MINOLTA Maxxum 7000 35mm SLR

Description

TYPE: 35MM SLR
LENS MOUNT: MINOLTA A-MOUNT
FOCUS: TTL PHASE DETECTING AUTOFOCUS
FLASH: ISO
EXPOSURE: PROGRAM, APERTURE PRIORITY, SHUTTER PRIORITY AND DEPTH-OF-FIELD AUTOEXPOSURE; MATCH-NEEDLE 6 ZONE EVALUATIVE OR 6.5% PARIAL METERING
The
Minolta
MAXXUM 7000
(7000 AF in Europe and α-7000 in Japan)
35 mm
SLR camera
was introduced in February 1985. It was the first camera to feature both integrated
autofocus
(AF) and motorised film advance, the standard configuration for later amateur and professional single lens reflex cameras.
The Minolta 7000 had its AF sensors and the focusing drive inside the camera body, and as a result the lenses could be much smaller and cheaper. The aperture and focus were mechanically driven through the lens mount from the camera body. However, electronically controlled buttons on the camera body now replaced the mechanical aperture ring on the lens, and the setting was electronically displayed on the body and in the
viewfinder
. The metal housing of older Minolta SLR cameras was replaced with a lighter, cheaper body made of plastics. In other respects, the Maxxum offered most of the standard features of other cameras of the day, with the exception of a rather low flash sync speed (1/125 sec.) and no multi-exposure capability.
Minolta introduced a new lens mount, the
A system
, breaking compatibility with its earlier manual-focus lenses in the MC and MD system. The A lens mount is still
the same today
, but some modifications have been made to the electronic contacts to facilitate new functions such as motor zoom (xi lenses, now discontinued) and a more sophisticated flash metering system (ADI).
Konica and Minolta merged their photo and camera businesses in October 2003. In January 2006 Konica Minolta announced that they were withdrawing from the camera and photo business, transferring their assets to
Sony
, who since have continued development of the A system through their Alpha series.
How do you use Minolta Maxxum 7000?
Set the Maxxum 7000's exposure mode by pressing and holding the
"MODE" key on
the top left and either of the arrow keys on the top right to cycle through the modes, indicated on the LCD screen. "PROGRAM" mode is the camera's fully automatic mode, focusing the lens and calculating exposure without user input.