Minolta Maxxum 7000

During the mid 1980s, there was a race for who would release the first auto focus camera. The very first was the Konica C35, but it was a three step focusing point and shoot camera. Many other companies released add on components to make their cameras have an ‘auto focus’ feature. These attachments were bulky, expensive and not very practical. Then in 1985 Minolta released the first fully integrated auto focus SLR to the market and the first in the long line of Maxxum cameras. The Minolta Maxxum 7000 debuted with critical acclaim and was the first camera to really usher in the auto focus era.

The first auto focus slr

The only way I can accurately describe the Maxxum 7000 is in the term ‘Fully Featured ’. The Maxxum 7000 is jam packed with almost every automatic feature you could ask for in the mid 80s. All black with chrome accents and a popping Minolta logo make this camera have a sleek high tech 80s feel. Made of mostly plastic but equipped with an all metal frame, the Maxxum 7000 is not light. It feels great in the hand and as solid as it gets, there is no issue of quality here. The camera can use three different varieties of battery packs, one in AAA which is sleeker, one in AA which beefs up the hand grip, along with an elusive lithium pack that you don’t hear much about. Unfortunately one of the main flaws that Maxxum cameras suffer from, is that the rubber on the grip dries and parts crack off. You will find some intact models, but it's much more common to see cracking and parts missing. It’s not a big problem if you superglue it back together or make your own replacement. These batteries mainly power the auto focus feature and the two frames per second motor drive. If you plan to be using this camera for an extended period of time, choose the AA battery pack and bring extra batteries with you.

The viewfinder is an average size and brightness with split image focusing. There were a handful of other focusing screens available, but they are a bit tricky to get a hold of today. Within the viewfinder, you also get an LCD display of the current settings. This is super useful so you do not have to take your eye away to change a setting. These include what mode you are in, the shutter speed, aperture, and three lights to indicate if your focus is correct or over/under. Another cool feature is that the LCD display in the viewfinder is backlit. In the bright sun, you get additional lighting of the LCD through the top of the camera as well. You have to keep in mind that this is one of the first auto focus cameras; It’s reasonably responsive, but you will have to be patient in lower light conditions.

On the top plate, you can see that there are quite a few buttons, options, and readouts. On the left hand side, you can see four buttons, you hold down each of these buttons and use the blue up and down arrow buttons on the right side to manipulate that setting. The Maxxum 7000 sports a metal focal plane shutter mostly seen on the higher end Minolta XE and XD series cameras, but this new shutter mechanism was capable of 1/2000th of a second all the way down to a 30 second exposure. The +/- button refers to using exposure compensation, ISO refers to changing the ISO within a range of 25-6400, MODE refers to putting the camera in Program/Aperture Priority/Shutter Priority/Manual modes, and DRIVE refers to putting the camera in Single shot/Continuous shot/Self Timer modes. There is a very handy P button that is a quick return to Program Mode if you need it. Below that is a switch that controls whether the camera is off (which is labeled LOCK for some reason) and ON or the option of ON with a beeps to tell you if it’s in focus or if you messed something up. The shutter button has a half press to focus, as well as a touch sensor to turn on the viewfinder and top body display. Another new feature for the Maxxum line was the addition of extra contacts on the hot shoe. This made it possible for flashes to be run in an automatic mode, choosing the strength based on distance.

Moving to the front of the camera, there is nothing of note on the left side but the AF logo and light for the self timer. But hiding on the right is two more arrow buttons for manipulating settings, the lens release, the manual or auto focus mode switch and a small cover that hides the input for an electric shutter release. Right next to that on the side of the camera is the film door release. Push the button in and pull down to open the back of the camera. The back is removable and you have the option of different data backs if you wish. On the back of the camera, you find the rewind function. There is a tab you pull left after pushing the button that has an R on it to start the rewind feature. To the right of that is the AEL Automatic Exposure Lock button, it’s wonderfully positioned where your thumb would rest while taking a picture.

One of the odd things is that even when the camera goes into a half sleep mode where the LCD displays turn mostly off until the shutter button is touched. Another thing is if the camera is in lock, the LCD still displays the camera mode, the shooting mode as well as the frames. Luckily LCD panels are very low drain, so I’m sure it does not affect the battery life really at all. I also had an experience where my batteries died mid through a roll, and I was terrified the camera would mess up the frames. The Maxxum 7000 actually has a small internal battery that keeps that info for a short time while you change batteries. A very genius idea and one that I’m guessing saved a lot of people headaches. The last thing I want to mention is the Maxxum 7000 has the ability to be put in an auto everything mode. This camera was intended for the higher end amateur market and thus has the ability of higher end cameras, but also automatic settings for the novice. Generally a fully equipped and well rounded camera.

The Experience

This camera came to me in working condition and reasonably decent looking. The rubber on the handgrip was falling apart, so I oiled and super glued in the cracks. I would not do that again next time though, it looks a bit off. My copy also came with the Minolta Program Back 70; A program back with a clock and date printing function. Nothing that I would personally use, but the clock I found was handy sometimes. The biggest issue was the AA battery compartment was corroded to hell and had a big crack in it. I let it soak in some white vinegar for an hour and super glued the crack, and its been working fine ever since. I also have the AAA pack as well, but the battery life is almost a third of what you get for the AA batteries, so I tend to stick with the AA.

The lens that came with it, the Maxxum AF Zoom 35-80mm f/4, is an all around amazing lens. The focal range is great for what I’ve been using it for, and it produces great results consistently. It’s a killer lens and cheap too, I highly recommend it. There even is a very useful macro mode built into the lens. I’ve used it a hand full of times, it performs reasonably well, and is a lot easier than the reverse the lens trick I do on the Nikon N2020. The other Minolta zoom lenses you can get are mostly great, there are a few sub par ones but you really can't go wrong with any. Pick a couple up, they are really cheap and definitely plentiful online.

I’ve used all three cameras from the first wave of Maxxum’s, and the Maxxum 7000 is honestly the one I keep coming back to. The Maxxum 9000 will always be the better camera, but if I want a more automatic and shoot off the cuff experience, I’ll grab the 7000 instead. It’s a great camera for the beginner all the way up to the professional and I definitely recommend it. You have all the settings you can tweak to take a great shot and all the features you need when you don’t want to think. It was the first real auto focus SLR camera released and it holds up surprisingly well today.