The shutter capacitor in the Minolta X700 fails from not being used. You need to fire the shutter every few months to keep it happy. I had one repaired & that's what the repairman told me. I guess it's like on a leaf shutter - you have to exercise it.
You are in a great place : 1)you want to buy a 35MM SLR and it is a buyers market even for the high end lightly used stuff.
2) There are more good options than there are bad ones, so it is a mater of personal choice.
I nominate the Nikon FM or FM2 for the following reasons :
1) great glass and a wide selection.
2) reasonably compact and in spite of a traditinal,non "ergonomic" design it feels very nice when you hold it.
3) Mechanical operation: if you end up with dead batteries all you lose is built in meter. you still have flash sync at 250th /sec and with thre FM2 a top shutter speed of 4000th/sec!
Most other features you would get with the other top choices ,like depth of field preview,self timer ,single stroke advance,diopters for finder eye piece,data backs ,motors you get the idea. have fun deciding.
The shutter capacitor in the Minolta X700 fails from not being used. You need to fire the shutter every few months to keep it happy. I had one repaired & that's what the repairman told me. I guess it's like on a leaf shutter - you have to exercise it.
Two aging cameras have "known" faults, Canon's superb T-90 and Minolta's X-700. In the T-90's case the problem has something to do with magnets and apparently, exercising the shutter once in a while keeps the problem at bay. In the Minolta's case, the capacitor has liquid inside that simply dries out. No amount of exercise can prevent it, it just happens.
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The shutter capacitor in the Minolta X700 fails from not being used. You need to fire the shutter every few months to keep it happy. I had one repaired & that's what the repairman told me. I guess it's like on a leaf shutter - you have to exercise it.
Maybe I should have bought an XD11, but I love the X-700. As it happens, it is not operational right now, and now I know that it could be the capacitor problem. I hope that fresh capacitors of the correct kind for the camera are still available.
Maybe I should have bought an XD11, but I love the X-700. As it happens, it is not operational right now, and now I know that it could be the capacitor problem. I hope that fresh capacitors of the correct kind for the camera are still available.
If you want to try the repair yourself, and are handy with a soldering iron, I believe I still have a few lying around. Let me know.
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There don't seem to be too many fast (faster than 2.8) 35mm primes available for SLRs compared with rangefinders. Maybe I should just get a 1.4 or 1.7 35mm for my rangefinder and keep my gear to a minimum.
Maybe I should just get a 1.4 or 1.7 35mm for my rangefinder and keep my gear to a minimum.
But that's the simple option, and doesn't give you the chance to expand your kit
Seriously, if you're happy with RF shooting then that would be the most obvious next step. But will a fast lens really be the answer? They're big, bulky and expensive.
You can't go wrong with a Nikon FE2 and a Nikkor AI-S 50mm f1.8. If that's too expensive for you, then look at a Nikon FE which can meter with the cheaper non-AI lenses. Expect to give it a CLA unless that has been done already. (All FE/FE2:s are due for light seals replacement.) Also consider adding a 105mm f2.5 and a 28mm f2.8 for a nice walk-around kit.
There don't seem to be too many fast (faster than 2.8) 35mm primes available for SLRs compared with rangefinders. Maybe I should just get a 1.4 or 1.7 35mm for my rangefinder and keep my gear to a minimum.
It is not inexpensive, but I really like my 35mm f/2.0 Zuiko lens for my Olympus OM bodies. It is pretty small, as well (at least compared with other, non Olympus lenses).
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