, it didn't happen. I made a good choice and never really got to use it. So now I have a nice new shiny A73, also a pretty good choice as well, IMHO. Now, if Covid can let up a bit, I may have time to play. It sure is great to have good equipment.

Absolutely. This whole lockdown stuff is maddening but we can still get out a bit. For sure you have made a fine choice in the r3. I hope you can get to use it soon.