Minolta 7000i

I found this Minolta Dynax 7000i at my local market, and it turned out to be one of those purchases where I got far more than I was expecting.

The camera came in its original Minolta bag with two autofocus lenses, a 35-80mm and an 80-200mm, along with a Minolta flash, the original manuals and, rather surprisingly, three old rolls of film. Two of those were C-41 films which I have since developed with great results, while the E-6 colour positive film is still waiting to be shot and developed.

Released in 1988, the Dynax 7000i is a 35mm autofocus SLR and part of Minolta's second generation of A-mount cameras. What surprised me most about it is just how much it looks and feels like a camera from the 1990s. The rounded body, large LCD display, motorised film transport and electronic controls all seem considerably newer than its actual age.

It is also a surprisingly neat little camera to use. The autofocus is quick for its age, the controls are straightforward, and with shutter speeds up to 1/4000 second and Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual exposure modes, it has pretty much everything I would realistically want from a 35mm SLR.

Finding the camera would have been interesting enough on its own, but finding what appears to be an entire period Minolta kit still together, right down to the bag, manuals and old film, was incredibly lucky.