The Minolta Dynax 3 / Maxxum 4

Minolta was one of the great photographic companies that did not survive the digital revolution. They were an innovative company and have some pretty good products out there. They merged with another fantastic photographic company, Konica from where they made great imaging products. However, the company decided to sell the photographic unit to Sony in 2006 so from then on, Sony uses the old Minolta A-mounts and their proprietary flash mount which is incompatible with every other system there is out there unless you're able to find a converter.

I got my Minolta Dynax 3 which is also known as the Maxxum 4 in America and Europe BNIB - brand new in box. There are quite a number of these orphaned film SLRs out there. Since everyone went digital, a lot of shops got stuck with these cameras and they have been selling them below cost meaning you can get them at low, low prices! Just check out various auction sites and camera dealers and you'll find slightly used and brand new ones still! What's even better is if you have a new Sony DSLR, you can use the same lenses and flash units from your old Minolta A-mount! Sony calls these the Alpha mount.

The Dynax 3 is a very basic SLR unit that takes in 135mm film. It has a maximum shutter speed of 1/2000 and has an easy to use program function. Focusing is slow but when it does focus, it is sharp! It is an automatic camera so all you have to do is put in the film and it is ready to shoot! It uses expensive CR2 batteries though which can be hard to find at times so stock up whenever you find some. They last forever though so it might be a year or more before you have to replace them.

it's all made in China!

It is made of plastic and is light enough for me. The build is so-so. It is nothing like old cameras made of metal. Ergonomics is great but I wish it had two control wheels instead of one. To adjust the other functions, you have to press buttons located on the other side of the camera meaning you definitely need two hands to use this camera fully.

slide the switch to the right and it's on!

the control wheel is easily accessed and close to the shutter button. it has 5 scene modes.

to access the different modes, you just turn this wheel.

The focusing screen is not that bright and has a bit of discolouration on the edges but this doesn't bother me at all. I got this camera for the sheer fun of it and it has not disappointed me!

you can see the discolouration on the edges.

Manual focusing is accessed at the bottom left of the camera when you hold it. Once you've pushed the switch, you can focus the lens manually.

you push the AF/MF button down to focus manually.

Shutter speed, aperture and other functions are controlled using the single wheel located on the right side of the camera. This system is also employed in modern Sony DSLR cameras.

the control wheel is right besides the flash unit.

At the bottom right of the back of the camera is a quartz date function that can imprint the date of when you took the photo directly on the negative. I prefer not to use this though so I have never programmed it. This is also where the button for opening the film back is. There is a window on the right side of the button that becomes red when the camera is loaded with film.

there is a forced rewind button in cases where you don't want to use all the film.

The lens I got for it is a standard 28-100 zoom. It's great for what I need it for - casual shots. Maximum aperture is f3.5.

There is an optional infrared remote control which you would have to purchase separately. I haven't found one yet but I will most likely try to get my hands on one. The flash mount is annoying and you will not be able to mount other flashes on it unless you buy an adaptor which can be hard to find.

it is such a different mount from all others.

And here are a few samples.



in bright sunlight.



at night using the internal flash.

at dawn underneath a large tree.

If you find one of these, go ahead and grab it! They are a lot of fun and are great bargains! What's even better is that you can use the lenses for newer Sony DSLRs!