Small, lightweight, good features for price. Metering quite good - spotmeter very useful.

AF not so great - tends to hunt and is not always sharp.

Good beginner camera, though the XTsi is better for only a bit more money. Now onto the 7 and it is a beast!

Similar Products Used:

XTsi
Maxxum 7
Nikon f100
EOS 3

very light and nice looking camera.

I took two rolls and it seems that the built-in flash is a bit too weak.My pictures came out not as bright and clear as I would have like. If someone would kindly give a word of advice, I would appreciate it.

I pretty sure that by taking more picture and getting to know the camera, I will get better result. In the meantime, I am thinking about buying an additonal flash.

Customer Service

not yet

Similar Products Used:

none

It is a camera that is fully automatic and can be fully manual and almost anything inbetween. Best for the person who wants to get started in photography and plans to grow. This camera allows this.

After 30 rolls of film I would like to see the auto focus more consistant. Most of the time it focuses very quickly, but some times it seem to be searching and it may take 1-2 seconds. Not a porblem but a prefrence.

I take pictures of my sons playing Hockey using the 70 -300 zoom lense and get excellent pictures. Timer lets me get in the family pictures. The full manual mode allows me to try the tips offered by the professionals. Stop action of a water falls, deer in the backyar under a full moon. Most shots are taken using the full Auto mode, but it allows me to be creative and to extend my photo opportunities with the full manual mode. This is an excellent camera for most people. Even though you may be buying more than you need in a camera over time you will want to try some of the features. For the money you can't go wrong.

Customer Service

Not used with this camera

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 105Freedom Zoom
Minolta QTsi

Fairly cheap (In Canada $350 plus 15% tax for the body); lightweight; not a life savings if it becomes broken, stolen or lost. Easy to use

It has a large appetite for batteries which are req'd for each function.
I wish a battery pack were available.

Good family camera. Good back-up or second camera. One can pack it in a knapsack (in a small camera bag) and people will not look to steal it. I use it with the 50 mm f1.7 lens which usually (not always) produces sharp pictures. This camera is small and light; despite being mostly plastic it does not feel like it will break apart too easily. On program mode, a beginner or a child could take pictures with it. It only has one focus point; but there is not the error of choosing the wrong point.

Customer Service

Not yet needed.

Similar Products Used:

None

A very good SLR for the beginner. It was recommended to me by a salesperson above other entry level models. It seems to have more features, and so far is quite simple to use.

Definitely does not seem to take the best indoor pictures in low light, but I think this is the case with many SLR's.

I would highly recommend this camera for the beginner. It allows you to perfect your skills in auto mode or learn to get creative in manual. The low price also means you do not need to make a huge investment to try out your photography skills.

Similar Products Used:

None

-very light
-rage from full auto to manual control
-easy to use controls
-spot metering

-no depth-of-field preview
-auto-focus can be a bit finicky
-low battery life
-Minolta cable release is very expensive
-noisy operation

Great for the beginner, but as an outdoor photographer it leaves me little room to grow. In my opinion moving up to the Canon or Nikon is worth the extra investment. If you think you might expand to a higher end camera in the future go with Canon or Nikon now because they have a better selection of lenses, this way you wont end up replacing your leses if/when you upgrade the camera body.

Customer Service

helpful on the one occasion that I called

Similar Products Used:

None

Light weight, easy to operate, produces great pictures, lots of options, and gives you room to grow. Not a good choice for someone who hasn't had much experience with Photography or never taken any classes.

Auto-focus seems to have to think to much and is quite slow. When using this option I have notice my pictures will come back blurry if the subject moved slightly. I wouldn't recommend using this for action shots.

A great camera for the price. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys photography and wants to move up from a point and shoot camera. This camera is nice because it allows you to control functions yourself or allow the camera to choose. I've used it from everything from taking pictures of family and pets to getting excellent shots of dragcars doing burnouts. The end product pictures are very clear and show excellent detail.

Customer Service

So far I haven't had to use it.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon, Cannon

-light wieght
- auto/manual allows me to get the photos i want.
-inexpensive
-easy to use for a beginner, getting great photographs

auto focus is noisy and a little slower

if its great pictures you want without the mathmatics of manual methods, you get em.

Customer Service

minolta C/S is availible

Similar Products Used:

nikon fm2
minolta xg-m
minolta qtsi
minolta 800si
-many brand of point n shoot

Light weight, compact, easy-to-use, functional.

This is my work-horse for last 1.5 year. I'm happy with it very much. It falls short in AF speed (old Minolta 400 is much faster by the way), but it's not the issue except if you take pics of a sport action. Built in flash tends to be too weak for exposure the body chooses. It demands constant exposure correction. I'm amazed by fantastic ergonomics of this camera. Guys from Minolta did great work improving 400 model. I don't another camera which can compite with Minolta in this sense.
Shutter speed, honey comb mettering, preset programs and controls work significantly better than ones in comptetive brands in this price range.

Slow autofocus, errors in exposure calculation with built-in flash

Nice camera. More than enough for photo enthusiasts and casual photographers. I don't think that you can find AF SLR camera with similar functionality for this money. Only Canon EOS is an alternative.

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

Cannon 3000, 2000
Minolta 400

As a beginner this camera was the perfect choice for me. I was moving up from a cannon point-n-shoot. I haven't figured out all the manual stuff but the auto settings make it easy and I get really good shots. I first used it on a rainy day at a softball game in the sports action mode and got really great shots. In the photos you couldn't tell it had been drizzling. My next move is to get a macro lens and a zoom lens.

None as to the quality of the pictures. AF is a little slower than the more expensive cameras.

I think this camera is a good choice for the beginner. I plan on taking a class and using this camera. In the meantime I am using it with the Auto features. The shots I got at the softball game really impressed me and people I have showed them to. Even the action shots where good (running caught perfect).

Customer Service

Haven't used.

Similar Products Used:

Cannon EOS