Friday, July 27, 2012

Minolta Maxxum 5000

Thrift Shop FindMinolta MAXXUM 5000 SLR - The 35mm Program camera that I found recently, and rescued, from a Thrift Shop for a mere pittance of it's original value.
This little camera is a late MID-1980's Autofocus Entry level SLR.  With either a basic PROGRAM mode or a MANUAL mode, this is a great amateur photographer's camera.
The AUTOFOCUS is a little weak, but since it is an A/F that was implemented during the A/F infancy, it is to be expected.  Heck, my T80 isn't that much better, if at all.  Of course, my Ricoh Mirai 35-135mm ZOOM Bridge SLR is far superior to many, even modern, dSLRs using IR focusing which will focus even in near total darkness. 
But that's a different review entirely.
This little camera has actually performed very well, at least in a setting where I have set the camera up with a flash, and manually operated shutter and aperture. 
The MANUAL mode takes some getting used to, as the buttons to adjust the Aperture are located beside the lens in a hard to reach spot, where as the buttons to adjust the shutter speed are situated right behind the shutter release. 
Not the easiest operation, but would be made far simpler on later designs with a wheel instead, something that is found on Modern dSLRs and SLRs.
The mount is a "newly", for the time, designed AF mount, which is still in use today on the Sony (α) Alpha model cameras.
The Maxxum is my first Minolta camera, and when I saw it in the Thrift Shop (Value Village) and the condition it was in, plus the nice lovely leather case, I had to pick it up.  The lens is easily worth twice, or more, what I paid for the camera, and the body alone is worth at least double. 
My first images taken with it were in a controlled environment where I could learn how to operate the manual settings, and how the camera would function with a FLASH.  Sure enough, it has performed perfectly in a setting where I can control all the variables. 
With a roll of film awaiting development where I allowed the camera to control as much of the operation as possible.  I have one further test to conduct on it, which is the aperture/shutter speed test to make sure that the shutter and aperture speeds correspond properly to one another.  If one image comes out lighter, or darker (less or more dense) I'll know that the shutter and/or aperture are having issues at what speed and aperture setting.
It'll just mean that I have to figure out if it is the aperture that is sticking, or the shutter.

HC-110 1+500 Dilution Test
House Keys - Minolta MAXXUM 5000 - Minolta 28-85mm ƒ/3.5-4.5 - Polypan F 50 - HC-110 1+500 (Dilution M2)
Image above I had a bit of a mishap while developing the film.  I didn't fill the tank completely, and this was an unfortunate circumstance.  But it proved my point with the dilution and the fact that the camera is functioning as it should.
Minolta MAXXUM 5000 35mm SLR
Minolta A A/F Lens Mount
4s to 1/2000s +B Vertical Travel shutter curtain with 1/125s Flash X-Sync
Center Weighted Average TTL Metering
10s Self-Timer
ISO Over-Ride
IR Safe for IR Film
Remote Release Socket
Powered by 4xAAA Batteries with standard grip.
Program Mode w/o smart shift + Manual Mode Operation
550g w/o batteries

2 comments:

  1. Just picked up my first Minolta, the Maxxum 5000 AF, also at a resale store for $10.99. New batteries, and it seems to work fine......but a roll of film will tell!
    Thanks for your review!

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  2. great i had one given me and it works great i used film for years and did a lot of weddings and every thing else
    you can think of the key to it all was a had a fantastic custom lab.

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