Minolta 400si – Photography, Images and Cameras

I didn’t particularly want this camera – it’s a Minolta Maxxum (also called Dynax in some markets) 400si (just to confuse you apparently also called 500si in some markets). What I wanted was the two lenses that came with it. They’re Minolta autofocus lenses that I can use with my Sony Alpha 500 since it has the same mount as Minolta Maxxum/Dynax cameras. A camera, two lenses, six filters and a strap for $26. I figured I couldn’t really lose.

The camera arrived. I tried the lenses on my Sony and they worked perfectly. The camera also seemed to work so I thought I’d try it out. I noticed that it had a film in it and that five exposures had already been made so I finished it off and took it to CVS to be developed and scanned. I picked it up with a little trepidation as I had no idea what those first five pictures were and hoped they weren’t of anything obscene or illegal (it turned out that they were of cats). However, the pictures were quite disappointing – very very low contrast. I’d checked out the camera and the apertures and shutter speeds all seemed to work OK. I have no idea how old the film was so maybe the film had degraded over time. Or maybe it had been poorly processed? Or maybe the camera wasn’t reading the ISO correctly? Or maybe I just got something wrong? I’ll try it again with a fresh film and see how it goes.

How did I like the camera? It’s a very basic camera and quite “plasticky” feeling. It’s very light though and quite comfortable in the hands. Seems to require a lot of pressure on the shutter release. Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports and Night Portrait scene modes. Programme, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual exposure. Viewfinder display shows aperture setting, shutter speed setting and over/under exposure warning. Manual focus is also possible. No depth of field preview. Not one of the greats, but has most things that most people would want.