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| Pretty little things... |
The
xi series was Minolta's nemesis. The 7xi was greeted as a technological
marvel, it's announcement was written on newspapers of that time as it
introduced "fuzzy logic" - a 90's way of refering to artificial
intelligence. Minolta spend millions of dollars for the development of
the camera with part of its technology being used in the rest of the xi
cameras. And yet, those cameras did not bring in the revenue Minolta
expected. The xi series was deemed as full of unnecessary features,
overcomplicated, with high battery consumption and no extensive line of
exotic lenses. This was a blow for Minolta that saw their sales plummeting behind Canon and Nikon.
The Minolta 7xi
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| The Minolta 7xi |
AF
speed is also well improved compared to the previous line, Minolta
claims that the 7xi is able to track a car moving towards the camera at
the speed of 60mph. Although the 7xi was not the first camera that could
identify subject movement and switch to Continuous AF, it was the first
that would switch from one AF sensor to another to keep tracking the
subject (a technique that was elevated to a state of art in the Nikon
F5). According to Popular Photography, the same AF and light meter
module was used on the later 9xi and 700si cameras although in the
latter one's newer electronics made it slightly more responsive.
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| The three amigos.. |
The design of the camera is interesting - quite long and thick but not
very tall, this is a handsome camera but it's design makes it feel
bigger than it really is. Actually, the Nikon F90x is about the same
size but feels smaller. Canon EOS 5 is bigger but more comfortable to
hold. The 7xi is more streamlined and looks good with a few buttons here
and there. The 7xi is the first Minolta to ditch the push-pull buttons,
strangely enough, the newer 5xi still has them. In the 7xi they were
replaced by two more ergonomic rotation wheels.
But how is it taking pictures with it? Well, if you manage to disengage
the eye-start feature which consumes a lot of battery (read on how) and disable the auto-zooming of the 'expert program'(check
manual) it is
a quite good camera actually. I have to say that the AF is very good
and responsive even by today's standards. With the cheap 28-80 f/4-5.6
the cameras ability to lock focus is excellent, I can see why it caused
such a sensation back in 1991. Metering is first rate and user interface
is something you can get used to if you try really hard. Viewfinder is
not the biggest or brightest but is good enough, the mirror box is
silent enough (and so is the motordrive) and has plenty of useful
features (and many more that are useless). Using the camera delivered
good pictures but brought up memories of the biggest sibling (the 9xi),
mainly the fact that simplicity in camera design when it comes to
buttons should go hand-in-hand with its features onboard. Cameras of
similar vintage (i.e. EOS 5) are so much easier to use.
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| The Minolta 7xi can easily track my daughter running and jumping |
Ok, all these might make the 7xi sound like a bad camera. It isn't, it
is quite good even by today's standards but it is quirky and very often
it has a mind of it's own - if you don't disable the auto-size zoom you
find the camera suddenly zooming in when you least expect it (or want
it). It always takes you by surprise - it is something that you don't
want a camera to do. The biggest problem with this camera is not the
amount of features it has but the inability to disengage them. The newer
700si is a better camera just for that reason - it offers you the
choice not to use them. Still, with all its quirks, the Minolta 7xi is an excellent camera.
The Minolta 5xi
A few months after the launch of the 7xi, Minolta
identified a gap in their camera line. The older 5000i sold very well
but it was technologically obsolete by that point. The newer 3xi
received raving reviews and the 7xi was a big step ahead. Minolta
thought that there is a market for a in-between 5xi model, more advanced
than the 3xi but less feature loaded than the 7xi.
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| The Minolta 5xi |
That
didn't work. Casual family snappers went for the 3xi and enthusiastic
amateurs headed for the 7xi. The 5xi did not sell well as price was
significantly higher than the 3xi and very close to the 7xi.
The
5xi is a competent camera thought. There is a single AF point that is
quite efficient, eye-start feature, a simplified 8 zone metering system,
single frame advance, pull-push buttons instead of rotation wheels,
Focus priority only, DX film only, spot metering and shutter speed up to
1/2000 only.
With these
specifications, the 5xi is a simple camera to use. Only real
disadvantage for me is the DX film only. That *can be* a problem some
times - there is an exposure compensation of 1/2 stop but with some
films I prefer the 1/3 stops compensation over the 1/2. Also, while the
AF is good, the camera will not take a picture unless focus has been
reached - and sometimes it takes time for the camera to lock focus,
especially if the subject is moving.
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| Exposure is spot on |
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| The LCD is unusable |
Other than that, I liked the simplicity of it, the form of the camera is
nice and comfortable to hold. It is a very nice and competent camera,
exposure-wise it can cope with a wide range of difficult situations and
always delivered the goods. The spot button is very handy to use too.
For what it's worth, I think the 5xi is a better camera than its
contemporary rivals like the F601 or the EOS 1000(F) or EOS 500 series. A
thing to watch out for - the LCD in the viewfinder bleeds a lot. In my
sample it is difficult to read. Strange stuff, the bigger 7xi doesn't
suffer from it (different suppliers?).
The P(anic) button and a couple of tricks
This is a
typical Minolta thing, a button dedicated to reset the camera every time
you have messed up the settings. Although it sounds like a good idea,
it is badly executed. If you accidentally press the button it will reset
the things you don't want to reset, namely exposure compensation (in DX
only cameras), Auto-flash and Auto-size zoom. Nikon's approach is much
better, a combination of buttons reset the camera.
Also, there is a way to disengage the 'eye-start' feature. Just put a bit of electrical tape over the hand grip sensors. It works really well. Also, if the grip starts becoming white and brittle, put a bit of furniture polish, the one without silicone. It's been more than 6 months now and it still looks like new.
Conclusion
These two Minolta's come
from a period when technology became cheap and easy to implement. That
pushed the camera manufacturers to invent the next big thing - these
cameras feel like the scientific calculators of the early 90's - loads
of functions, loads of buttons, loads of frustration to get your head
around them. The Minoltas are good cameras that will do the job they
meant to do but there are plenty of other cameras that will do the same
and are easier to use. Don't go out of your way to find and buy one, get
a newer model instead like the 700si. If one finds its way to you
cheap, get it. You might find out that you actually like them. At least I do.
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