INTRODUCTION

The Minolta Maxxum 3xi is a 35mm film SLR made in Japan by Minolta between 1991 and 1995.

BEST SUITED FOR:

Art

PERSONAL NOTES

The Minolta Maxxum 3xi is an entry level SLR that has good possibilities, but lacks ergonomy.

There is no flash sync port, there is only the Minolta proprietary hot shoe. So forget this camera for studio use.

At least, it has a pop up flash. And the Minolta flash unit that you can put directly on the camera is pretty ok for that era. When you zoom your lens, you hear the head inside the flash unit move to adjust the width of the light beam.

The autofocus system on this camera is slow, loud, and always on. You can put it in manual focus, but when it's in automatic, it's always on, even when you are not using the camera, be sure to turn off the camera when you do not use it. This is quite annoying.

There is no focus confirmation, the only way to know if the focus is good, is to press the shutter. If it takes a photo, focus is supposed to be good, but if the focus is not done, the shutter is locked. Also, there is no dioper adjustment, so if it's blurry, it's difficult to know if it's because of the focus or the finder itself.

You have access to fully automatic, fully manual, and aperture and shutter priority modes. Switching between modes is not as easy as using a mechanical camera, you have to press a few buttons to get there, and these buttons are not really ergonomic, you have to get used to it.

This camera is clearly not intended for professionnals photographers, when you are in any mode, if you press the mode button, the camera automatically goes back to program mode. This is annoying, and I don't even think that it does a favor to beginners. When learning photography, your camera should stay in the mode you want, right?

Also, when the camera chooses the speed and aperture, the user just need to compose, focus, and shoot. But when in any other mode than Program, changing the aperture or speed can be a bit touchy. The controls are not ergonomic, I always have to look for them to see where my fingers should go. And then, if I quickly need to change a setting, it will never be fast like on other cameras. These controls are too slow to be useful.

The camera needs a 2CR5 battery, and with its always on autofocus, I bet you that it won't last long...

CONCLUSION

The Minolta Maxxum 3xi has potential, but I never had any fun with it, I always have to fight with it. Avoid!

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