Rating: 
Summary: Have used a Maxxum 9 for a year
Review: A year ago, I finally replaced my 1973 Minolta XK (the last year that Minolta made a pro camera) with a Minolta Maxxum 9 (their first new pro camera since). It's been very worth the unintentionally long wait. I've now used the Maxxum 9 on four continents. If you take care of good, solid equipment and it isn't stolen, it can indeed last a lifetime. I expect that I'll be using the Maxxum for decade or two (I still use the 1973 XK because it still works perfectly and I don't feel like replacing its old 16mm and 500mm bayonet-mount lenses just to use them on the new auto-focus camera). I had thought of buying a new Nikon, Canon, or Olympus, and tested each, but found the Maxxum 9 their equal (and better designed than most). Indeed, notice how the poster of the one negative review here never says whether he's actually owned or used the camera. Any good professional photographer knows that any of the major brands' pro lines are well-designed and workable.
Rating: 
Summary: Very unreliable
Review: I have been using Minolta camera's for 5 years now. Until now I have been very happy with my 700si with vertical grip. The funny thing is that Minolta has had advanced technology in their camera's long before other manufacterers. With the Maxxum 9, they have made it to perfection. Used with the 5400HS flash system, you just can't go wrong. I use a Minolta flash V very often to check exposure levels and have found the Maxxum 9 is always in there with what it chooses for exposure. I really like the new locations and ways to adjust the camera. The two best improvments for me where the lighted exposure scale in the veiwfinder and the backlight on the display panel at the top of the camera. Please feel free to e-mail me if you want any information about this fine piece of engineering.Thanx
Rating:
Summary: Minolta just does not seem to get any credit
Review: I have been using Minolta camera's for 5 years now. Until now I have been very happy with my 700si with vertical grip. The funny thing is that Minolta has had advanced technology in their camera's long before other manufacterers. With the Maxxum 9, they have made it to perfection. Used with the 5400HS flash system, you just can't go wrong. I use a Minolta flash V very often to check exposure levels and have found the Maxxum 9 is always in there with what it chooses for exposure. I really like the new locations and ways to adjust the camera. The two best improvments for me where the lighted exposure scale in the veiwfinder and the backlight on the display panel at the top of the camera. Please feel free to e-mail me if you want any information about this fine piece of engineering. Thanx
Rating:
Summary: Excellent camera--built like a tank to last a lifetime!
Review: I have been using Minolta cameras for years now, and I finally went for the Maxxum 9. Everytime I press the shutter release, I am glad I got the camera! It is constructed like a tank and has so many bells and whistles I will never learn to use them all. It also features a 100% viewfinder so what you see is what you get as far as framing goes. Even though I don't use it, it has a built in flash which is rare on pro cameras--its nice to know its there if I ever need it. Its fast and efficient. Top shutter speed is the highest available at 1/12,000 of a second. Plus, the motor drive must have a built in turbo! This camera has definitely served me well and I know it will continue to do so for MANY years to come. I highly recommend you get one if you are serious about photography. Get the VC-9 Control Grip too!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent camera--built like a tank to last a lifetime!
Review: I have been using Minolta cameras for years now, and I finally went for the Maxxum 9. Everytime I press the shutter release, I am glad I got the camera! It is constructed like a tank and has so many bells and whistles I will never learn to use them all. It also features a 100% viewfinder so what you see is what you get as far as framing goes. Even though I don't use it, it has a built in flash which is rare on pro cameras--its nice to know its there if I ever need it. Its fast and efficient. Top shutter speed is the highest available at 1/12,000 of a second. Plus, the motor drive must have a built in turbo! This camera has definitely served me well and I know it will continue to do so for MANY years to come. I highly recommend you get one if you are serious about photography. Get the VC-9 Control Grip too!
Rating:
Summary: Pro Camera from the mind of Minolta
Review: I have owned the camera since April 2003 and it has produced some wonderful images for me. (...) . A lot of camera aficionados claim that the Maxxum 9 is not as good as the other true pro-level cameras by Nikon and Canon. On paper, there may be some merit to this argument. Going by pure specs alone on paper, the F5 and EOS1V certainly are more electronically advanced than the Maxxum 9, and the devoted pro following for these two excellent machines is a huge statement for these two brands. By the way I'll be the first to say that Nikon and Canon both make excellent products, so if all you diehard loyalists expect me to badmouth your beloved brands just because I love Minolta, I ain't that kind of guy. But in real-world shooting situations, and taken on its own merits, the Maxxum 9 is no less of a professional machine than the F5 or EOS1V. The ease of use of the Maxxum 9 shines through. Admittedly, the Maxxum 9's AF system is more basic, but the hidden beauty is that it is simple to comprehend and use, and is plenty fast to boot. The 14-segment honeycomb metering is an older design than Canon's, and certainly not as sexy-sounding as the Nikon 1005pixel RGB sensor. But the bottom line is that it produces well-exposed images on slide film at a success rate at least as good as the other two. Simply put, the Maxxum 9 is no F5 or EOS1V, nor should it be. The simple fact is that it is a very reliable, extremely easy to use picturemaker, and as long as you mount top-quality Minolta G-Series optics on it there is no reason to feel inferior standing next to someone with an F5 or EOS1V. The popular belief that Minolta optics are inferior is also undeserved. I've watched many times over as store sales people used entry level Minolta SLRs and lenses to illustrate Minolta's "inferior" build quality against a pro-level rig in the form of a Nikon F5 with an 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S !!! I still run into snobby brandname "camera collectors" who ask me this: "Why use Minolta?" upon seeing my Maxxum 9 slung around my neck. I simply say "Why not?"
Rating:
Summary: Pro Camera from the mind of MInolta
Review: I have spent a lot of time in camera stores and I have always thought Minolta products always got unfairly shoved to the side. The notion that Minolta cameras and lenses are inferior to Nikon and Canon is crap, and is perpetuated by certain camera snobs and self-proclaimed experts. I shoot regularly as an advanced amateur and I own and use the Maxxum 9. I feel that it is the most intuitive 35mm professional camera out there. The quality of construction is first rate, on par with the best that Nikon and Canon have to offer. The camera has a solid feel, everything about it is high quality. The control layout is so self-explanatory that most photographers can learn to use the camera in 5 minutes without flipping through the manual. With respect to lenses. I still run into narrow-minded people who ask me which "Nikkors" I use upon seeing my photographs, and then these self-proclaimed "experts" simply refuse to believe me when I inform them that my images are all created with Minolta AF cameras and lenses. No, I am not kicking Canon and Nikon products, obviously they are very good, several million pros using those systems cannot be wrong about them. But pretentious "camera aficionados" who slight the Maxxum 9 don't know what they are missing out on. I am sold on the Minolta Maxxum 9. When choosing lenses go for the G-Series, optically they are cut every bit as good as the very best lenses Nikon and Canon make. I've shot pictures with all these brands and even established pros who shoot with other systems admit that my images are just as sharp as any they've seen or made. And they absolutely love the 9's layout. Minolta would do well to stay with the Maxxum 9's basic concept when designing their future pro cameras. Now if they would only make a full frame digital body based on the Maxxum 9...........
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I have used a number of cameras, SLR, compact, and digital. This is the finest and easiest I have ever used. I have two Tamron lenses for it and they work perfectly and seemlessly with the camera. I took it on a ski trip recently and did find it too bulky to ski with. I do wish that I could have taken some pics with it at the top of the mountain.
Rating:
Summary: All a pro needs...and more
Review: Minolta full featured, very reliable, high tech Maxxum 9 has all you need to take professional pictures. The first and the only strong pro body camera built-in-flash is really fantastic, mean you do not need to always carry a bulk flash unity. Also is very helpfull for fill-in-flash under bright sunlight. The clear, very nice retro buttons are well marked. Who say buying this camera is waste of money doesn't know anything on photography. Read all the tech specs and be amazed. Best pro features/price. Remember the Minolta accessories have best price too.
Rating:
Summary: All a pro needs...and more
Review: Minolta full featured, very reliable, high tech Maxxum 9 has all you need to take professional pictures. The first and the only strong pro body camera built-in-flash is really fantastic, mean you do not need to always carry a bulk flash unity. Also is very helpfull for fill-in-flash under bright sunlight. The clear, very nice retro buttons are well marked. Who say buying this camera is waste of money doesn't know anything on photography. Read all the tech specs and be amazed. Best pro features/price. Remember the Minolta accessories have best price too.
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