Minolta Maxxum 5 (Dynax 5, Alpha Sweet II) 35mm Film SLR Camera Review and Photos

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  • Опубликовано: 25 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 98

  • @obican
    @obican 6 лет назад +14

    You are criminally underrated on RUclips, David. Good work as always.

  • @VinnyLePes
    @VinnyLePes 6 лет назад +8

    I love and still shoot my Maxxum 5, it’s a fantastic camera. I don’t think Minolta gets a fair shake when many look back over the history of cameras! They were often ahead of their time.Thanks for the great video!

  • @MrStylemed
    @MrStylemed 5 лет назад +3

    Thank you for making this video. The Maxuum/Dynax 5 is my favourite autofocus camera. The pentamirror does suffer from blue tint caused by oxidation, but it's very easy to remove the focusing screen and clean the prism. I use alcohol free, lens cleaning wipes and a cotton bud. The pentamirror doesn't scratch and the camera is as good as new.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  5 лет назад

      Thank you! I didn't know that could be fixed. I'm going to give that a shot with one of the ones I have with a blue and yellow mirror.

    • @motahirahmad8544
      @motahirahmad8544 Год назад

      @@DavidHancock Did you ever try to clean? Removing the focusing screen seems fiddly.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  Год назад

      @@motahirahmad8544 I have not tried it.

  • @ChristopherMay
    @ChristopherMay 6 лет назад +1

    Nice review. I remember hearing that Minolta had the best camera bodies in this era and your videos are showing me why.
    It’s also good to know that there’s a camera out there that *almost* shares the Nikon F5’s battery appetite. I tried an F5 briefly and it was an amazing camera but it ate batteries like a piranha at feeding time. That was one of the reasons I picked up an F4S as my Nikon film body (I also liked the dial interface and usability with older lenses a bit more, too).

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад +1

      Thank you!
      That's a good simile; I wish I'd thought of it when writing this script. :D

  • @justcycling722
    @justcycling722 2 года назад +1

    I know this an old video, but I dug my Maxxum 5 out of a box of random film cameras.. was about to throw it away.
    Thought I’d scan utube and see if the 5 ever made it to to the “tube”
    My background with this camera: I was a skydiving free fall photographer years ago.. I had this camera mounted on my camera helmet. It was awesome back in those days for a helmet mounted film camera. It is light weight, super fast auto focus. Reasonably fast film drive for what is was.
    A little ingenuity, and sacrificing the pricey remote switch by cutting it up, I was able to make a bite switch to operate the shutter with a simple bite during free fall..
    I always manually locked exposure to “sunny f/16”, and locked the focus manually,but the auto exposure would be spot on in those times I forgot to go manual, and the auto focus would, well, sometimes work. It’s not easy to autofocus on people falling 120 mph, with a camera mounted on your head, operating the shutter with your teeth!!
    Yeah, I think I’ll hold onto my 5, maybe revisit the film days!!

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  2 года назад +2

      That's fantastic and an awesome use for this camera. I do have a two-part video instruction manual for this that will go live on October 10, too. So a bit of a wait still, but it's coming.

    • @Charlie25068
      @Charlie25068 Год назад

      Man, that's what I call getting the most from an SLR

  • @brentdrafts2290
    @brentdrafts2290 6 лет назад

    I have Pentax M series camera I think it was, that had that pano crop feature. Although not anamorphic, it did provide a reference. Years ago I had gone to Niagra fall and had gotten a Kodak box camera that took pano shots. When I got the photos back of me doing a selfie near the base of the falls, they had been printed on wide paper. I realized that the negatives had more image, but crop lines delineating the pano crop.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад

      Interesting. I thought that the Kodak pano cameras just recorded strips of image in the middle of 35mm film.

  • @Charlie25068
    @Charlie25068 Год назад

    Great review and videos on this camera. Have you come across the Minolta Dynax 404si, they seem to be quite similar and very good as well for this niche.
    I have the 500si which I've heard people run down because it has DX coding only and no way to select ISO manually.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  Год назад +1

      Thank you and I have not, I don't think, used the 404 or 500.

  • @SukhmanDhami-w8c
    @SukhmanDhami-w8c 11 месяцев назад

    Great video, thank you. You mention the alpha Sweet II was only avail in black & for the JDM, but I see silver-body ones on ebay. Are these different cameras? Are black made in Japan and silver elsewhere?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  11 месяцев назад

      Thank you! In black, it was only in the JDM (and was also available in silver there.) Outside of Japan, it was only available in silver. As for where they were made, IIRC, all of them came off the same production lines.

  • @MadisMcLembrus
    @MadisMcLembrus 6 лет назад

    Lovely camera. Since I already have the 7, can hardly justify getting one. :D

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад

      I have both. :D
      The 7 does do a whole lot that this can't, and this can't do anything that the 7 can't, so from a functionality perspective you're absolutely right.

  • @milkyway6080
    @milkyway6080 2 года назад

    I've found a Pentax Ist with a 28-80 zoom, I feel like this is a very similar camera with similar specs but nobody talks about it, what do you think?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  2 года назад +1

      Probably pretty comparable. The 5 does fly under the radar.

  •  2 года назад

    Gracias 😁 ojalá encuentre una con el batterygrip

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  2 года назад

      ¡Gracias y espero que también!

  • @jeffcsMN
    @jeffcsMN 5 лет назад

    Great review. I've owned a Maxxum 5 since the camera was introduced, but tbh its probably my least favorite camera I've owned. The quick autofocus and lightweight body are great, but that's about where it ends, imo.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  5 лет назад

      Fair enough. I used mine the other weekend. I still enjoy it, but I do like the 9 a whole lot better. The 5's interface is not as refined as higher-end bodies.

    • @jeffcsMN
      @jeffcsMN Год назад

      4 years later Ive developed a renewed appreciation for this camera. It’s a gem. @@DavidHancock

  • @xaviegarcia2657
    @xaviegarcia2657 6 лет назад +1

    Well David, I pulled the trigger on an Alpha Sweet II! Unfortunately part the bottom right corner of the LCD display is blacked out. I was wondering before it arrives what controls/indicators I might not be able to see on my copy. Many thanks to your wealth of information.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад

      The bottom right of the LCD shows the number of frames you've shot. So you'll probably lose that. If the rest of the LCD works fine, you should be able to get all the important data from it assuming that the LCD leak isn't too large.

    • @xaviegarcia2657
      @xaviegarcia2657 6 лет назад +1

      David Hancock thank you so much!

  • @lfcfanatic
    @lfcfanatic 6 лет назад +1

    Hi David, thanks for putting together this video. Do you happen to know of any other Minolta AF film SLRs that has panoramic mode? When selecting this mode, is there a mask in the viewfinder to black out the portion that won't be exposed?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад

      Thank you!
      Yes, there's a viewfinder mask when pano mode is on. The XTsi and STsi, I believe, have the pano mode.

    • @erikvalkman9640
      @erikvalkman9640 3 года назад

      kelvinlow.sg Hi! I know you asked this question three years ago, which can be a long time, but here’s my answer nonetheless. (As you will understand, I saw David’s video just this evening.)
      When the si-series was introduced, (with some exceptions), the Japanese versions of the Minolta AF cameras had a panorama switch of some sort, and some comparable Maxxums too. These were the Alpha models as opposed to the Maxxum (USA) and Dynax (Europe) labeled cameras. Top of the line was the a-807si; then the a-707si and a-507si. The last one being similar to the Maxxum 650si date. (That ‘date’ tells us there is a panorama mode too.) After that came the a-Sweet and a-Sweet II, but the a-Sweet II L does not sport the panorama switch. The a-Sweet S is good too, as is the Maxxum STsi date. Also the a-303si super and the Maxxum 550si date both have panorama switches. To make things furthermore complicated, the Maxxum and Dynax 800si and 700si both have the option to show a panorama frame in the viewfinder, without masking the actual film. Which allows for accurate composition, while leaving the negative untouched. However, there is no dedicated switch on the body, it must be activated in the menu.
      As far as I know, the ability of panoramic framing was abandoned when the si-series stopped. So when the 7 and the 9 were introduced.
      Besides Minolta, Canon for example had an EOS Kiss Panorama and Pentax the Z-70p, and there will have been much more models (from other brands too) I do not know of. Not to mention the many point and shoot cameras with a P-switch. And I should mention here the Minolta P’s or Riva Panorama: a small point and shoot with a 24mm lens and a comfortably wide viewfinder, as this camera was dedicated to the panorama format, and incapable of taking 24x36 frames.
      So, I hope this was helpful. 😉 It was certainly a pleasure to write this!

  • @spangancayco
    @spangancayco 2 года назад

    Thanks for this great, in-depth review. I don’t currently own any autofocus film SLRs but thinking about the 5. Other than the 50 1.7, any other lenses that you recommend?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  2 года назад +1

      The 28 2.8 is also great.

    • @spangancayco
      @spangancayco 2 года назад

      @@DavidHancock do you know how the 5 compares to some of the older autofocus Minoltas, like the 7000i?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  2 года назад +1

      @@spangancayco it's much smaller and lighter and goes through batteries more slowly.

  • @pralkowcypl3646
    @pralkowcypl3646 Год назад

    NIce pics!

  • @CentralFloridaOutdoors
    @CentralFloridaOutdoors 4 года назад

    I have had mine, with the time stamp, over 2 years and the batteries are still showing full; however , I have only shot about 10 rolls with it.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  4 года назад

      Nice! The batteries these use have a slow static discharge rate (I have some that I use to test cameras and they're around four years old). These discharge quickly with use and slowly with time, basically.

  • @sperelli87
    @sperelli87 5 лет назад

    Hi David, your video is a very good presentation of this awesome camera. Fortunately I was able to get the AA battery pack so I should be able to easily purchase fresh batteries pretty much everywhere. Since the finder has 90% coverage do you somehow adjust your framing when using the 5 (eg compose the shot and then move a step forward)?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  5 лет назад +1

      Thank you and that battery pack is fantastic!
      For recomposing, good question and one I'd honestly never thought of. I tend not to worry about it too much. The slop around the outside of the frame was padding for amateur photographers back in the day so that the labs could recompose images before printing to make them look better. Today, because there's so much more knowledge out there about how to use cameras, it allows you some margin of error and an ability to recrop in post as you see fit. Don't worry about using 100% of the negative space unless you have a super nice lens on the front. If you're using the kit zoom, the image periphery will be a bit soft and you wouldn't want any important image data there anyway.

    • @sperelli87
      @sperelli87 5 лет назад

      Thank you. I mainly use the 50/1.7 lens but I should not worry too much about that 90% anyway, I usually do not make big enlargements so I can afford losing a little bit of negative.

  • @Tirielphoto
    @Tirielphoto 4 года назад +1

    I can't trigger manual speedlight. It's seems that camera detects only system speedlights...;/ Any help?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  4 года назад

      Interesting. So you have a manual speedlight connected to the camera's PC port?

    • @Tirielphoto
      @Tirielphoto 4 года назад

      @@DavidHancock I have adapter witch pc sync port. And on Sony a200 is working, on maxxum 5 not I don't know why.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  4 года назад

      @@Tirielphoto What modes are you trying it with on the Maxxum? If you haven't tried this, set the camera to manual and use a shutter speed slower than the flash sync. If that doesn't work, the PC socket may not work.

    • @Tirielphoto
      @Tirielphoto 4 года назад

      I'm using only in manual. Something wrong. Do you same model?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  4 года назад

      @@Tirielphoto I do have the same model, yes. Your using a cane and not a Sony to standard hot shoe adapter, correct?

  • @jp84987
    @jp84987 3 года назад

    Great video.
    I just recently bought a maxxum 5 and I'm struggling to find information about which lens mount fits it. Can someone illustrate me on which lenses I can use?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  3 года назад +1

      Minolta and Sony Alpha

    • @erikvalkman9640
      @erikvalkman9640 3 года назад +1

      @Juan Pablo Villalobos I suggest you look on eBay for Minolta AF mount lenses. For example ‘Minolta af 50mm’ or whatever focal length or zoom range you desire. Look on Wikipedia under ‘List of Minolta A-mount lenses’ to find out what they manufactured throughout the years. (But Sigma and Tamron are not mentioned there.) The Minolta MD lenses cannot be mounted; these manual focus lenses are incompatible with auto focus cameras (and vice versa). Furthermore I recommend the websites of Michael Hohner (mhohner.de - look under Knowledge Base) and dyxum.com
      Good luck ! 😉

    • @jp84987
      @jp84987 3 года назад

      @@erikvalkman9640 thanks

  • @mustangjosh94
    @mustangjosh94 6 лет назад

    I just picked one up recently. It's a really nice camera for what it is but my hands feel incredibly cramped using it. I think it mostly has to do with the grip design as opposed to it's size.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад +1

      That's distinctly possible. The grip bump on these is pretty small.

  • @leoroks1917
    @leoroks1917 5 лет назад +1

    I love my dynax 5

  • @loudogg3367
    @loudogg3367 6 лет назад +1

    I like this camera so much that I have two.

  • @VinnyLePes
    @VinnyLePes 5 лет назад +1

    Is it a 1990's camera, though? I think it was released in 2001, unless maybe it was earlier than that overseas. I can't seem to find a straight answer on that on the webs but it looks like it came out around the end of '01.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  5 лет назад +1

      I forget. I have to check my notes. I think I still need to do the full video manual set on these, too. If it came out in 2001 (I think you're right on that) it was probably in R&D in 99.

    • @VinnyLePes
      @VinnyLePes 5 лет назад

      David Hancock thanks for the reply! I just keep seeing different dates everywhere. In an ad that is supposedly from 1998, showing off the Dynax 9, they flash on screen what appears to be the 5 with no labeling! Unless there was a similarly styled model I’m not familiar with. Yes I got deep in the Minolta research rabbit hole haha

    • @VinnyLePes
      @VinnyLePes 5 лет назад

      ruclips.net/video/6ictEV3aBiU/видео.html just before they show the 9 at 1:33

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  5 лет назад +1

      That would be an XTsi in the ad. I think the XTsi was the precursor to the 7 (don't quote me).

    • @VinnyLePes
      @VinnyLePes 5 лет назад

      I think you’re right about that! I forgot about that camera, but I remember now I was interested in it when the 5 was released and my interest shifted to that model. My 5 was actually a gift from my brother, and I still shoot it today 🍻

  • @matthewherr389
    @matthewherr389 5 лет назад

    Hi David, what shutter speed, ISO, and aperture do you recommend for most instances?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  5 лет назад

      That truly depends on the setting. Indoors you'll need a 400- or 800-ISO film. Outdoors, a 50- to 400-ISO film will work fine. Then you'll want to experiment with films to pair the right stock to your aesthetic goal. Film gives you a lot of control over how your images look in ways that digital can't, but the look is pretty well fixed once the film is developed. So it's ultimately up to you to decide how you want your images to look. There aren't any hard and fast answers beyond that for your question.

    • @matthewherr389
      @matthewherr389 5 лет назад

      David Hancock yes, I need to figure it out I suppose. Thanks for the help!

  • @johnleftwich650
    @johnleftwich650 5 лет назад

    Hey David - Just bought a Maxxum 5 and will receive next week.Am I hearing you right that the Sony A Mount lenses will fully function on this camera?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  5 лет назад

      That has been my experience, yes. But I haven't used a large quantity of them. It is possible there are some that will not offer all functions.

  • @JHurrenPhotography
    @JHurrenPhotography 3 года назад

    Hey David,
    It's me again! Anytime I find a camera, not only you've made a video on it, but it is entertaining. As power hungry as a Russian Oligarch! Buahahaha! Muahaha?
    Same question: does it have 1/2 or 1/3rd stop shutter speeds?
    Thank you! I hope you're having a fun weekend

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  3 года назад +1

      Hey, James, I think it's either-or. I'll do a full manual for this camera next year, and I can't recall right now how the settings are adjusted.

    • @JHurrenPhotography
      @JHurrenPhotography 3 года назад

      @@DavidHancock thanks for the reply. I would enjoy a full manual very much! Chances are I'll buy one while I'm bored this winter, they're cheap. Have you ever noticed prices rise after you make a video about a camera?

  • @richardg6109
    @richardg6109 6 лет назад

    Interesting review, David. I've always had the impression that a Minolta with the name "Maxxum" attached to it was undesirable because of the low prices I recall. Which Nikon were they competing against?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад

      Hey, Richard, thank you. These probably competed against the N65 (maybe N70). I don't know the Nikon AF range incredibly well, but if I recall the N65 was between the N55 and F100, and this definitely would not have been an F100 competitor.

    • @richardg6109
      @richardg6109 6 лет назад

      David Hancock You read my mind. Interestingly, I was given an N65 body but have never used it - a rather unappealing piece of gear. I do have an F100 and I was thinking no way the Maxxum is competing with it. The F100 is a great "modern" SLR, but I'm having much more fun shooting the F3.

    • @ChristopherMay
      @ChristopherMay 6 лет назад

      N65 would be the likely competition. The N80 would be competing against the Maxxum 7.
      Where did the 9 fall price-wise? Was it on par with the F100/EOS 3 or did it fall closer to the F5/EOS 1v?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад +1

      I looked into it and here's how I think that it stacked up Minolta-Canon-Nikon:
      Alpha 9 -- EOS 1 -- F6
      Alpha 7 -- EOS 3 -- F100
      Alpha 5 -- Elan IIE -- N65
      Alpha 4 -- Rebel 2000 -- N55

    • @richardg6109
      @richardg6109 6 лет назад

      David Hancock Intersting - thanks, David.

  • @johnirby493
    @johnirby493 5 лет назад

    Why would you want to just use your right hand?

  • @RhettAnderson
    @RhettAnderson Год назад

    Is this a 90s camera?

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  Год назад

      It's been some years since I made these videos, but I know this one will have your answer: ruclips.net/video/8lGe3ShvvWg/видео.html

  • @peasantrobot
    @peasantrobot 6 лет назад

    ... and you are using expired film...

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад

      There was some Vario Chrome in there, yes, and some Ultrafine Red Dragon.

  • @tiansili
    @tiansili 6 лет назад

    Get a better mic please

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад +1

      I recorded this with a large-diaphragm condenser XLR mic running through a pre-amp. I don't have a better mic. I just upgraded to this mic so I'm still learning how to use it, but the sound quality is distinctly better than the small-diaphragm condenser mic that plugged into my computer's line-in port that I used to use.

    • @tiansili
      @tiansili 6 лет назад

      No offense maybe it's just ur voice or something but it feels maybe tinny? Or muffled? On phones. Love u

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад +2

      I don't think that I had a pop filter this time. I edit on phones but I'll re-listen and see what I hear. It's a learning process every time I switch some part of my gear to see how to make the most of it.
      Thank you for pointing it out, though.

    • @tiansili
      @tiansili 6 лет назад

      :) np love ur videos man, theyre like documentaries for our fav hobby.

    • @DavidHancock
      @DavidHancock  6 лет назад

      Oh I hear it. I didn't use my inhaler long enough before recording. :D