Yashica GSn vs Minolta 7s?

[Rob]

I was about to sell all my rangefinders and stick to my EOS
system, in fact I did sell my Oly 35RC to one of this forums
members. Then Saturday I stumbled across a near mint
condition Minolta 7s in the box with case, owners manual
and warranty card at a price no one could pass up!
I have not gotten a proper battery for it to test the meter
but everything else is working well, even the light seals
are not all gummed up...Just wanting to get a comparison
of this camera to the Yashica GSN cameras that I am more
familiar with in areas like lens sharpness, accurate meter,
ease of use, ease of focus, etc. Or just tell me what you
like or dont like about the Minolta 7s...
Thanks.
Rob

 

[bmattock]

Rob,

I like everything about the 7s - I'm sure you'll like it too. I think it may even have a sharper lens than the Yashica, and that's saying something. Having control over the shutter speed is a plus as well. It also does not have that annoying Yashica 'clunk' noise when wound on.

Only drawbacks from my point of view:

1) Viewfinder not quite as bright as the Yashica, with a tendency to flare out in the outdoors.

2) The winder 'arc' is about 220 degrees. Weird. Yashica has a much more normal 'throw'.

These are minor quibbles - the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s is a fine camera!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks