I inherited an old Minolta 7000 from my dad I loved it my first serious camera purchase was the 9 I shot sports back then and picked the 9 ahead of Nikon and canon because I had a set of Minolta lenses. I still have the 9 unused in decades but today I’m getting that beast out and putting a roll through it I’ll record the results and post on my channel In a week or two. Pretty excited to use the 9 again thanks for the inspiration
@@DavidHancock Hey mate here's the link, be warned I have a face for radio and a voice for silence. Hope you endure. Regards and thanks for the inspiration Paul ua-cam.com/video/QuBI4StfLDE/v-deo.html
Great video and channel. Always a huge fan of Minolta, but I didn't get an A-9 until about 3 years ago. It's design and execution are pretty much flawless I think. This camera weened me off of digital permanently.
Fantastic! Yeah, this, the Pentax LX, and a couple of others basically have me shooting no digital for my own work. I use digital now to digitize film, when I do a client shoot, or for videos.
Very cool! I've a scanner for digitizing negatives, but have no interest yet in doing so. The a-9 also got me motivated to get a few of Minolta's older SLR's and some Rocker glass I coveted as a teenager. The 58 1.4 and 85mm Rockers have just blown me away :D
The 58 1.4 sure is. It has become my fave focal length for a walk about. I've yet to get much time with the 85, but have gotten a few with it i love. A lot of promise so far
It amazes me, that being "the top of the line camera" it never integrated or followed any of the pathways that A7 took. It would be like Olympus for example releasing the OM-D E-M5, and E-M1 but not releasing the E-M1 X. It would have been amazing to see where this camera could have gone if the market didn't lose its faith in film. Minolta is a bit like Olympus in a lot of ways these days... So techy and ahead of their time that the market itself did not and still does not understand their place in the market.
Dynax 9 & Dynax 7 BOTH Wins the Camera Grand Prix in Japan (The most elite Camera Manufacturer Race) Too Bad Sony dont use this design, Fyi Both Canon Nikon maintain their Film Camera Design from the 90s and they both achieved Success
They were amazing. I have a 7 right now that I plan to get into in the next year. I wish that the STF simulation mode it has were used in cameras today.
this alpha 9 is very interesting. that 1/12000th shutter sounds great for wild life photography. But what lenses would you recommend to go with this camera for zooming in on wild life. With the Canon V1 i know you get the whole world of EF mounts to choose from. what mounts did minolta offer for this camera?
This was a Minolta A mount, so any lens you get needs to be that. There were some amazing Minolta lenses for this camera. It would be hard to go wrong with one.
Hi David, I love your videos. I`m just starting with film photography. While researching somehow I liked Minolta the most. I bought 7000i and currently I am still shooting my first roll. It would be awesome if you could create a video about Minolta history. Mainly to show some differences. For example there is this one Maxxum 9 which is top tier, but there is also Maxxum 7 which should be below that, but it has lcd screen on the film cover? Anyway, I enjoy really on your Minolta videos.
Thank you! I honestly know very little about Minolta history. Even the brand I know the best, Pentax, I don't really feel qualified to discuss the lineage of in depth.
It's okay to clean it I do have a separate video on the channel showing how to clean SLR mirrors. But yeah, it's never a great idea to touch the mirror with your fingers or anything that could scratch it.
Great camera! How to have AF by pressing only the back AF button? Mine AF when I partially press the shutter release bt too. Cannot find how to disable the AF with the shutter release. I prefer to have AF by pressing the AF back button only.
I’m really concerned about your statement about leaving the camera in a hot or cold car. Mt a9 has been in non-heated nor cooled storage in Michigan for 2 years. Can I expect that it’s damaged by now? I’m in New Mexico and won’t have access to them until a year from now.
Hard to say. Sometimes cameras are just fine, sometimes not. I've bought cameras that people kept in their arm rest for years and they had no issues. So that's a general statement about storage, not a guarantee that a camera will be damaged by it.
@@DavidHancock Thats a bit of relief. I’m more concerned about my RZ 67 II Pro sitting next to it. Replacement cost on the a9 is low but the RZs seem to have quadrupled in value since I bought it c. 2015
Hi David, just have a quick question for you. On the front of the camera is the Infrared light to measure the light. Can you please let me know if is possible to turn it off? I mens to switch IR light off to be not visible to the hunan eyes, , not a light meter. Thanks
It cannot be turned off. Human eyes can't see IR light and the amount of IR light absorbed by them from the sun is many orders of magnitude higher than this camera can produce. I wouldn't give the IR light on this camera a second thought.
I use Sony Alpha. I have a a77ii and a99ii Will my SSM-SAM lenses work on this camera? and vice versa? My lenses have 8 contacts and I have noticed the Minolta A mounts have 5 contacts. Thanks and thank you for your informative video.
The SSM lenses will function on these but the SSM function (which I admittedly don't fully understand) will only work if the A-9 you get was modified after purchase to have an SSM board. Very few of these, apparently, exist because the window for the upgrade was small and not many people got it. I don't know how many were converted.
I have had my a9 for nearly 30 years..has travelled the world with me. But I am sad that its life is coming to an end. The meter display inside the view finder is dimming and hard to see in bright day light. But the real problem is that the camera's 'skin' is crumbing away, more so around the handgrip metal sensors and just under the shutter button. I don't know what's caused this apart from the fact that I did notice that the area had a rather shinny finish to it as if some kind of liquid had been applied, which was not the case. I don't know if this is repairable...any advise would be appreciated.
My viewfinder LCD has the same issue. I have a parts 7 with a good viewfinder LCD and I'm told it's the same part. I need to find someone brave enough to take it apart and seal the pieces. The crumbling covering it just due to the material failing. That's common on cameras from that era. Best best is to get rid of it all, clean the area really well, and make a new cover. For that you can order the material from CameraLeather.com. You'll want adhesive baked. Once you get it, use Frog Tape to cover the whole area of the removed covering then use an x-acto knife to cut away material at places like the sensors and around the periphery. That will leave you with a template. Put the template on the leather material, cut it out, then apply it to the camera. Want red or blue instead of black? Go for it. You can do what you want with the new covering.
Hey David and other followers of Davids Maxxum 9 tutorials, I have my original Maxxum 9, from new, have not picked it up until a couple of weeks ago and up until yesterday Thursday 16th dec, the camera worked beautifully, however, sometime during Thursday, the view finder became very dark and almost unreadable and there is a 30" on the top left side of the top screen and a "DATA" shown on the screen, does anyone have an answer for this issue?
Well even if I respect Minolta for his creativity and ingenieering Capabilities I was never convinced by their AF line. They all look very plastic and the lenses too even if technically speaking their tech sheat is impressive. When you hold an eos1 or an f5 it smells solidity… the Minolta never gave me this feeling. Then for the high end specs never reached… who (or which picture) needs a 1/12000 of secs and a synchro at 1/300… not a lot I am afraid. For me what is the most important in a camera is the handling, the viewfinder and the ergonomy. That s why the top brands don t change a lot these things as they are critical for their public. But nevertheless with this video you woke up my curiosity… so I will try to find and use one :).
Nice! The 9 is an incredible camera and the top-end specs aren't used often (I did at a rodeo with fast film, but honestly, there wasn't a huge difference between the images at 1/12,000th and 1/4000th -- maybe a bit less motion blur in some dirt clumps coming off the horses and bulls.)
So the big question is, how is reliability holding up after a couple of years? Because reliability after 10.000 shots what makes a camera professional grade, not the crazy shutter speed. I was in college when these cameras came out, but I hanged out in the biggest camera store in LA where all the pros came, and they all went for the F5.
So my big complaint is the plastic bit that holds the door in place. On my 7, that broke twice. The 9 seems to have a better lock design, however, and it's not been an issue. But, five years on, the 9 is doing well.
I only own one zoom lens, and am really a prime lens user, so I'm not the person to ask about zooms. For primes, a good and easy kit is a 28, 50, and 135. That will do just about everything most people need.
Anyone have a suggestion on what to do with a non functioning AF back button? I received this camera seemingly near-mint not long ago, but I can't seem to get the AF button to work. Pressing it and turning the front wheel doesn't change the focusing points, which makes pinpointing my autofocus a hassle. Any idea what I can do? Am I missing a setting on the camera, is this easily repairable, should I just return it etc?
David Hancock Thanks for the tip, David. Unfortunately all custom settings are set to 1. The button just seems to be dead. I appreciate your reply though. Keep making those great videos; they’re super helpful. Your channel is in no small way responsible for me having too many cameras. :)
I'm having seriously trouble changing out the CR2025 battery inside the film compartment. How the heck do you get that plastic piece off without breaking it? Great Camera besides that
I haven't used an F6, so I can't speak to their handling comparison in any intelligent way. Were I buying one today and were money no object, I'd go with the F6 solely because it's newer. That said, I love this camera and it's still my top 35mm film camera.
Great video, thank you for keeping the 9 alive and creating interest on a master piece of engineering IMHO. If you are inclined to do so take a look a couple of images taken with this great camera and Zeiss 85mm f1.4 flic.kr/p/HJ2GUM and flic.kr/p/JupwLv
Thank you, I want to shoot a full film session with a model, but, I have not weaned myself of digital at this time. I hope I can do so soon. Keep up the great work.
I'm not sure that I follow. The fastest shutter speed is 1/12,000th -- the only camera ever made to do that without the benefit of an electronic shutter -- and the flash sync is 1/300th -- the fastest non-leaf and non-HSS flash sync speed of any film camera. The full shutter speed range is 30 seconds to 1/12,000th.
@@olsonbryce777 Oh got it. The slowest it has is 30 seconds beyond that, bulb mode is ideal. I think the longest single exposure I've done with this camera is 45 minutes.
@@DavidHancock oh wow that's crazy. I would pick this camera up in a heartbeat if it had a slower shutter. Do you know of any other minolta alphas camera with similar specs that would suit me? Thank you!
I bought this on 1999 and still the top of the line SLR camera in my heart.
I inherited an old Minolta 7000 from my dad I loved it my first serious camera purchase was the 9 I shot sports back then and picked the 9 ahead of Nikon and canon because I had a set of Minolta lenses. I still have the 9 unused in decades but today I’m getting that beast out and putting a roll through it I’ll record the results and post on my channel In a week or two. Pretty excited to use the 9 again thanks for the inspiration
Fantastic! Shoot me a comment with a link. I'd love to see it.
David Hancock will do mate cheers actually buzzing to use the 9 again I’ve shot film in the last year or two on old olys but the 9 is special 📷❤️
@@DavidHancock Hey mate here's the link, be warned I have a face for radio and a voice for silence. Hope you endure. Regards and thanks for the inspiration Paul
ua-cam.com/video/QuBI4StfLDE/v-deo.html
Very nice work! Thank you for the shout outs in the video and in your description. I really enjoyed the videography in your video, too.
David Hancock aggggh cheers mate your welcome thanks for showing an interest mate 📷
I just upgraded for a Minolta X-700 to the Minolta Alpha 9. Your 3 videos have been quite helpful. Thank You.
Thank you!
This is outstanding! I learned somewhere that Nikon benchmarked their F5 to this Alpha 9 for the good design!
Thank you! I did not know that, but it makes a lot of sense. They share a lot of interface similarities.
I have waited quite a while for this. Your earlier video made me really really want one of these.
I'm glad I was able to finally get this made. This is still my favorite 35mm film camera.
Great video and channel. Always a huge fan of Minolta, but I didn't get an A-9 until about 3 years ago. It's design and execution are pretty much flawless I think. This camera weened me off of digital permanently.
Fantastic! Yeah, this, the Pentax LX, and a couple of others basically have me shooting no digital for my own work. I use digital now to digitize film, when I do a client shoot, or for videos.
Very cool! I've a scanner for digitizing negatives, but have no interest yet in doing so. The a-9 also got me motivated to get a few of Minolta's older SLR's and some Rocker glass I coveted as a teenager. The 58 1.4 and 85mm Rockers have just blown me away :D
Yeah, the 58 1.4 is just stunning. What a great portrait lens. I've heard only good things about the 85, but haven't used it before.
The 58 1.4 sure is. It has become my fave focal length for a walk about. I've yet to get much time with the 85, but have gotten a few with it i love. A lot of promise so far
That hot shoe is great if you're using Minolta/Sony flashes. Much faster to attach and remove and no misaligned contacts.
I didn't realize that, though it makes sense. The old screw-tight hot shoes were a pain to get on and off.
It amazes me, that being "the top of the line camera" it never integrated or followed any of the pathways that A7 took. It would be like Olympus for example releasing the OM-D E-M5, and E-M1 but not releasing the E-M1 X. It would have been amazing to see where this camera could have gone if the market didn't lose its faith in film.
Minolta is a bit like Olympus in a lot of ways these days... So techy and ahead of their time that the market itself did not and still does not understand their place in the market.
That's a good perspective.
Dynax 9 & Dynax 7 BOTH Wins the Camera Grand Prix in Japan (The most elite Camera Manufacturer Race) Too Bad Sony dont use this design, Fyi Both Canon Nikon maintain their Film Camera Design from the 90s and they both achieved Success
They were amazing. I have a 7 right now that I plan to get into in the next year. I wish that the STF simulation mode it has were used in cameras today.
this alpha 9 is very interesting. that 1/12000th shutter sounds great for wild life photography. But what lenses would you recommend to go with this camera for zooming in on wild life. With the Canon V1 i know you get the whole world of EF mounts to choose from. what mounts did minolta offer for this camera?
This was a Minolta A mount, so any lens you get needs to be that. There were some amazing Minolta lenses for this camera. It would be hard to go wrong with one.
Hi David, I love your videos. I`m just starting with film photography. While researching somehow I liked Minolta the most. I bought 7000i and currently I am still shooting my first roll. It would be awesome if you could create a video about Minolta history. Mainly to show some differences. For example there is this one Maxxum 9 which is top tier, but there is also Maxxum 7 which should be below that, but it has lcd screen on the film cover? Anyway, I enjoy really on your Minolta videos.
Thank you! I honestly know very little about Minolta history. Even the brand I know the best, Pentax, I don't really feel qualified to discuss the lineage of in depth.
When you say don’t touch the mirror is that just for fingers or at all? If you can’t touch it, how do you remove dust that has latched on to it?
It's okay to clean it I do have a separate video on the channel showing how to clean SLR mirrors. But yeah, it's never a great idea to touch the mirror with your fingers or anything that could scratch it.
Great camera! How to have AF by pressing only the back AF button? Mine AF when I partially press the shutter release bt too. Cannot find how to disable the AF with the shutter release. I prefer to have AF by pressing the AF back button only.
Check video 3 in this series. That should have the instructions.
ua-cam.com/video/rfwlzxWJkJM/v-deo.html
I’m really concerned about your statement about leaving the camera in a hot or cold car. Mt a9 has been in non-heated nor cooled storage in Michigan for 2 years. Can I expect that it’s damaged by now? I’m in New Mexico and won’t have access to them until a year from now.
Hard to say. Sometimes cameras are just fine, sometimes not. I've bought cameras that people kept in their arm rest for years and they had no issues. So that's a general statement about storage, not a guarantee that a camera will be damaged by it.
@@DavidHancock Thats a bit of relief. I’m more concerned about my RZ 67 II Pro sitting next to it. Replacement cost on the a9 is low but the RZs seem to have quadrupled in value since I bought it c. 2015
Hi David, just have a quick question for you. On the front of the camera is the Infrared light to measure the light. Can you please let me know if is possible to turn it off? I mens to switch IR light off to be not visible to the hunan eyes, , not a light meter. Thanks
It cannot be turned off. Human eyes can't see IR light and the amount of IR light absorbed by them from the sun is many orders of magnitude higher than this camera can produce. I wouldn't give the IR light on this camera a second thought.
I use Sony Alpha. I have a a77ii and a99ii Will my SSM-SAM lenses work on this camera? and vice versa? My lenses have 8 contacts and I have noticed the Minolta A mounts have 5 contacts. Thanks and thank you for your informative video.
The SSM lenses will function on these but the SSM function (which I admittedly don't fully understand) will only work if the A-9 you get was modified after purchase to have an SSM board. Very few of these, apparently, exist because the window for the upgrade was small and not many people got it. I don't know how many were converted.
@@DavidHancock Thank You so much for your reply.
I have had my a9 for nearly 30 years..has travelled the world with me. But I am sad that its life is coming to an end. The meter display inside the view finder is dimming and hard to see in bright day light. But the real problem is that the camera's 'skin' is crumbing away, more so around the handgrip metal sensors and just under the shutter button. I don't know what's caused this apart from the fact that I did notice that the area had a rather shinny finish to it as if some kind of liquid had been applied, which was not the case. I don't know if this is repairable...any advise would be appreciated.
My viewfinder LCD has the same issue. I have a parts 7 with a good viewfinder LCD and I'm told it's the same part. I need to find someone brave enough to take it apart and seal the pieces. The crumbling covering it just due to the material failing. That's common on cameras from that era. Best best is to get rid of it all, clean the area really well, and make a new cover. For that you can order the material from CameraLeather.com. You'll want adhesive baked. Once you get it, use Frog Tape to cover the whole area of the removed covering then use an x-acto knife to cut away material at places like the sensors and around the periphery. That will leave you with a template. Put the template on the leather material, cut it out, then apply it to the camera. Want red or blue instead of black? Go for it. You can do what you want with the new covering.
Hey David and other followers of Davids Maxxum 9 tutorials, I have my original Maxxum 9, from new, have not picked it up until a couple of weeks ago and up until yesterday Thursday 16th dec, the camera worked beautifully, however, sometime during Thursday, the view finder became very dark and almost unreadable and there is a 30" on the top left side of the top screen and a "DATA" shown on the screen, does anyone have an answer for this issue?
When you take the lens off the camera, is the mirror visible or stuck upwards? What happens if you power it off and replace the batteries?
Well even if I respect Minolta for his creativity and ingenieering Capabilities I was never convinced by their AF line. They all look very plastic and the lenses too even if technically speaking their tech sheat is impressive. When you hold an eos1 or an f5 it smells solidity… the Minolta never gave me this feeling. Then for the high end specs never reached… who (or which picture) needs a 1/12000 of secs and a synchro at 1/300… not a lot I am afraid. For me what is the most important in a camera is the handling, the viewfinder and the ergonomy. That s why the top brands don t change a lot these things as they are critical for their public. But nevertheless with this video you woke up my curiosity… so I will try to find and use one :).
Nice! The 9 is an incredible camera and the top-end specs aren't used often (I did at a rodeo with fast film, but honestly, there wasn't a huge difference between the images at 1/12,000th and 1/4000th -- maybe a bit less motion blur in some dirt clumps coming off the horses and bulls.)
So the big question is, how is reliability holding up after a couple of years? Because reliability after 10.000 shots what makes a camera professional grade, not the crazy shutter speed. I was in college when these cameras came out, but I hanged out in the biggest camera store in LA where all the pros came, and they all went for the F5.
So my big complaint is the plastic bit that holds the door in place. On my 7, that broke twice. The 9 seems to have a better lock design, however, and it's not been an issue. But, five years on, the 9 is doing well.
What lenses would you recommend for this camera? Any good zooms?
I only own one zoom lens, and am really a prime lens user, so I'm not the person to ask about zooms. For primes, a good and easy kit is a 28, 50, and 135. That will do just about everything most people need.
Anyone have a suggestion on what to do with a non functioning AF back button? I received this camera seemingly near-mint not long ago, but I can't seem to get the AF button to work. Pressing it and turning the front wheel doesn't change the focusing points, which makes pinpointing my autofocus a hassle.
Any idea what I can do? Am I missing a setting on the camera, is this easily repairable, should I just return it etc?
Video 3 had the custom functions. It could easily be that a former owner disabled the AF button.
David Hancock Thanks for the tip, David. Unfortunately all custom settings are set to 1. The button just seems to be dead. I appreciate your reply though.
Keep making those great videos; they’re super helpful. Your channel is in no small way responsible for me having too many cameras. :)
Can I use my collection of manual focus Rokkor lenses on this camera?
Thank you.
Nope.
I'm having seriously trouble changing out the CR2025 battery inside the film compartment. How the heck do you get that plastic piece off without breaking it? Great Camera besides that
Check out video 2, which shows how to do exactly that. THe description has a time-linked index so you can skip right to that part.
Thankyou!!
I just bought an a-7. Nice camera but it would have been nicer with an metal body.
I completely agree.
Hi is the x-9 the same camera.
No. The X-9 is the same as the X-370N.
How would you compare this to the F6? :) #BuyingDecisions... :D
I haven't used an F6, so I can't speak to their handling comparison in any intelligent way. Were I buying one today and were money no object, I'd go with the F6 solely because it's newer. That said, I love this camera and it's still my top 35mm film camera.
@@DavidHancock Thanks for the reply!
Great video, thank you for keeping the 9 alive and creating interest on a master piece of engineering IMHO. If you are inclined to do so take a look a couple of images taken with this great camera and Zeiss 85mm f1.4 flic.kr/p/HJ2GUM and flic.kr/p/JupwLv
WOW! Very nice work!
Thank you, I want to shoot a full film session with a model, but, I have not weaned myself of digital at this time. I hope I can do so soon. Keep up the great work.
Biggest downside is the shutter speed... only 1/30th of a second? That's garbage
I'm not sure that I follow. The fastest shutter speed is 1/12,000th -- the only camera ever made to do that without the benefit of an electronic shutter -- and the flash sync is 1/300th -- the fastest non-leaf and non-HSS flash sync speed of any film camera. The full shutter speed range is 30 seconds to 1/12,000th.
@@DavidHancock I mean I can't believe it doesnt go slower than that.
@@olsonbryce777 Oh got it. The slowest it has is 30 seconds beyond that, bulb mode is ideal. I think the longest single exposure I've done with this camera is 45 minutes.
@@DavidHancock oh wow that's crazy. I would pick this camera up in a heartbeat if it had a slower shutter. Do you know of any other minolta alphas camera with similar specs that would suit me? Thank you!
@@olsonbryce777 The 7 has a fastest shutter speed of 1/8,000.
I hate the newer MINOLTA logo. It just makes me think of photocopiers.
I'm a fan of the older one, too.
I didn't like the one starting with small m🤔
I have 300si DYNAX Minolta aka Sony 😎🤣
Nice!