Great pictures, ease of operation. Compact and light for hauling around when keeping up with non-photographers while hiking. Only go through 1 battery a year (use flash only as fill flash on rare occasions).

Weakness #1: dial moves too easily. I shoot 99% aperture priority, that is the intent, the actuality is more like 90% - the dial tends to move itself between manual and aperture and I get some weird exposures when I don''t doublecheck the setting and shoot at whatever setting that gives. Camera does not notify you when dial is not positioned at a setting. Camera #1: shutter locks up when film begins to rewind. It did this on the 2nd day of a 2 week hiking vacation when new. Authorized Repairer said it was my fault as I touched the shutter. Yeah, right. The back was closed, the camera started rewinding then froze up. After repair, I bought a back up body which became my primary camera and has served me well for 4 years. On a Canadian photo/hiking trip last month, camera #1 locked up again - maybe 5 rolls after the last repair, and again in the middle of rewinding. Too expensive to have it fixed every 5 rolls.

I own two - the first one is worthless, the second is a great camera. I like the simplicity of operation - no hunting through menus. Camera #2 has stood up well and provided excellent pictures from many hiking and backpacking trips. This camera should suit most photographers except the most demanding professionals who want or need the ultimate in durability. Minolta has always been my camera of choice for offering needed features (depth of field preview, for one), without unnessary gimmicks or features most photographers wouldn''t use, at a competitive price. (Note: I don''t remember the purchase price. Second body was a better price through mail order.)

Customer Service

Repair at authorized repair took several months as the model was new at the time.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta X700, Olympus 3030 digital, Olympus 35mm point and shoot

Easy to use, excellent handling. 1/200 flash sync. Film wind-on quiet. Built-in diopter correction. Metering generally reliable.

AF tends to hunt and could be quicker.
Noisy shutter.
Top dial easily dislodged.

A nice camera with easy to use layout. Great handling, especially with vertical control grip. Very well specified with everything an amateur needs. Focussing could be better though.

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 500si

Excellent metering, easy handling

Autofocus has a tendency to hunt

I really like my Dynax 600, I've got a Tamron 28-200, and a Cosina 19-35 plus the VC-600 grip. It's handling is spot on and I've taken some excellent photos with it.

Customer Service

I rang Minolta for advice and their resident expert rang me back with the info I needed. Good.

Similar Products Used:

F70, F50, EOS 50E, OM0-10

The ergonomics, the included features and the excluded features. Before buying the 600si I used a manual SLR and was not used to all these fancy options on most camera's. The 600si felt classic and had just about all the features I wished for. And maybe more important did not have any features that, to me, are useless anyway. It makes photography very easy using program and changing to manual, lets you get real creative.
When I went to my local dealer he didn't have a 600si classic and said it would be difficult to get one. But am I glad he eventually could get one for me, it is best buy I made in years.

Not really a weakness, while I almost always use the manual focus, but AF is sometimes not so fast (slow) and stable.

A great buy. The ratio between price and quality is simply the best out there. As I use this camera for all sorts of photography (landscape, wildlife, astrophotography, portrets) it has al the features you can wish for. Add a VC-600 for grip and cheaper batteries, a nice flash like the 5400HS and you can photograph just about everything you want.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

a very old and obscure Practica, 500si, tested the Nikon F5 (price made the choice for the 600si easy)

Loaded with features, yet wonderfully simple to operate. Feels good like a camera should. I have the 650si.

AF is a little slow at times, as others have noted, but I seldom miss a shot.

The perfect camera for me. Great features . Great camera. Great price. Great pictures.

Customer Service

I purchased the camera new via a internet auction(187.50 -great buy!), and it malfunctioned The first time I tried to use it. Minolta customer service is absolutly outstanding, maybe the best I have ever experienced.

Similar Products Used:

None. This is my first AE/AF camera. My other camera is an old manual Canon AT1.

I actually own the 650si which is equivalent to the 600 but with Panoramic and date capabilities. I wanted those available because I do mostly landscape and pictures related to my business which require dating. Along with those two features I personally believe the 600 is the best camera for the money. IT's main strength is the total number of features it has compared to other models in the same price range. 1. High Flash Sync speeds that most other cameras can't match in this price range. 2. DOF Preview which I believe is a must have when utilizing telephotos. 3. Three metering options (Spot, Center-Weighted, and Honeycome) 4. Three autofocus options. 5. EV light meter built right in. 6. Infrared flash capabilities allowing multiple flash configurations. When used with the 5400hs flash the possibilities are endless. 6. And many other features to numerous to mention. Many people would need two cameras to get all the features that the 600si and 650si provide.

The Autofocus is slow as everyone has mentioned. And it results in missed opportunities at times. The camera also has difficulty focusing in low light situations. The only other flaw I really have noticed deals with Shutter Priority in AF. Someone touched on this above and I agree totally. It is my true beef with the camera if I have one.

Except for the Focusing and the Shutter Priority design defects I truely love the camera. It can compete with any Nikon and Canon on the market at a significantly lower price when considering its features. When combining this camera with Sigma lenses every amature can have the same capabilities as the pros have with Canon and Nikon but at significantly less money.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Original Camera was an Olympus which I used for 13 years. A Work horse. I finally realized the advantages of Autofocus a

Durable, Accurate, Intuitive : works and feels like a classic SLR

Autofocus is fuzzy

I can't believe how well this camera has performed under all conditions. I added the VC-600 grip, which I recommend to any 600si owner. This camera has taken abuse from hot and humid climates up to frigid high elevation photography in Alaska. It gets jogged around in a back-pack while mountain biking, and has born the brunt of my full weight on it when crashing. It just keeps on going. The exposure is accurate, and the features are endless. Wireless flash is second to none and so easy to use it's shocking. It's impressive how simple Minolta made the 600si. It's uncluttered and controls are clear and obvious - I only used the manual when I orginally bought it. When the Maxxum 9 came out, I thought of upgrading, but still haven't done it and likely never will. This camera can do anything you need it to, from simple point-and-shoot to full creative control. Why spend more money on another camera that can't do any more than this one?
It does have low light focus assist (pop-up flash or IR from 5400/3500 flashes) - you can turn the pop-up flash assist on/off easily. This camera feels extraordinary in my hands, and the controls are so easy to manipulate; you don't need a pen-tip or a microscope to get at necessary settings. Don't believe the hype - you can still buy this camera anywhere, and if you get the chance - do it. I haven't had one stroke of bad luck with this remarkable tool in the last 3 years.

Customer Service

Minolta has been incredibly prompt, courteous, and honest the one time I called. No need for them, though, just had questions on accessories.

Similar Products Used:

EOS, OM-2N, Maxxum 7000, AE-2, N6006

I love the Minolta Dynax/Maxxum 600si's wireless/remote flash capability. It's great for macro, still life and portrait photography. This feature completely sets it apart from the competition. Nikon and Canon can't touch this very unique feature. No messy wires and no need to buy $$$ additional remote controller like Canon's. Minolta's built-in flash when raised acts as the transmitter. You can even combine the off-camera flash and built-in flash to provide a 2:1 lighting ratio. This is the reason why Minolta's high-end Maxxum/Dynax 9 is the only PRO level SLR to feature a built-in flash - convenience and complementary.

Autofocus is a bit slow compared to the F5. Doesn't have the Dynamite Dynax 9's metal armour body, No thirtysomething focus points. Hey, you get what you pay for and much more! The 600si, for its price vis-a-vis- features offfers excellent value for money.

The 600si for its price has a range of useful features not found in the pricier competition, i.e. Elan 2E and F70 such as 1/200s flash sync speed(very useful if you've got fast film in your camera or on bright/sunny days using fill-flash sans neutral density filter), Spot metering, flash bracketing and of course the wireless/remote flash. To those 600si users not in the know, you can add a pointer to the metering index to indicate the exposure compensation value(probably the only feature that needs reference to the manual). Further, the 600si's focusing screen is bright enough(Acute matte(G) to impress Leica who immediately incorporated such screens in their SLR's.Coupled with the VC 600 grip, the 600si takes on a new personality. Handling is superb. Most of the functions in the camera body are duplicated in the grip which I think is a must if you have to utilise its full potential. The VC 600 is unmatched even by the competitions' Top level cameras and is only surpassed in design and functionality by its big brother Dynax/Maxxum 9.The 600si has been one of Minolta's best sellers for 5 years now and is unlikely to be discontinued contrary to claims of some misinformed elements from the opposition. Your search is over. Go get one, now.

Customer Service

Haven't tried yet....

Similar Products Used:

Pentax, Canon Elan 2E, Nikon F70

great handling, apart from exposure compensation
excellent metering
sturdy
good spec

-slow autofocus
-exposure compensation has no viewfinder warning
-battery indicator gives you no warning

If you want to use it with a 28-200mm, don't bother with autofocus as it's too slow to be any use. I've given it some abuse travelling and it's always 100% reliable, with particularly good metering. The handling is excellent with no fiddly buttons, although the exposure compensation is annoying because there is no indication in the viewfinder that you have dialled in compensation - it's too easy to take half a roll of film without realising you've left the compensation on! One other problem is that as soon as the battery indicator shows anything other than a full battery, you've got about two shots left before it stops altogether. These are just minor gripes from having used the camera a lot - the bottom line is the pictures which are excellent.

Value rating is based on street price, not the very high RRP.

Customer Service

100% reliable - never needed it

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS 50E
Pentax Z1P

I have a variation, the 650si. I think the only difference is the panorama feature. I have just finished two weeks of photoworkshop with my 650 as my only camera. Rain, blizzard, hail, and blowing dust didn't hurt it at all. After having the fancy cameras of all the other participants in the workshop, I thought about upgrading. But this is the perfect camera for me. I don't even know where my manual is. The features are all clearly labeled and in the logical spot. I have every feature I want, and none that I don't. The auto bracketing is simple to use, simple select the mode by turning the selector from the single frame icon to the bracket icon and simply press and hold the shutter button. I can rotate the selector on top of that one to shift between full auto exposure, apature preffered, shutter preferred and full manual. All while looking through the viewfinder. The viewfinder is perfect. Easy for eyeglass wearers to use, very bright, and the exposure, shutter and fstop readings are clear yet nondistracting. The dials set into the front and back of the camera are perfectly positioned for use while looking through the viewfinder. Which makes it easy to adjust both shutter speed and apature while composing. As a woman, I find that the grip fits easily into my hand. I can hold it very securely like that. In fact I often walk around just gripping it with my right hand. The size of the camera nicely balances a larger lens, like the 28-200 super Tammron I have. I just got the 5400 flash, and I really love the freedom it has given me. All of the other people in my classes were restricted by their offcamera cable. (even with cameras more than twice as expensive) Wireless gave me greater creative freedom, and some beautiful soft pictures. After having looked at everything from a lieca to a canon to a fancier minolta, I think I will just buy a really good tripod instead and hold on to this camera for a long time yet.

Well, everyone has said the AF, which is slow, but I use MF more often so it doesn't really bother me. The only real complaint I have is that I find the depth of field preview button to be hard to push without lowering the camera and adjusting my hands. But I have very stubby fingers and I am can reach it, just not push it.

If you want a classic camera with all the modern aids you will ever really need, look no further.
I don't know why cameras this well designed are so hard to find. IT is a good compromise between the purified essence of photography and the technology to make it easier.

Customer Service

no need

Similar Products Used:

manual pentaxs, high end minoltas