Advantages: A good starter, a long laster and good all-rounder!
Disadvantages: Its not digital - not overly technical.

...The first thing you notice is the Minolta's striking appearance. The contemporary black and silver finish makes this an attractive item to hold. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what really matters is not style but performance! ...And the Minolta has bags of it! The Minolta 404si is not a new model, it now has a close range of brothers and sister that proceed it. For that reason, the camera tends to be a bit cheaper - even on the high street. In my opinion it is still a worthy purchase, especially if this is your first SLR. Firstly, it has longevity! I've owned this camera for nearly 3 years. It has suffered the usual bangs, knocks and drops, however it is still in tip-top condition. It still works like a dream, there have been no visits to the repair man and no comprimise to the quality of print. I have lost... Read review

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Advantages: easy to use with manual settings for pro's
Disadvantages: dosnt have the eyestart feature which i love about the dynax 5

...My partner purchased this camera from EBay for my birthday as I was still using the ancient Praktica MTL5, which was certainly outdated. Style:- The Dynax 404si is quite a compact-sized SLR camera, with performs well in both manual and automatic modes. It has a silver finish with a black grip and a standard silver and black lens. I feel the colouring used gives the camera a classic, sleek professional look. The camera is certainly not ‘big and bulky’ it is a more compact version than most SLR 35mm cameras. It is lightweight and not easy to scratch or damage (I have already dropped mine!) It is also perfect to handle, with a hand grip on the right hand side of the camera body. Push button automatics for beginners:- I would most definitely say that it is great for beginners as they can use the automatic focus (by pushing the button... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent build quality, ergonomically laid out controls, fast auto focus and lcd screen showing plenty of information.
Disadvantages: Expensive camera, expensive accessories.

...settings and it becomes a point and shoot device. I have used the camera for weddings, holidays and proud to say I captured the last commercial flights made by Concorde. All pictures from this camera came out perfectly and have never failed me due to an equipment limitation. My previous SLRs were the Dynax 7 and Dynax 600si and this latest incarnation of the Minolta “7” series SLR does not disappoint. Fans and users of Minolta will find the quality and feel of the camera very familiar.... Read review

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Advantages: Quality, handling, robustness
Disadvantages: Heavy, quite expensive

...Why a Dynax 9? Minolta SLRs have been a problem for some time: not the most popular as professional cameras, but with a very strong following among amateurs. So is the Dynax 9 no more than a figurehead, which no-one will buy when they can get the more advanced features of a Dynax 7 so much cheaper? And can anyone take it seriously as a competitor for the EOS 1n or Nikon F5? The answers are “yes” and “yes” - the 9 is a real and useful camera for serious photographers. It has wonderfully-intuitive handling for both stick-in-the-muds like me, and those brought up on dials instead of rings on the lens. The results are superlative. After a 24-year affair with another manufacturer’s product, I needed to get a newer body. Sadly, the latest version is VERY big and heavy, for no obvious reason. So, after enjoying an old Minolta 9000 for some... Read review

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Advantages: None - judgment is somewhat clouded
Disadvantages: Please provide larger area the write in!

...I've been a pro photographer for over 10 years. Mainly I have used Nikon, but during a lean period in my career I update my cameras to Minolta due to cost reasons. Big mistake. I bought a 700si and a 9xi. The 9xi was released as a professional camera. It seemed sturdy and very advanced for its time. The 700si had similar features but was less sturdy, it was to be my back up camera. Just over a year after purchase, ie just out of guarantee the 9xi failed with a sticking shutter. It was repaired twice, by reputable repair centers. The final failing was whilst on a shoot in Bergen Norway, when the mirror actually fell out. A few weeks later, the back up 700si failed to rewind the film automatically. Unpeturbed, I used the liitle rubber button underneath to manually rewind. But as you can imagine this soon wore out. The result, no cameras. I... Read review

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Advantages: Has loads of functions
Disadvantages: Too many functions for the amateur/beginner

...A fantastic camera, with just a few disadvantages. It has many, many features - too many for the occasional user, and too complex for the beginner. But for those already used to cameras of this kind it is a revelation, it does everything with the minimum of fuss. The huge LCD display is great, you can keep track of everything from there. If you are short/long-sighted the camera will compensate for your lack of focus (up to a certain limit). The body is compact, easy to hold and the buttons are convenient for the fingers - as long as you are a person with small to medium hand size. Those with large hands may find it a touch fiddly as the body is smaller than many older Minoltas. In short, though a bit pricey, well worth the money as long as you are a competant camera user, willing to spend bit of time trawling through the instruction book.... Read review

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Advantages: Versatility, Construction, Focus speed, LCD info-display
Disadvantages: Price

...When I got bitten by the photography bug about 6 years ago I bought into the Minolta range of cameras, my first being a Dynax 505si (reviewed elsewhere on this very site). Having used it for two years or more I felt I'd pretty much pushed it to it's limit. This, combined with my continuing need for new gadgets, saw me glancing longingly at the Dynax 9 in Jessops. But £1000 was too much for me to justify on a camera body, so i just admired from afar.. Some while later, on one of my relatively frequent visits to Jessops, I spied what looked like a 'baby' Dynax-9. What was this? It was cheaper (£600), smaller and boasted a whole range of new features. I had to take a look. Testing the new Dynax-7 out, on the spot, in the store had me hooked. So after a period of frantic saving I returned and bought what, I am happy to say, is my primary... Read review

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Advantages: FAST autofocus, sharp pictures, great value for the price!
Disadvantages: None at this level

...The Dynax 5 is Minolta's serious amateur's camera and frankly, it wipes the floor with equivalently priced models by any other manufacturer. Choc-full of features and well worth the money at a more than reasonable £250.00 (as of March 2003). Features in detail: LENS You can buy the Dynax 5 on its own with no lens, or with a 28-80mm (D) zoom lens (I'll explain the 'D' bit later). Some other combinations exist, but these are down to individual companies. The 28-80mm gives decent coverage, from landscapes to portraits, and is a good lens with which to start. If your photographic interests take you into a specific area of photography e.g. close-up work, professional portraiture, landscape photography etc, you might consider buying more specialised lenses which give better results than the basic 28-80. The Dynax 5 accepts any Minolta AF... Read review

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Advantages: Good build quality, good photos, good learner's camera
Disadvantages: Slow autofocus, noisy

...the extra £70, choose the Dynax 5, since it is a better camera with a MUCH better autofocus system. However, if you’re looking for a cheaper camera to learn about film photography, here’s why the 505si Super is a good choice. It can be used in full autofocus mode, shutter priority (meaning that you set the shutter speed and the camera’s built-in lightmeter calculates what aperture you need), aperture priority (you select the aperture size, the camera calculates the shutter speed), or manual. This leaves you free to take as little or as much control as you want. If you’re learning how to use it as a manual camera, all the exposure details you need to know about are given in the viewfinder and the LCD display by the shutter release button. That way you can write down all the details of each shot as you go. You can use any Minolta autofocus lens... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent Anti-Shake Technology and Standard 18-70mm Lens
Disadvantages: Some Functions hard to reach, Auto White Balance no fool proof.

...I recently bought this Camera after spending ages mulling over 3 options. The Formidable Canon EOS 350D, the Nikon D50 and this, the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D. There are several reasons why i chose this camera out of the three similarly matched cameras. Firstly, i do a lot of photography under dim conditions, so the anti-shake technology was a big positive. Secondly, it came with a 18-70mm rather than a 18-55mm lens like the other two, again, an advantage. The camera does take excellent photos, under most conditions. Sometimes the white balance needs a little help though. For example when you are in a room lit with both Tungsten lamps and some cloudy sunlight. This can easily be sorted by choosing the appropriate Kelvin temperature from the White Balance dedicated dial. I also like the fact that you decide if you want to use the flash... Read review

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