The Film Retriever

I will tell you right from the start. This is one of the best (if not the best) camera I've ever laid my hands on. It's fast, it's well build and the exposure and focus is always spot on. This is a pro camera - no doubt about it - it's heavy and I dare to say it has the best design I've ever seen. This camera was meant to compete with the likes of Nikon F4 or the Canon EOS-1but unfortunately it did not do so well. There are plenty of theories out there as to why this happened and I am going to stir in one more. Some say that it was the lack of a build in flash that cost Minolta good sales but this is certainly not the case as neither F4 or the EOS-1 had one. Another very popular theory says that the 9xi didn't do so well was due to it's awkward user interface - and that is true to some point but the EOS-1 had a similar interface, with most functions hidden under a compartment door and so did the Pentax Z-1p which sold well actually. And le...

I got this camera for a pound. The owner said that she had never used it and i do believe her as this camera seems to be in brand new condition. I have a soft spot in my heart for Yashica rangefinders, my father's camera was a Yashica Minimatic-C which he used to record his life in Australia in the '60s. That camera became my very first toy and therefore my bias towards those cameras. But, what's not to like with these cameras? The fit and finish is excellent and their lenses are beyond any criticism. The MG-1 was marketed as not a professional model, they lacked a parallax correction and a fast lens, but still this model is so well made that you wish your digital slr was so well-made. Yashica's Electro series is quite straightforward to use. You set the aperture and the camera selects the speed. If with the selected aperture, there is the risk of overexposure, then a red light will light on - if there you are underexposuring then an orange will light on. N...

Ahh... that's a nice little camera. Many people consider the Dynax 5 a stripped down version of the well sought after 7. And it is, the specifications are quite impressive lacking only in the user interface, lesser build quality and a slower top speed. The AF and the exposure system are the same so expect this camera to deliver the goods time after time.  The AF is fast and confident and the light meter gave me perfectly exposed pictures. But as always there are some things that i would like to be different. 1) The P(anic?) button. It resets everything including the AF points which, in order to select, you need to keep pressed the AF button and at the same time turn the dial. Not very convenient and at times annoying having to do it again. 2) The size of the camera. I usually love small cameras but this one is way too small. I keep pressing the depth of field preview as there is not enough space between the camera's grip and the button. 3) The camera's bac...