moimoi
Veteran Member
Hi,
I recently purchased the Minolta X570, so getting back to film photography, and here are my first impressions. So far so good.
First steps back to film photography after a long hiatus: handling of the Minolta X570
The last time I shot film was in 2001 with a Konica Autoreflex T3 in Houston, TX. Since then, I exclusively shot digital: former gear: Nikon D70 > D200 > D300s > left Nikon camp > Sony a850 + a900 > left Sony camp > current gear: Canon 6D and 5DIV, Fuji X100T. Quite recently, I have got my hands on the Minolta X570 + Rokkor 50 mm f/1.7 (the condition is “used-like new” for the lens, the body in very good conditions as well). To be honest, I could not be happier with this choice. Herein are my first impressions:
The camera was designed and sold in 1983, and was a “downgraded” version of the more famous Minolta X700 model. The X570 is however all what you wish for an analogue camera, and I will explain why:
http://www.maximesiegler.com/
https://www.facebook.com/maxime.siegler.photography
"All we have discovered is that it starts with a single individual - always a child - and then spreads explosively, like the formation of crystals round the first nucleus in a saturated solution." Arthur C. Clarke (Childhood's End, 1953)
I recently purchased the Minolta X570, so getting back to film photography, and here are my first impressions. So far so good.
First steps back to film photography after a long hiatus: handling of the Minolta X570
The last time I shot film was in 2001 with a Konica Autoreflex T3 in Houston, TX. Since then, I exclusively shot digital: former gear: Nikon D70 > D200 > D300s > left Nikon camp > Sony a850 + a900 > left Sony camp > current gear: Canon 6D and 5DIV, Fuji X100T. Quite recently, I have got my hands on the Minolta X570 + Rokkor 50 mm f/1.7 (the condition is “used-like new” for the lens, the body in very good conditions as well). To be honest, I could not be happier with this choice. Herein are my first impressions:
The camera was designed and sold in 1983, and was a “downgraded” version of the more famous Minolta X700 model. The X570 is however all what you wish for an analogue camera, and I will explain why:
- The camera package is both light and small without compromising some important features. In a few words, superb portability! Its dimensions (without the lens) are comparable to the Fuji X100 series. The built quality is excellent, and albeit being mostly made of (good quality) plastic, the camera feels durable and sturdy. In contrast, the bottom part of the camera is made of metal. The ergonomics are great too and the camera fits well in my hands. Overall, the features-to-size factor ratio is quite excellent.
- The viewfinder is bright and HUGE! It has 95% coverage and has a 0.9x effective magnification, a real pleasure to look through it. No modern full frame dSLRs have such large viewfinders. As today, the largest dSLR viewfinder (for Full Frame cameras) has just 0.76x effective magnification (with 100% coverage though).
- One great feature is its Aperture Priority mode (A, my favorite mode), which makes the analogue experience more responsive that any fully manual cameras. If you are into film journalism, probably a must have feature! Focus manually, select the aperture you want, then the camera will select the shutter speed (max shutter speed 1/1000s, so if you shoot with fast lenses at f/1.2-1.4, choose low sensitivity speed films, ISO 64 or lower) based on your targeted subject, and then you are ready to capture the frame. This mode works surprisingly well as the camera is equipped with a very accurate center-weighted light metering system. I recently shot my first roll (Portra 400, which is very forgiving as the film has great latitude), all 36 exposures turned out to be well exposed. None were overexposed or underexposed. Truly excellent, and that’s a big selling point as far as I am concerned. Unlike the X700, the camera has no P mode (Program), which is not necessarily a big loss.
- If you want to shoot in M mode (manual), you can. The camera is actually smarter than the X700 as the viewfinder indicates both the current shutter speed (one LED) and the suggested shutter speed (another LED). The X700 just shows you the suggested shutter speed, so you must be sure to look at the shutter speed dial before clicking the shutter button (which means you must look away from the viewfinder = less efficient). With the X570, you can match both current and suggested shutter speeds without having to get your sight away from the viewfinder. Brilliant!
- The camera is also equipped with a dedicated depth of field preview (located on the bottom front left side of the camera) and an automatic exposure lock (AEL, located on the front side of the camera) buttons. While I barely use the former (it can be useful though), the latter is very useful for reframing your subject right after the camera calculates the correct exposure (e., shutter speed in A mode). While activated, the AEL button will lock the exposure to your initial target (e.g., exposure locked on faces for portraits).
- The camera tackles ISO 12-3200 film speeds, i.e., the light meter will know which exposure to choose based on the specified ISO setting.
- One issue some people may have is the camera does not work without battery. In that sense, the shutter is electronically controlled, so it is probably best to have a spare battery (2 x S76/LR44/SR44/EPX-76 1.5v or 1x CR-1/3N 3v). Just turn off your camera when you are not using it, and you will be fine. One benefit though is when the camera is off, there is no way you can accidently push the shutter button.
http://www.maximesiegler.com/
https://www.facebook.com/maxime.siegler.photography
"All we have discovered is that it starts with a single individual - always a child - and then spreads explosively, like the formation of crystals round the first nucleus in a saturated solution." Arthur C. Clarke (Childhood's End, 1953)
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