Rating: 
Summary: A great camera at a great price
Review: I shopped around and did research before purchasing my Minolta and found that this camera had all the features (plus some) of the more expensive, heavier cameras in its class. The eye-start feature is an excellent feature, the camera focuses automatically when brought to your eye(this feature can be turned off).
This camera is really easy to use if you have no camera experience, but also has more difficult manual options if you want to be more creative. I tested out the multiple pictures option on my friends golf swing. I was able to take 5 pictures during his one swing. Another good quality that this camera has is that if you try to get creative and get in over your head, you can restore all the defaults with the touch of a button. I have not found anything that I don't like about this camera.
Rating:
Summary: A great camera at a great price
Review: I shopped around and did research before purchasing my Minolta and found that this camera had all the features (plus some) of the more expensive, heavier cameras in its class. The eye-start feature is an excellent feature, the camera focuses automatically when brought to your eye(this feature can be turned off).
This camera is really easy to use if you have no camera experience, but also has more difficult manual options if you want to be more creative. I tested out the multiple pictures option on my friends golf swing. I was able to take 5 pictures during his one swing. Another good quality that this camera has is that if you try to get creative and get in over your head, you can restore all the defaults with the touch of a button. I have not found anything that I don't like about this camera.
Rating:
Summary: great way to upgrade froma point and shoot
Review: I tried a few different point and shoot cameras that I was unhappy with. They were either too slow so I missed the shot or the pictures were blurry. I love the autofocus on this camera. These are the best pictures I've ever taken.
Rating:
Summary: great way to upgrade froma point and shoot
Review: I tried a few different point and shoot cameras that I was unhappy with. They were either too slow so I missed the shot or the pictures were blurry. I love the autofocus on this camera. These are the best pictures I've ever taken.
Rating: 
Summary: Great buy
Review: I'm new to the photography scene. I'm taking a photo 101 class and have never used a manual camera. The Maxxum 5 is an excellent camera. It's manual modes are numerous and all user friendly. But, if things get sticky you just hit the "panic" button and it goes into autofocus. Every photo is perfect. It's a great camera at a great price. I'm glad I made this buy. :)
Rating:
Summary: Takes incredible pictures
Review: I've had the Maxxum 5 for about 3 months now and am incredibly impressed with the easy of use and the pictures I've taken. I looked for months for a camera and the Maxxum 5 had such incredible reviews across the board, and not one negative one on a single web site of photo magazine. This is my first SLR and I've have to say this camera is an amazing value. It has so many features that I'm just delving into using and find myself experimenting on my ability more and more. I'm a strong believer in a person's work is as good as the tools they use- and I have to say this is the best tool I've used. My family and friends have complimented the pictures I've taken 10 fold compared to every camera I've owned or used in the past. I can only give you the opinion of an amateur hobbyist, and that is how great this camera is.
Rating:
Summary: Maxxum 5, easy to use, excellent pictures, very forgiving
Review: If you appreciate quality pictures and want to go beyond point and shoot this is the camera. It is so fully automatic that you can have great pictures even while you are learning how to play with the settings and experiment. In a week I was doing double exposures, night time photography and close portraits each step I took more control of the camera as I learned the functions, what I did not know the camera compensated for me. I love this camera. One complaint that is not serious. I do not like the smaller size and do not like the small single focus buttons. But everything performs beyond my expectations, this is my 3 35mm and first auto focus.
Rating:
Summary: Minolta's Affordable Maxxum Sibling
Review: If you're an amateur and you're looking for an entry level SLR, this is a great pick. I tried out several SLRs in the same price range (Canon EOS Rebel(s), Nikon N65) for a few months. Conclusion? The Maxxum 5 had the most intuitive LCD panel, and the largest, clearest viewfinder of the pack. The camera is lightweight, and the "eye start" automatic feature (a focusing mechanism) is terrific, well worth paying for. Two 'personal experience' tips: First, resist your first impulse to buy a telephoto zoom and consider what you will be using your camera for (Nature shots? Zoom away). Second, get a lens cap keeper. It's a leash for your lens cap, and they are well worth it :-)...
Rating:
Summary: An awesome camera for a great price
Review: If you're looking for a nice camera to get you started in your photography hobby, I highly recommend checking this out. I have used both the Maxxum 4 and Maxxum 5. You can't go wrong with either - the quality that Minolta keeps is wonderful. Granted, the Maxxum 5 has a few more features that the Maxxum 4, such as the eye-start feature and a few other custom functions. One that I particularly like is the fact that you can have the camera leave the film leader out of the cannister. It may seem trivial to do so, but if you want to change 35mm film in the middle of the roll, this becomes quite useful. In addition, the Maxxum 5 has a faster autofocus servo and you can tell a definite difference there. My Maxxum 5 focuses much faster than my brother's Maxxum 4. On top of that, the Maxxum 5 features a metal lens mount, whereas the Maxxum 4 only has a plastic mount. This adds durability to the camera as well as the lens. In conclusion, I think that the features that Minolta packed into this camera are wonderful. I also looked at getting a Cannon Rebel 2000 and a Nikon N65 when looking for the camera but found the Maxxum 5 to have the greatest number of features for the price. In addition, I thought the control layout on the camera fit my hand better than the other two cameras.
Rating:
Summary: A very nice SLR camera
Review: My wife wanted to get into photography - so when she broke her latest Olympus point-and-shoot I decided to get get her a "real camera". We've had the Minolta Maxxum 5 for about a month now, and it has proven to be a very nice choice. I got it with a couple of lenses: the Minolta 28-80 AF and the 70-210 AF. It is small and light in your hand (not quite like a point-and-shoot, but definitely so for an SLR) and the automatic mode works very well. Out of the box it comes in the autofocus mode where as you bring it up to your eye it starts focusing; interesting in the first couple of days but I eventually took it out of that mode... I like it focusing when I press the button lightly. That is one of the nice things about the camera... how configurable it is. You can select among tons of options and configure it to behave just as you'd like. Because of all the options I'd highly recommend some quality time with the manual :-) My only dissatisfaction so far (and the only reason for the 4 and not 5 stars) has been not with the camera, but rather the Minolta lenses - actually something I did not think about ahead of time; don't get me wrong they are nice lenses but I have the following problem: focusing turns the front of the lens and this makes using certain filters (for example the Cokin system) problematic. It is fine for the typical circular filters like Tiffen and Hoya. Overall I'm very happy with the Maxxum 5. I wanted to add that Amazon is an excellent place to buy it. Much cheaper than the stores, maybe not the cheapest on the internet (I found it for a little less), but they are trustworthy, fast shipping and reliable!
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