Mini Minolta

[Igor.Burshteyn]

Will, I still have minolta 800si plus some really good glass - 50mm f1.7, tamron 90mm macro 1:1, 28-135mm f4. I recommend them all. It's just I don't use minolta kit anymore - spoiled by OM handling, plus got Bronica ETRSI lately. But I remember when I used them - IQ was stunning.

 

[NathanJD]

I'm mad about this little camera - I have the silver Dynax 5 model (below) and the stock 28-80mm zoom. I never pursued the Minolta system because I bought this little guy for my partner off ebay about 3 years ago and not long after bought myself the Nikon D40. sadly the 5 sees incredibly little action as my partner now uses the D40 and leaves me with my Ruski RFs and D200.

 

[shadowfox]

I've been looking for one of these little alpha 5's recently and all I can find is the silver maxxum/dynax version. Was Japan the only country to get a black version or something?

That could be, you know, this camera is also known as Alpha Sweet II in Japan. You may want to broaden your search to include that name.

An update, since I'm here already, got a rare-ish 28-135mm zoom for it:

Due to that dent on the filter ring, I got this cheaply. How does it perform? Well, in short, I think it deserves the reputation

 

[Igor.Burshteyn]

Will, this lens is made of solid metal, tank of a lens - that must have been quite an impact many current lenses would fall apart after this

 

[shadowfox]

Igor, that was what I'm afraid of also. That the impact will somehow mess with the inner assembly. But I can't tell from the pictures, they are all so sharp and the contrast is quite something.

 

[Pompiere]

I bought a Maxxum 5 for my wife a few years ago. She has small hands, so the small size worked well for her. She was really disappointed when the shutter jammed and couldn't be fixed under warranty. They gave us full purchase price toward a new digital, though. They only took the body when they sent it for repair, so I still have the lens. Some day I need to get another Maxxum body to go with the lens.

 

[shadowfox]

Sure, get a new body for your lenses, they are too good to gather dust.

Even the awesome Maxxum 7 is quite affordable now. The top dog Maxxum 9 is still up there in price, though...