Sooo...If I Wanted A KM For Fun.....

I have been looking at some of the classic offerings through the years and was thinking it would be interesting to pick one up to fool around with, have some fun with. I know about the "7" series, "A" series and the 5D probably being the best (or among). I was also wondering how the compacts have fared through the years...like the F300, G600 and KD-510.

I also know that some models had sensors to go bad, and maybe other "ailments", as some compacts were prone to having back in the day. I have been interested in the old cameras using the 1/1.8" to 1/1.6" sensors. If I were looking around on Ebay should I stay with the bridge/DSLR models or would any of the compacts be a nice try?

By the way, my 3rd 35mm film camera was an X-700. I dearly loved it, one reason was because it shot the fastest shutter speed in Program mode. I also loved the AE Lock button right next to the shutter. But I sold it to a friend who had an X-570 and lenses as she was working on still and video projects of the waterfalls in our area. I took the money and purchased my last 35mm film camera, a Contax 139 Quartz with T* 50mm F1.7. Maybe some day I might get another X-700.

I recommend the KM A200. It was the last bridge camera made by the company before it left the business, and it had an 8 MP sensor, a 28-200 mm equivalent lens (f 2.8-3.5, very nice!) and a good JPG engine.

This same sensor was in Sony F828, KM A2, Canon Pro-1, and models from Nikon and Olympus. Though this sensor was known as the noise factory, I haven't heard about it going bad in any camera. I myself used this camera for many years.

By the way, I too bought an X-700 in 1983, I think, and I still have it. It's stopped working now due to disuse, but it still looks and feels great, and brings back a lot of memories...

Happy shooting!

Parang.

If your looking for a bridge camera I would recommend the KM a200 .

The a2 has the same sensor and is a slightly bigger camera which can be a good thing and a higher resolution EVF  , but the drawback is because of the tilting EVF the ribbon cable for it can tear due to use leaving you with no EVF , and the rear screen has a limited tilt .

Although the a200's EVF doesn't tilt the swiveling LCD makes up for it .

If your shooting low down , especially macro , this makes the difference , it saves you crawling in the mud looking thru the EVF especially if the cameras in portrait orientation .

The EVF's and LCD of camera from over 10 years ago are much smaller and lower resolution than todays , but with care will still do the job .

The a200's  still a usable camera today capable of giving good results I often take mine with me when I'm shooting with just large format film ( 5"x4" or 7"x5") so I've got a digital camera with an equivalent 28-200mm lens taking up less space and weight than 1 large format lens !

Compared to modern cameras the dynamic range is more limited , but shooting RAW and recovering shadows in PP is quite easy in modern software ( lightroom for e.g ) just don't blow the highlights .

The 8 megapixel sensor gives a good detailed image for printing or viewing on a screen . Just don't go pixel peeping if your used to 24 megapixel !

If you get one , make sure to instal the latest firmware and download the user manual , available from Minolta still ; https://www.konicaminoltasupport.com/index.php?id=3029&L=0

You'll need a Windows XP or MAC of the same era to run the software though as they sold the camera division to Sony in 2006 and never updated anything for later O/S's .

You can probably set up a virtual P.C on a modern P.C , but I could never figure out how so just keep an X.P machine running for my old cameras and film scanners .

As far as a Minolta compact camera , I like the the Minolta DiMage X1 .

A cleaver design of zoom lens behaves like a periscope inside the camera body , so there are no bulky bit's sticking out and it slips in a pocket very easy .

As with all older cameras , don't blow the highlights , and recover the shadows in P.P .

Likewise user manuals and the last firmware update can be down loaded from the website here ; https://www.konicaminoltasupport.com/index.php?id=3381&L=0

.

ParangMehta wrote:

By the way, I too bought an X-700 in 1983, I think, and I still have it. It's stopped working now due to disuse, but it still looks and feels great, and brings back a lot of memories...

Happy shooting!

Parang.

I also have a couple of X700's and an X500 , lovely cameras .

One of my X700 packed in and the shutter doesn't fire but my other and the X500 are working fine ( and both loaded with film) . This is caused by the a capacitor blowing , it was a common fault to the earlier ones a cheap capacitor was fitted .

I believe later models had a better quality one fitted .

It's an easy fix if you or someone you know is handy with a soldering gun .

Two are fitted , one in the base , which is usually the one that goes and is easy to access , and one under the top cover , which requires a bit more work to get too .

I've got some replacement capacitor's but haven't had chance to repair it .

I need to practice fine soldering before messing with the inside of the camera first !

.

If you wan't to get your's sorted ( assuming this is the problem with yours ) , have a read here first ; https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/how-to-identify-a-dead-capacitor-on-a-minolta-x-300-370-500-570-600-700.149035/#post-1951989

Then get some capacitors .

There are some on ebay in the U.S here ;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/x2-Minolta-X-700-Capacitors-Replacement-Pack-220uF-4V-2-Pieces/122945825990?hash=item1ca0246cc6:g:CCcAAOSwbWZac5Jz

You might be able to find some the right size ( rating ) and physical size locally cheaper .

For eg , these are the same rating , but I would have to double check the size to make sure they fit . If they do I'll be getting a few pack's as spares . £2.06 with free delivery rather than £6.18 plus £12.79 delivery from the U.S !

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PANASONIC-ECEA0GKA221-CAPACITOR-RADIAL-4V-220UF-Price-For-5/172069135662

If you do plan on getting some , let me know and I will check the measurements of my spares against the specifications of the last ones I linked too to check if they are the correct ones .

Thank you for all the detailed info!
I have a repair technician here who was willing to repair the camera, buthe said he would have to source the parts from a distant place. When he asked me if I was going to use it enough to justify the expense, I had a rethink. At that time I was using the A200 and my 5D was going strong, so I opted not to go for the repair.

Hope your cameras go on working!
Regards,
Parang.

No problem .

I bought two a few years back when one of the X700 packed in but never got around to fitting them . I paid a fair bit for them as I got them from  the States ( I'm in the U.K) , I put them in "a safe place" and forgot where I put them !

Recently some came up on ebay in the U.K for £10 for 4 so I got a couple of packs as spare .

I'm on holiday at the moment , but when I get back I'll check if the ones I linked to are the same dimensions and get a couple of packs for a lifetime's supply if they are .

Just keep in mind that the A200 and its like are no KM. They are Sony cameras (nothing wrong with that) that still have some KM DNA visible. Instead of buying from ebay, I would look locally for the real deal - a KM 7D. The ergonomics and user experience are so different and so satisfying, that if you're looking for a different experience it's certainly the way to go. Buying locally would allow you to check that the camera is in good working condition before buying, so I don't really see much risk here.

Good luck!

Prognathous wrote:

Just keep in mind that the A200 and its like are no KM. They are Sony cameras (nothing wrong with that) that still have some KM DNA visible. Instead of buying from ebay, I would look locally for the real deal - a KM 7D. The ergonomics and user experience are so different and so satisfying, that if you're looking for a different experience it's certainly the way to go. Buying locally would allow you to check that the camera is in good working condition before buying, so I don't really see much risk here.

Good luck!

I agree. I have a perfectly working KM 7D with grip, charger, flash etc, all paper work and original boxes. I would not sell it for 1000 dollars. My 7D was one of the first after waiting two years for its launch from its original launch date.  If you can find a working 7D , it would be the right camera. Of course it is plagued with shutter issues that when they manifest themself, there are no parts available to fix it. Mine still works perfectly after the original failure and replacement. My 7D has captured priceless memories, and still continues to do so.

Bill

Prognathous wrote:

Just keep in mind that the A200 and its like are no KM. They are Sony cameras (nothing wrong with that) that still have some KM DNA visible. Instead of buying from ebay, I would look locally for the real deal - a KM 7D. The ergonomics and user experience are so different and so satisfying, that if you're looking for a different experience it's certainly the way to go. Buying locally would allow you to check that the camera is in good working condition before buying, so I don't really see much risk here.

Good luck!

I recommended the KM Dimage A200, an 8 MP bridge camera. That is very much a Konica Minolta camera.
The other A200 is a 10 MP SLR made by Sony. I'm not recommending that at all, since I've never used it.

I have a Sony SLT myself, and apart from the rather ordinary JPG engine, it's a fine camera. The live view focus, in particular, is much better than other SLRs.

neilt3 wrote:

No problem .

I bought two a few years back when one of the X700 packed in but never got around to fitting them . I paid a fair bit for them as I got them from the States ( I'm in the U.K) , I put them in "a safe place" and forgot where I put them !

Recently some came up on ebay in the U.K for £10 for 4 so I got a couple of packs as spare .

I'm on holiday at the moment , but when I get back I'll check if the ones I linked to are the same dimensions and get a couple of packs for a lifetime's supply if they are .

It's great that you're still shooting film. I would like to, but no one in my city is processing film or making prints from processed film, so I had to give it up.
Regards,
Parang.

ParangMehta wrote:

I recommended the KM Dimage A200, an 8 MP bridge camera. That is very much a Konica Minolta camera.

Thanks for clarifying. The KM A200 is indeed not a Sony. I own the very similar A2 that pre-date it (but has a much better EVF), and although the experience is pretty good, it's no match for the KM 7D. Same goes for image quality.

Michael Fritzen wrote:

neilt3 wrote:

...You'll need a Windows XP or MAC of the same era to run the software though as they sold the camera division to Sony in 2006 and never updated anything for later O/S's .

You can probably set up a virtual P.C on a modern P.C , but I could never figure out how so just keep an X.P machine running for my old cameras and film scanners ...

No expert here but I had no problem whatsoever to set up a virtual XP machine based on Oracle's VM VirtualBox - this is as long as you have the original XP installation (SP3) at hand. For setting up the virtual hardware components all it needs is to keep in mind what were common RAM needs at XP times at the same time as virtual HD size - of course keeping an eye on what physical resources your host system relies on especially for avaliable RAM.

The most time consuming part is that once set up the virtual system is the XP installation itself - same as back in time - and the SW one wants to run under the XP system.

My virtual XP system proved to be faster by quite some difference than my old "original" XP notebook.

I might have another go at it again sometime .

Hike Pics wrote:

Thanks for all your thoughts, advice and views. Very helpful!

I just found one that looks to be in great condition, fully functioning, and what looks to be the full kit minus the box. Extra battery included.

I'll post some shots after it gets here and I've checked it out. I live near a mountain lake resort and it's a great camera testing ground.

Enjoy your new camera when you get it .

I'm still using original Minolta batteries on mine , they still hold a charge well .

If you need more , they are still available from third parties and Nikon used them in some of their cameras too , but with a different model name .

Check KEH.com for used cameras that are guaranteed to be working.  KM7D or even a KM 5D were nice cameras,  I loved my 5d and used it as my "bicycling" camera until it finally died nine years after a dunking on a canoe trip.  I have some spare batteries if someone can figure a way for me to get them to you without paying postage.

Probably the last direct true relatives  with the old Minolta/KM heritage would be the Sony A700 or A90.  I just gave my A700 to my grandson along with a couple of old Minolta lenses.  I still use the 50mm Macro, 70-210 f4 "beercan", and 100-400 apo on my Sony A7ii (with adaptor) and A68.