A 35 mm bargain, and great Minolta backup body
The Minolta X-370's are bargains.
They are well balanced,have plain and simple to use controls, and are also very sturdy. They represent an era when the excitement was--the camera could actually control settings for you! With the X-370 you set the shutter speed and the camera with correctly coupled lenses sets the aperture for you! All this is too bad later on, because the electronics are the weak spot of the series. Minoltadoc explains it in great deal, and along with Rokkor files, is one of the sites you should really become familiar with before you buy. [Konica Minolta Photo Imaging ceased production of cameras March 31, 2006 and stopped making film a year later. You have to snoop around a little for them, but Konica Minolta still maintains manuals online for both digital and film cameras, including the X-370's, X-300/X7a, X-570-/X-500, X-700, XG-1,XG -7, XG-A, XG-M, as well as CLE, and SR-T 101, 102 and SR-T 202.] The X-370 also has manual options: you turn the shutter dial to manual and have full metering to work with, if you choose. The problem is: when the batteries are down, or the weak leak capacitor is off, the camera locks up. And that is just too darn bad. If this were a more mechanical camera with at least default shutter operation, it would represent a wonderful niche 35 mm film camera. The quick electronics check is:
if it meters briefly when you turn it on, then shuts off, you probably have a completely useless piece until you get it fixed. If you turn one on, and it responds as you change the aperture, then you have a working one. I ask sellers to do this, if it is equipment they don't know, and they always seem to get it right. Minolta X-370's are plentiful, and since they were a mainline consumer item, they are often sold these days with complete photographic set ups: extra lenses, cases, flash, filters, a winder, all for under $75. As you learn more about the Minolta system you will discover the other bodies such as the XE, which is a version of -- surprise -- the Leica R 3. If you are into Minolta, X-370 is a great second camera, backup body or perfect for redundant systems when you want cameras loaded with different film available, and that is what happens to the X-370'a I buy.One is loaded with 400, one 200 and one 400 B&W. With the price of X-370's, it is an affordable luxury. It's easy to change lenses, but changing out the film in a 35 mm body is a challenge. Minolta was highly technically innovative. Products are well made and documented. Collectors prize camera literature, the correct shade for the lens, clean and correct shade case and even lenses, series by series. My intent here is not to launch you into that world, but to say if you get a working X-370, you have a real bargain. Numerous off-brand lenses are available as an economical alternative to the Minolta Rokkors, or as supplements to fill in your system. These sell for as little as $10. Expect to pay $65 to $125 for a better Rokkor lens, $300 or so for a super-wide 21 mm. A 17 mm sold recently on ebay for $410.Read full review
