Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
Hello all. I have just bought myself a very nice looking Minolta 9000 with a 50 mm f1.4 minolta lens. Does anyone have any experiences with this camera, good or bad, tips or advice, or things to look out for? Purely for information purposes, as I have tested the camera thoroughly and all appears as it should be, but I was just curious. Many thanks.
On your Minolta 9000 camera if the LCD starts not functioning properly there is a little battery that is hidden. TO access it you have to open the battery compartment and unscrew the metal plate under it to access the small button battery that keeps the LCDs functions in check. There the same as the 7000 which I recently had to change the battery. Good luck with it. If you ever get a 7000i there is only one battery in it.
Minolta 900 is wonderful camera. It's more than 16 years old construction, but the body is metal-made, very robust and durable. It's profy level camera with all features you can need. Only weakness is a slow autofocus. If you don't neet faster AF, and dummy motiv-programms, you will be very satisfied. You can't use xi-zooms and Dynax flashes, allother Minolta and third-party lenses work fine on this body
9000 and dynax 9 are both good cameras.However finding a good 9000 without a bleeding LCD is hard and finding a 2nd hand 9 at a good price, the same.
However, try a 9xi.You can get mint- ones from 220.really. I got mine from mxv.co.uk for 230. Yes they are a bit heavy, but that's what you expect with a semi-pro ( I 've nevere considered Minolta 's top of the range as a pro camera)
I use my 9xi in pref. to my 700si every time.Go on give it a try !!
Oh and I forget.With the 0xi you get to use those daft expansion cards.
But some are not so daft. Like the data2, pan, and bracketing, again from MXV and about 8. Although the custom xi are impossible to find new or 2nd hand.Unless you know different !!
Thank you all. I feel quite lucky to have gottne myself a good camera. The LCD is not leaking, so phew.... Perhaps I have that to look forward to. All seems well with the camera, so I am quite please. Thanks to everyone who has responded, and if anyone else wants to add to it, then please do. The more the merrier.
All the best guys.
Anthony
The Dynax 9xi is a semi pro camera, but the 9000 and Dynax 9 bodies are pro units. Both these cameras come with motor drives or grips and removable focusing screens. The 9000 was a good match for other pro bodies of the time, but Minolta lost this image until the Dynax 9 was made. My wife has a Nikon F100 + lenses from 20mm to 80-200 2.8 and admits my Minolta Dynax 9 + matching optics are better made.
Ref the dynax 9xi
Just in case of any confusion, the focus screens are interchangable , and it has a motor drive.Albeit built in and 4.5 frames per sec.
However these do not a pre-spec camera make !!
I guess my point was the price issue. The 9xi ( like all Minoltas xi series ) were a bit of a mistake , and hence why ( apart from teh 9xi) they were replaced so quickly.However that does not mean they were not ( and still not ) good cameras and excellent VFM.
Being honest I would have liked a dynax 9, but even second hand is it really worth 3 or 4 9xi's?
The 9xi is well built and has features I'll never use (1/12,000") shutter although the flash sync of 1/300" is possible still the fastest around( along with the 9 and top end Canon and Nikon)But............the challange is take 230 and find a better build pro/semi pro camera !!!
I must agree the Dynax 9xi is a lot of camera for the money they are going for, i cannot think of any other body with such high spec for the price.
On the question of the 9000 being a pro body, not only was the camera made with drive units with ni cad power packs, control backs and removable focus sceens but was released with 300mm f2.8 and 600mm f4 APO lenses. Hardly aimed at non pros
A late reply but hey I've only just joined the group.
I've had my Minolta 9000 from Jan 1987 and I can't say enough positive things about it. But I'll try. Since 1990 I've had a number of cameras (numerous Dynaxes, an EOS1, and a flirt with a Nikon F4) and now I find I still prefer Minolta and the 9000 particularly. It has a solid alloy body and it's taken enouogh knocks without complaint over the years, unlike some of the former. The AF is slow compared to the latest kit now, but as I do mainly portraiture and landscapes these days that's not really an issue. I particularly like the manual frame advance - great for battery life and quiet operation. The accessory motordrive is good for 5fps otherwise. The Super90 back provides automated exposure bracketing and then some, and the other accessories cover most other areas.
Feature-wise it's all there - P,S,A,+M exposure modes, good averaged metering + spot metering, etc. The Dynax 9 looks like a great piece of kit and as I don't need one I'll probably end up getting one sometime soon. That said, the old 'it's not the car - it's the driver' is as true as it ever was.
Enjoy that 9000. Mine's 16 years old and I expect it'll carry on for at least another 16.
H
Alex, thanks for the info, better late than never eh! I got my 9000 a few months ago. It came with the AW-90 winder, the slow one, and just last week I bought a very tidy Pro Winder, the fast one. Wow - I am dead chuffed with it, and have so far found it a pleasure to use. My only gripe is - I have a speck of something on the eye piece viewer glass, annoying but not on any of the shots I have taken with it.
Thanks to everyone who has responded, happy new year to everyone too.
Anthony
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
Related Content
Join Our Free Newsletter
Awards
Current Competitions
Olympus 'Portraiture' Competition - Win £1000 Worth Of Gear!
30th April 2013 - 31st May 2013
This month, to celebrate the launch of Olympus' new micro site Olympus Image Space, Olympus are giving you the chance to win £1000 worth of Olympus gear!...
May's Photo Month
Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to unveil new photography tips, treats and techniques.
