Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
04-14-2021, 05:37 PM - 5 Likes   #7771
Veteran Member




Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 629
Just got a surprise package in the mail from a good friend who knows I'm into film photography. Included in it is this like new (plastic still on the bottom!) Minolta X700.
Already loaded with film, dry firing through all the speeds etc showed no issues.



04-15-2021, 01:11 AM - 4 Likes   #7772
Forum Member




Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Essex
Posts: 54
My toys...

Too much to list and not all is shown...
Attached Images
View Picture EXIF
LG-H870  Photo 
View Picture EXIF
LG-H870  Photo 
View Picture EXIF
LG-H870  Photo 
View Picture EXIF
LG-H870  Photo 
View Picture EXIF
LG-H870  Photo 
View Picture EXIF
LG-H870  Photo 
View Picture EXIF
LG-H870  Photo 
04-15-2021, 02:08 AM   #7773
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Feb 2017
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,991
QuoteOriginally posted by Huss Quote
Just got a surprise package in the mail from a good friend who knows I'm into film photography. Included in it is this like new (plastic still on the bottom!) Minolta X700.
Already loaded with film, dry firing through all the speeds etc showed no issues.
Nice. The X700 was the first camera I ever bought from new (Feb 1985 with 35mm f2.8 MD lens). I still have one, not that it gets used very often, for old times sake. Although I have to say mine is a bit ropier than yours.
04-15-2021, 08:11 AM   #7774
Veteran Member




Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 629
QuoteOriginally posted by richard0170 Quote
Nice. The X700 was the first camera I ever bought from new (Feb 1985 with 35mm f2.8 MD lens). I still have one, not that it gets used very often, for old times sake. Although I have to say mine is a bit ropier than yours.
Yah this thing is cherry. It is weird, as many have mentioned, how the manual mode does not show in the VF what your shutter speed is, just what the 'correct' one is. While the lower end models do actually show that. Kinda reminds me of my CLE where in manual mode the metering turns off!

04-15-2021, 08:55 AM   #7775
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jon.partsch's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Northern California
Posts: 442
QuoteOriginally posted by Huss Quote
Just got a surprise package in the mail from a good friend who knows I'm into film photography. Included in it is this like new (plastic still on the bottom!) Minolta X700.
Already loaded with film, dry firing through all the speeds etc showed no issues.
❤ Minolta!

Is this a Japan made or China made (late model) one? Many (most?) X-700 are prone to failure of an electrolytic capacitor that opens the shutter. There are actually two of these problem capacitors in this model, I believe. They are a bit tricky to replace, but the problem and solution is well documented online in various places.
04-15-2021, 11:58 AM   #7776
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Feb 2017
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,991
QuoteOriginally posted by Huss Quote
Yah this thing is cherry. It is weird, as many have mentioned, how the manual mode does not show in the VF what your shutter speed is, just what the 'correct' one is. While the lower end models do actually show that. Kinda reminds me of my CLE where in manual mode the metering turns off!
I could never get my head around that manual mode either. I either used use aperture priority and the exposure lock to shift the exposure, or more often an incident light meter
and manual mode
04-15-2021, 02:05 PM   #7777
Pentaxian




Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Pugetopolis
Posts: 11,008
QuoteOriginally posted by jon.partsch Quote
I'll play....
Does the rangefinder work on your Crown Graphic?

04-15-2021, 02:47 PM - 1 Like   #7778
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jon.partsch's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Northern California
Posts: 442
QuoteOriginally posted by tuco Quote
Does the rangefinder work on your Crown Graphic?
Yes, it does, but since it is calibrated for the Voightlander 105mm lens only, and my aim is to use the camera for carefully composed landscapes only, I don't use it. I've even considered removing it.

- Jon
04-15-2021, 03:37 PM - 2 Likes   #7779
Pentaxian




Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Pugetopolis
Posts: 11,008
QuoteOriginally posted by jon.partsch Quote
Yes, it does, but since it is calibrated for the Voightlander 105mm lens only, and my aim is to use the camera for carefully composed landscapes only, I don't use it. I've even considered removing it.

- Jon

Mine does with a hack to lock down one of the prisms. But I've done some successful handhold people pictures with it. Mine came with a Schneider Xenar 135/f4.7. But it doesn't have an image circle large enough for the little front tilt this camera can do. So I put on a Rodenstock APO Sironar N 135/f5.6 that has a larger image circle. These smaller lenses fold with the camera and I like that feature. I also have a smaller Schneider APO 120mm and 150mm that fold with the camera too.




04-15-2021, 03:47 PM   #7780
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jon.partsch's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Northern California
Posts: 442
QuoteOriginally posted by tuco Quote
Mine does with a hack to lock down one of the prisms. But I've done some successful handhold people pictures with it. Mine came with a Schneider Xenar 135/f4.7. But it doesn't have an image circle large enough for the little front tilt this camera can do. So I put on a Rodenstock APO Sironar N 135/f5.6 that has a larger image circle. These smaller lenses fold with the camera and I like that feature. I also have a smaller Schneider APO 120mm and 150mm that fold with the camera.
Nice!

I think the only lens I have that will fold with the camera is the Voigtländer Color Skopar that came with it. I have a couple wide angles that cover 4x5 that I could use with movements (including, I think, the Nikkor-SW that is mounted in my photo), but I haven't tried any of that fancy stuff yet.

- Jon
04-15-2021, 04:15 PM - 2 Likes   #7781
Pentaxian




Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Pugetopolis
Posts: 11,008
QuoteOriginally posted by jon.partsch Quote
Nice!

... but I haven't tried any of that fancy stuff yet.

- Jon
They had their reasons for having to drop the front bed to do the front tilt or rise (wider angle lens option I think) but, for me, it's cumbersome to deploy in that configuration compared to just allowing you to tilt/raise the lens in any position on the fly.

I gave front tilt a test in this shot on my Crown Graphic for more DOF in the distance. It doesn't take but a little tilt for this kind of shot.





Play Ball!
Sironar N 135mm, FP4+, D-23
04-15-2021, 04:15 PM   #7782
Veteran Member




Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 629
QuoteOriginally posted by jon.partsch Quote
❤ Minolta!

Is this a Japan made or China made (late model) one? Many (most?) X-700 are prone to failure of an electrolytic capacitor that opens the shutter. There are actually two of these problem capacitors in this model, I believe. They are a bit tricky to replace, but the problem and solution is well documented online in various places.
Not sure, where would it say it? Turning it around, looking at the base plate etc I don't see any place of mfg. There is film in it at the moment, so if it is inside the back I'll have to wait!
04-15-2021, 05:04 PM   #7783
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jon.partsch's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Northern California
Posts: 442
QuoteOriginally posted by Huss Quote
Not sure, where would it say it? Turning it around, looking at the base plate etc I don't see any place of mfg. There is film in it at the moment, so if it is inside the back I'll have to wait!
I'm just going from memory here, but I believe the made in China ones have it stamped on the base plate while the made in Japan ones are blank.

I think the bad capacitor issue can effect either, but the made in China ones are newer and may be less prone to the capacitor issue simply because they are newer. The previous flagship model, the XD-11 (XD-7 in Europe and XD in Japan), also had a capacitor to open the shutter electronically, but used a more robust (and more expensive) type of capacitor - a tantalum capacitor.

- Jon

---------- Post added 04-15-2021 at 05:08 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by tuco Quote
They had their reasons for having to drop the front bed to do the front tilt or rise (wider angle lens option I think) but, for me, it's cumbersome to deploy in that configuration compared to just allowing you to tilt/raise the lens in any position on the fly.

I gave front tilt a test in this shot on my Crown Graphic for more DOF in the distance. It doesn't take but a little tilt for this kind of shot.





Play Ball!
Sironar N 135mm, FP4+, D-23
Nice photo! Yeah, I think I remember something about the bed having to be dropped so that it didn't enter the frame in certain wide‐angle shots.
04-15-2021, 05:56 PM   #7784
Veteran Member
cooltouch's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 982
QuoteOriginally posted by richard0170 Quote
I could never get my head around that manual mode either. I either used use aperture priority and the exposure lock to shift the exposure, or more often an incident light meter
and manual mode
The X-700, like the A-series Canons (except the AT-1) is handicapped in that way. Its meter is not fully cross-coupled. This is why I, and others in the know, prefer the X-570 to the X-700. The X-570 has a fully cross-coupled meter. True, you give up the P mode. But big deal. If you're manually setting the meter, you're not using P anyway.

The Canon A-series, being shutter priority cameras, show the shutter speed in manual mode, but they only show the recommended aperture value, not the actual one set. The Minolta X-700, being an aperture-priority camera, shows the aperture values, but only the recommended shutter speed in the viewfinder, not the actual one set. Of the two series, the Canon AT-1, which is a manual-exposure only model, and the X-570, which retains Aperture priority, are the models that provide the most functionality for users who prefer manual mode. I'm not sure about the X-370; I've never owned nor used one.
04-15-2021, 07:59 PM - 2 Likes   #7785
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Seattle
Photos: Albums
Posts: 1,751
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
645n, af, bronica, camera, chris, ebay, eric, f2.8, fa, film, flickr, gear p0rn post, lens, mx, nettar, p3, p30t, pentax, photography magazine, post, praktica, retina, shutter, site, store, stuff, swap, test, thrift, tools, winder
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
The "Keeper" Lens Club -- You'll regret it if you sell it. vandamro Lens Clubs 114 04-06-2023 10:37 PM
Is it safe to share my personal collection of K-01 lens p0rn? elpolodiablo Pentax K-01 41 03-01-2013 11:16 AM
If you aren't using it, zip it up! The Jannie Pentax DSLR Discussion 17 09-16-2011 04:35 PM
You've got to love technology and it's mindlessness mtansley General Talk 6 07-24-2011 05:43 PM
Cityscape Got one I'd like to see what you can do with it photolady95 Photo Critique 9 06-25-2011 01:27 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:09 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top