MINOLTA MAXXUM 7 (aka Dynax 7, aka α-7) REVIEW

Unlike my reviews for other cameras, I'm not going to enumerate every aspect of the 7. You can read its user manual for that. Instead, I'm basically just going to rave about it.

First off, the handling is utterly superb. It's light enough and compact enough that it's not a burden to carry for longer than about 5 minutes, as the F4 is, but it's heavy enough (for its size) that it feels very solid and durable. The right hand grip is molded very well, both in front and in back, including a little cutout for one's middle finger to rest in. That, plus the textured rubber, makes it extremely comfortable.

The handling also extends to the user interface. The large LCD panel on the back makes everything much easier to decipher, especially the custom functions (which actually have descriptions instead of just numbers!), but the designers really scored with the buttons, switches, and dials. Such a tactile interface, where all the essential functions have their own physical manifestations, is miles away from the minimalist approach Minolta espoused in the mid 1990s with the XI series of cameras.

The metering is simply spot on, 99% of the time. It's 14 hexagonal segments (coupled to whichever AF point is in use), plus the "background" segment; Minolta had used that pattern from early 1992 with the release of the 7xi, but they continually revised the evaluation algorithms. The 7's algorithms are almost un-trickable - only in harsh side light do they falter. However, the flash metering (4-segment TTL-OTF coupled with distance information) is a bit trickier to get right.

The autofocus is unbelievably good, and makes the F4's single horizontal sensor seem laughably primitive by comparison. You can literally just point and shoot with this camera, and it will give you an in-focus picture. There are nine autofocus points (8 linear, 1 double-cross), all quite sensitive, and the center "double-cross" point is so sensitive that it can actually pick up the texture on the wall of my bedroom, in fairly dim light, without hunting. In fact, it rarely ever hunts. You can select the mode with a dial on the back of the camera: the options are single-point (you choose the AF point with the 8-way rocker switch plus inner button on the back), wide-area (the camera automatically selects the focus point, but you can "force focus" with the center AF button), and "lock" (same as wide-area, but no "force-focus").

Because Minolta had stuck itself with screwdrive-AF lenses from the introduction of the A-mount 16 years prior, they were in a bit of a bind when it came to quick switching to manual focus. They came up with two options for this in the 7: a custom function that, when set, provided AF all the time, *except* when ths shutter button was pressed, whereupon you could manually focus, and an AF-MF button on the back, which can be set either to switch when it is held down, or with a single press. This is all in addition to the mode dial at the front of the camera, by the lens mount - effectively, it sets the "base mode" of focusing when you turn the camera on (Manual, Single, Automatic, & Continuous). I basically set it to Manual all the time and use the back button (on single-press mode) to switch it back and forth between AF (when the front dial is set to M, this defaults to Automatic) and MF instantly.

The "intelligent program" mode, however, is perhaps the crown jewel of this camera. It's often overlooked, and severely underrated. Minolta had been doing this since the very inception of the A-mount: the 7000 and 9000 had three different program lines for different lens focal lengths. With the I series, the XI series, and the SI series, they developed their program modes further and further with each generation, until they reached the sheer insanity of this camera. The thing about it is that it makes an "educated guess" about what kind of shot you're taking, based on focal length, focus distance, which AF point is in use, 14-segment metering readout, and subject motion (!) - and sets incremental aperture/shutter speed combinations based on this. Of course, this doesn't mean it makes the right artistic decision for you (BECAUSE IT'S A FREAKING COMPUTER) but the results are aesthetically pleasing 95% of the time.

One can truly say of this camera that it is very near perfect, for a 35mm film camera of any type. You really can't get much better than this - there's precious little that's more full-featured, more pleasing to handle and use, more "intelligent" and able to literally predict what you will shoot. There are a few things that I wish it had - like less shutter lag, "hard" mirror lockup, and weather sealing - but if I want those, I can use my F4. Horses for courses, I suppose, and this "horse" is among the most extraordinarily versatile of them all.