Minolta Dynax 700si

...I update my cameras to Minolta due to cost reasons. Big mistake. I bought a 700si and a 9xi. The 9xi was released as a professional camera. It seemed sturdy and very advanced for its time. The 700si had similar features but was less sturdy, it was to be my back up camera. Just over a year after purchase, ie just out of guarantee the 9xi failed with a sticking shutter. It was repaired twice, by reputable repair centers. The final failing was whilst ...
...I sent the cameras to minolta for a quote. £120 to get the 700si rewinding film, nearly £300 to replace the mirror on the 9xi. This was actually more than the second hand value of the cameras (assuming they worked of course. I conveyed my dismay regarding the situation to the "powers that be" at Minolta but they were just not interested. This is why you rarely see a professional photographer with a Minolata camera. A footnote to this episode ... more

I've been a pro photographer for over 10 years. Mainly I have used Nikon, but during a lean period in my career I update my cameras to Minolta due to cost reasons. Big mistake. I bought a 700si and a 9xi. The 9xi was released as a professional camera. It seemed sturdy and very advanced for its time. The 700si had similar features but was less sturdy, it was to be my back up camera. Just over a year after purchase, ie just out of guarantee the 9xi failed with a sticking shutter. It was repaired twice, by reputable repair centers. The final failing was whilst on a shoot in Bergen Norway, when the mirror actually fell out. A few weeks later, the back up 700si failed to rewind the film automatically. Unpeturbed, I used the liitle rubber button underneath to manually rewind. But as you can imagine this soon wore out. The result, no cameras. I sent the cameras to minolta for a quote. £120 to get the 700si rewinding film, nearly £300 to replace the mirror on the 9xi. This was actually more than the second hand value of the cameras (assuming they worked of course. I conveyed my dismay regarding the situation to the "powers that be" at Minolta but they were just not interested. This is why you rarely see a professional photographer with a Minolata camera. A footnote to this episode was that when I asked Minolta to return my cameras, only one arrived. It took Minolta another 3 months to get the other back to me. I now am back to Nikon. I would like to say Nikon service is good, but "touch wood" Ive never had a Nikon go wrong.

1xMinolta 700si and 1xMinolta 9xi - £40 for spares only! 

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