Easy to use for the most part.

Owner's manual stinks. It is too brief and does not take into consideration that the person reading it, may not yet be familiar with some of the terminology. I am trying to use other sources to take better pictures.

Great camera. Shop around. There are a lot of different prices floating out there.

Customer Service

Have not had a need to use it yet.

Similar Products Used:

Vectis S1

Compact and lightweight with a good 'feel'. Excellent metering system and autofocus. Multiple program modes can be overriden with shutter priority, aperture priority or manual exposure. Auto bracketing.

none found

A very versatile camera. Not as rugged as it's so called 'Pro' counterparts but handled properly the results are just as good

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

SR1,3XI, Mamya 645

high level of advanced features at moderate price. Awesome custom functions.

none at this time

carries more picture-taking armament than any other AF SLR in it's class, and it all works..

Similar Products Used:

Olympus
Minolta Vectis S1

compact dimensions; light-weight body; metal bajonet seems to be solid; low price, very exact 14-segment metering, precise auto-focus; eye-start function sometimes compensates slow focusing

Relatively slow auto focus (but don't really need a faster one);
no depth of field preview

Absolutely worth the money. Great camera, due to its exact metering, precise (although not as fast as Canon's) auto-focus and metal-bajonet mount I would recommend it to every amateur phtographer (as well as semi-pro). It's easy to use, has a very good handling and custom functions to adapt it to the needs of the user.

Customer Service

not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS 300, Canon EOS 500N, Canon EOS 5000, Olympus OM 2000

full auto operation,simple program selection(eg.portrait, landscape, etc),good price as compared to other brands with comparable features.

poor instruction manual(far too brief, too few examples, vague descriptions of some functions), eye start is not really that useful(I turn it off)

I bought this camera because of the recommendation of a friend (who owns a camera store). He said that having used all of the major big names (Canon, Minolta, Nikon), he felt that in the amateur mid level SLR category the cameras are relatively similar in quality of photos, reliability, and features. This camera was the best value for the price,so I purchased the kit. Having used it for several months I wish I had bought the body seperate and a 75-300 zoom instead of the kit 28-80.

Customer Service

have not used yet, but have checked out website

Similar Products Used:

point and shoots (minolta freedom zooms, fuji DL270 zoom, canon sureshot)

10 custom function, panoramic,
eye start

none

Lots of value for the money, light body

Customer Service

Have not needed any.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Maxxum Htsi, 300si

Features
value

No Depth of field preview

My 3xi was a very basic camera, and I wanted something with more features. I have a considerable amount of money invested in Minolta lenses (28-105, 100-300) and wanted to stay with Minolta. This camera has all the features that my 3xi was missing. For $320 (www.bhphotovideo.com) it has all the features that I could ever expect to use.

Similar Products Used:

X-700
3xi

ease of use, price

Too slow! I bought for a point and shoot type camera but, I should have bought a point and shoot. At least it would be smaller. I went ahead and bought a Canon EOS A2E.

Maybe good for a beginner. I needed something more professional. I was used to the speed of my OM -4.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Olympus OM-4, Olympus X-570, Canon EOS A2E

Fully automatic, with panic button. Great shots from beginer with first roll

Instruction manual does not go beyond basics of camera operation. Needed to refer to outside sources

Although the Minolta name does not carry the weight of its competitors, this camera stands up against the big names.

Customer Service

Not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

shopped around and everyone seems to be attached to Cannon and Nikon, but the Minolta won out on specs, weight and funct

The large number of features for such a camera.
Light weight
Ease of use
Spot metering
(P)anic button

Slow autofocus - Not really suitable for sports photography
Noisy autofocus - for me not an issue

This is a fantastic camera for a beginner looking to develop their skills. A beginner can grow into this camera once the basics are mastered. For the price (I got mine for the same price as a Nikon N60 or EOS rebel g) this camera is far better than its competitors, purely in the amount of useable features. Spot metering is real bonus.
The eye start foucsing system is a bit of a gimic, but useful if you just want to point and shoot.
This Camera really is fantastic. Its unfortunate that people overlook it because its not a Nikon or Canon. Because this camera puts Nikon and Canon to shame.

Customer Service

Not required as yet

Similar Products Used:

Pentax k1000
Nikon F60 (N60)
Canon EOS 500n (rebel g)