Easy To Use + Intuitive Features = A GREAT SLR!!!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great easy to use feature set...

Cons: I wish the unit was a "tad" lighter...

Author's Review
First I should mention that I am not a professional photographer. I am an accountant by day and an amateur photographer on the weekend. I can only wish I was a professional photographer preferably for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue but my lack of pro skill, and another factor called my wife is currently hindering this career switch!!!

With the release of the Minolta Maxxum 7, Minolta has truly entered the “in-between zone” of SLR photography. In-between because it has the easy to use features of a point and shoot camera with the obvious traits and advantages of a SLR unit. The autofocus (AF) group of Minolta has been evolving for over 15 years now, and to this day is still top notch.

The Minolta Maxxum 7 allows focus to be easily selected over 8 points on the viewfinder screen. This feature alone is worth giving the Minolta Maxxum 7 a lookover. This feature set can greatly enhance any given effect the user may wish to employ.

Despite the rather large amount of data received from the focus area (it is wide), the Minolta Maxxum 7 produces the “world’s fastest” AF speed!!! To further enhance this feature the focus control can be modified to track abrupt changes in subject speed. Which is VERY NICE!

The Minolta Maxxum 7 also incorporates a “Brightness-Distribution” display which can indicate the brightness distribution of the image on a fielded matrix. Thereby, allowing the user to see how the image will be under or overexposed- or properly exposed!!! A feature which I use all the time. At first when I saw this feature in action, I thought it was not very helpful, but now I find myself using it all the time.

This neat feature is not available on many models these days and is very unique since it can provide the photographer instant feedback on the given accuracy of his exposure technique. This is one feature which can make amateur (read pathetic) photographers like me, look much better than they may think they are. Trust me on this one.

The Minolta Maxxum 7 also provides a top shutter speed of 1/8000 of a second, and a blistering fast drive speed of 4 frames per second, which is quite fast. It should be noted that this camera also includes a cool looking 38mm x 24mm, dot matrix liquid crystal display screen which is placed at the rear of the camera.

This primary display even has the ability to change it’s orientation from the horizontal to vertical automatically, which makes reading the display much easier for obvious reasons. Finally, one very nice feature about this camera is that it will willingly accept lithium, alkaline or NiMH batteries which can be switched at any given moment.

Overall, in the 5 weeks I have owned this camera I have turned myself into a better photographer. I honestly recommend the Minolta Maxxum 7, a definite look for those who want an SLR with easy to use intuitive features.

I am not a pro (yet) but as camera technologies get better and better every year, and with a little practice, I too can shoot a swimsuit model issue in the near future and get paid for it. (Yeah right, try explaining that one to my wife…)