Jörg Krüger
Minolta X-500
Minolta X-500 with Minolta MD 3.5/28
(Minolta X-570 in USA)
The same flea market, another day, another camera bag. The seller immediately offered it for 5 €, a look into it explained why: one lens in two parts, another one with shattered front element, I had my very doubts whether this X-500 was in working order. But then I found this nice 3.5/28 in an acceptable condition, and since I have a weakness for those slow wide angle lenses I eventually purchased that bag.
After (a lot of) cleaning and testing it turned out, that the camera was fully working. The X-500 is ranged between the simple X-300 and the top model X-700 and meanwhile it is no insider tip any more that it is the preferred model of this series for many photographers. It has more features than the X-300 (DOF-preview, TTL-flash, interchangeable back, viewer indication of f-stop) and some small advantages over the X-700, like a better flash management and the fact, that in manual mode the set shutter speed is indicated in the viewfinder in addition to the metered one. And it seems, that most users don't miss the programmed AE mode of the X-700 at all.
It was introduced in April 1983, and in my opinion, it is one of the best amateur cameras of its time and still worth a recommendation today. It fits my hand very well and its not that miniaturized like a Pentax Super A or Yashica FX-D. Afaik, all three Minolta X-cameras were offered until 1999. BTW, I like the writing of my German instruction manual, with sentences like "man nimmt die LED-Anzeigen nur als ungefähren Anhaltspunkt bzw. beachtet sie einfach nicht" which roughly means "take the LEDs as approximate clue or just ignore them". Imagine that in a Nikon manual. Interesting to know, how faithful the translation is from the Japanese origin.
My idea about those slow wide angle lenses is, that the image quality might be not perfect, but very homogeneous over the whole frame, and meanwhile I have a couple of those. There is a nice site about Minolta lenses and its author supports my thoughts, he would prefer the 3.5/28 over the 2.8/28.
lensqaworks.com/2018/01/14/minolta-md-28mm-3-5/
The lens here is the third MD version (MDIII) with a lockable f/22. Fortunately its former owner protected the front lens element with a skylight filter, so it doesn't look that battered like the rest. Also nice is, that the snap-on lens hood of my Minolta 4/35-70 AF seems to fit perfectly, that's continuity. With some luck you can get that lens on *bay for only 15 €.
Minolta X-500
Minolta X-500 with Minolta MD 3.5/28
(Minolta X-570 in USA)
The same flea market, another day, another camera bag. The seller immediately offered it for 5 €, a look into it explained why: one lens in two parts, another one with shattered front element, I had my very doubts whether this X-500 was in working order. But then I found this nice 3.5/28 in an acceptable condition, and since I have a weakness for those slow wide angle lenses I eventually purchased that bag.
After (a lot of) cleaning and testing it turned out, that the camera was fully working. The X-500 is ranged between the simple X-300 and the top model X-700 and meanwhile it is no insider tip any more that it is the preferred model of this series for many photographers. It has more features than the X-300 (DOF-preview, TTL-flash, interchangeable back, viewer indication of f-stop) and some small advantages over the X-700, like a better flash management and the fact, that in manual mode the set shutter speed is indicated in the viewfinder in addition to the metered one. And it seems, that most users don't miss the programmed AE mode of the X-700 at all.
It was introduced in April 1983, and in my opinion, it is one of the best amateur cameras of its time and still worth a recommendation today. It fits my hand very well and its not that miniaturized like a Pentax Super A or Yashica FX-D. Afaik, all three Minolta X-cameras were offered until 1999. BTW, I like the writing of my German instruction manual, with sentences like "man nimmt die LED-Anzeigen nur als ungefähren Anhaltspunkt bzw. beachtet sie einfach nicht" which roughly means "take the LEDs as approximate clue or just ignore them". Imagine that in a Nikon manual. Interesting to know, how faithful the translation is from the Japanese origin.
My idea about those slow wide angle lenses is, that the image quality might be not perfect, but very homogeneous over the whole frame, and meanwhile I have a couple of those. There is a nice site about Minolta lenses and its author supports my thoughts, he would prefer the 3.5/28 over the 2.8/28.
lensqaworks.com/2018/01/14/minolta-md-28mm-3-5/
The lens here is the third MD version (MDIII) with a lockable f/22. Fortunately its former owner protected the front lens element with a skylight filter, so it doesn't look that battered like the rest. Also nice is, that the snap-on lens hood of my Minolta 4/35-70 AF seems to fit perfectly, that's continuity. With some luck you can get that lens on *bay for only 15 €.