Minolta Dynax / Maxxum / Alpha 7 - The ultimate film camera?

Canon F1. One of my earliest objects of desire...

There have been many (many, many, many) cameras I have lusted over in my 35+ years as a passionate photographer. As a Canon film shooter in the 1980s I dreamed of owning an F1 - and was lucky enough to own a T90 (it's a long story). A friend of mine had an autofocus Nikon F801 which I lusted after. And of course there were the flagships - the Canon EOS 1 and Nikon F4, that were always way beyond my meager budget.

But times they are a changing (thanks Bob), and most of these film cameras - even the top professional ones, can be had for peanuts today (at least that used to be the case). I've now owned many of the cameras on my wish list, including the aforementioned EOS 1 and F4. And yes, they are every bit as amazing as I knew they would be.

I also took my time moving over to digital, waiting until 2006. By then, digital cameras had been around for a few years, and we had seen the introduction of the 'affordable' Canon 300D (Rebel). Followed by the Nikon D70, the camera I ended up 'converting' to digital with.

Even as early as 2003 film cameras were quickly loosing their value, yet it would be a few more years before digital images truly surpassed those taken on film. I used those few years, in the early 2000s, to pick up some very good film gear for very reasonable prices. The system that I settled on, before switching to the Nikon D70, was Minolta. Specifically the Minolta Dynax 600si Classic. A brilliant camera, and a joy to use.

Minolta Alpha/Maxxum/Dynax 7

But as brilliant as the 600si was, the camera that I really wanted - the one that I really lusted after, was the Minolta Dynax 7. It was, to me, the ultimate expression of what a film camera of the 21st century could (and should) be. Beautifully designed, gorgeous to look at, and absolutely jam-packed with as much technology as you could cram into a camera without it actually being digital; the Minolta 7 was the height of film camera tech. But even back then, it came with a hefty price tag. 

And as I've already said, it was as close as you could get to shooting digital, without actually 'going' digital. Which, of course, everyone was. Much like the recent mirrorless vs DLSR debate (where mirrorless is obviously the future), it was obvious that film cameras were 'old tech' - even one as sophisticated as the Dynax 7. You would have been crazy to invest heavily in a film camera in the early 2000s. So I didn't. I moved over to Nikon, and never regretted the decision - even when Minolta released their digital version of the Dynax 7 (the aptly named 7D) a few years later.

What's that? A rear lcd screen on a film camera!? Yep.

I love using digital cameras, and was hooked from the moment I got the Nikon D70. The Olympus E-M1 I use now is a superb image making tool, as are all the cameras being released in the digital era.

But I will always have a special desire for film cameras. I wrote an opinion piece for an analog website a long time ago stating that; digital might be the 'heart' of photography, but film is the 'soul'. A bit pretentious maybe, but for someone 'raised' on film photography, it's in my blood (and, dare I say it, soul). 

I know, however, that there are photographers who couldn't wait to be rid of film, and have absolutely no intention of ever using it again. Not me. For me, it's a time capsule linking me back to my youth, and connecting me to the passion I felt when I first picked up a camera all those 35+ years ago. I'm not a film user because of some hipster, retro aesthetic that it can give my images. Far from it. Although if that's why you like film, then good for you. Have at it. Personally, it's more about the toys - the cameras themselves - and the possibility of fulfilling youthful dreams of actually owning and using these amazing cameras.

Which brings me back to the Minolta Alpha/Maxxum/Dynax 7. And which, from now on, I will refer to only as the Dynax 7 - since that is what it was called in Europe. Maxxum was used for the American market, and Alpha was the Asian designation (don't ask me why, and don't get me started).

Dynax 7 cutaway from Minolta brochure

So why am I writing a blog post about a camera I wished I'd owned 20 years ago? Well, long story short, a very good friend of mine has just given me a Minolta Dynax 7 as a gift (thanks Stew)! To say that I am blown away is something of an understatement. 

I knew he had found one at a local Op Shop (Thrift Store for my American friends) in a bulk load of cameras last year, and while it looked in good condition, it didn't actually work (broken shutter). We both had a good look at it to see if we could revive it, but both pronounced it dead. I commented to him at the time that it was a camera I had always wanted, and it was a shame this one was broken. He took it away with him, and to be honest, I didn't think any more of it. Until yesterday when Stew handed me the camera with a 28-105 lens attached and told me it was a gift! Mind blown.

Stewart is a professional photographer, and has been a Minolta shooter (now Sony) for as long as he has been using a camera. But he is also one of those photographer's who was very happy to see the end of film. So he is very happy to pass the Dynax 7 on to someone who will appreciate it, and actually use it. Which I most certainly will.

While one of his Sony camera's was away getting repaired, Stew sent the Dynax 7 in with it to see if it was salvageable (without pouring too much money into it). Turns out it was, and the service center managed to get the shutter mechanism working again. So now the Dynax 7 is working. Yay!

Stew also has quite a collection of old Minolta lenses - some rather exotic - which I am also fortunate enough to be able to avail myself of. Not only do I have a Dynax 7 with aforementioned 28-105mm Power Zoom, but also the use of a 50mm macro, a 16mm fisheye, and a 17-35mm which actually came with the Dynax 7 he found at the Op Shop. Quite an impressive kit - and I can't wait to use it all! 

There's one problem initially though - I don't have any film for it! I've recently sold off all my film stock, figuring that my film camera days were behind me. Damn! Now I wish I'd kept at least a couple of black and white rolls back, just on the off-chance that someone would give me my dream camera! Go figure....

I will get some film for it. And I will go out and shoot with it. Maybe with Stewart one day soon? He's just purchased a new Sony A7R 4 61MP beast, and I know he'll be itching to get out and use it when it arrives. I feel a road-trip coming on 😄 
 

I will definitely write more about my experiences with the Dynax 7, once I get around to shooting with it. There is so much ground to cover with this camera and the incredible technology Minolta built into it, that I'm sure it will span several posts and months of shooting. Can not wait. It's going to be so much fun!