The two Minolta bodies (Minolta X-300 and Minolta SRT-101) that were given to me by friends seem to have pulled me in to shooting more with Minolta. I picked up a Minota X-700, and it’s an upgrade from the X-300. The Program mode is a nice option on a camera from 1981 – set the shutter speed dial to “P”, and the lens to its smallest aperture, and the camera selects shutter and aperture for you. You can also use AE (Aperture Priority) mode, where the camera picks a shutter speed based on the aperture you select, or Manual, where you select shutter and aperture. In all three modes, the viewfinder gives you feedback on metering and the options selected, although in Program mode you won’t see what aperture is being used. And in Manual mode, you won’t see the selected shutter speed, but the one the meter recommends. Overall the metering seemed accurate – nothing on the roll seems over- or under-exposed. I was also happy with the focusing – there were twelve frames where I had the aperture wide open at f/1.7, and there was one frame where I seemed to have missed my point of focus.
Minota X-700
Minolta MD 50mm f/1.7
Kodak Gold 100
