[Gemok]

..... considering getting a minolta 5d (not to be confused with the canon 5d) as my first DSLR. I can get one from purelygadgets for £424 + P&P with a 18-70 lens

Correct me if I'm worng but here are the pros and cons as I see them
Pros
Built in Antishake
Price
The reviews (which are few) I can find say the lens is good for a "kit" lens

Cons
Shot to shot time considered "slow" by some reviews
KM no longer in the business but sony have bought rights to the mounting system
Only 6.1 Megapixels (not really a con at the moment)
KF mount lenses not as comon as canon or nikon

I'm not going to buy anything until at least after the PMA I'm hoping sony will announce specs, release dates there.

anyone used one of these in anger?

[digitalfailure]

Minolta have said that they are leaving the camera industry, all rights have been sold on to Sony now iirc. If your not concerned about warranty and the smaller choice of lenses go fo it.

If it were me, i'd be looking at the 350D or the d50 though as they'll command a greater price should you decide to sell up and move up the range.

[mfwild13]

I too would suggest going for a 350 or D50 as they are both around for very good deals at the moment.

A few things to consider for the Minolta route:-

1. What would your upgrade path be? I started with a 350, will shortly be going for a 20D and ultimately aspire to a 1Ds Mark II.
2. What about availability of manufacturer and third party lenses and accessories? For interest, my original body plus kit lens purchase is now probably only around 10% of my total spend on photography gear!!!
3. Resale value.

Mark

[Gemok]

Originally Posted by digitalfailure

Minolta have said that they are leaving the camera industry, all rights have been sold on to Sony now iirc. If your not concerned about warranty and the smaller choice of lenses go fo it.

If it were me, i'd be looking at the 350D or the d50 though as they'll command a greater price should you decide to sell up and move up the range.

Sony have said they'll honour KM warranties as part of the take over, its true the 350d and d50 will probably hold their value better but see 3. the smaller choice of lenses doesn't bother me much its the lack of available reviews thats got me stuck

1 upgrade path - unknown at the present as stated hoping sony announce where they're going at PMA

2 both sigma and tamaron make lenses for the KF mount, compatable flashes are harder to find though

3 I'll probably use my first cam till it dies

[CT]

Going back a few years Minolta made some seriously good SLRs and had a pretty good back up range of lenses and other equipment. A lot of people were choosing them as a serious 'system' camera, but ultimately they fell by the wayside against the enormous competition of Nikon and Canon who are long established giants in the field of prosumer and pro SLRs. That's not to say other manufacturers don't produce perfectly good SLR's - they do, but none with the back up equipment that these two do, and of course independent manufactures will produce kit for them because of their global sales.

OK that was a long winded way of saying I'd go for Nikon or Canon. Sony make TV's .

[Gemok]

Originally Posted by CT

Sony make TV's .

and the sensor for the d200, d50 and d70s

which may explain the banding on the d200 lol

[CT]

LOL.

[Steep]

'If' Sony were serious about getting into the slr camera market they could have done a lot worse than buy up Minolta, imo Sony cameras in the past have been ok but not great, reflecting Sonys' expertise as an electronics company rather than a photographic one. If they make good use of Minoltas' knowledge base and product range then they could do really well, only time will tell there. Meantime, if you want a good camera to take photographs with, are not too worried about wether it holds it's value* then the 5d will serve you well. Sigma and others make lenses for them and you will find plenty of second hand stuff around for a long time yet.

*What is the useful lifespan of a digital camera anyway, a good model maybe 5 years? in the mid range camera market, second hand models of any make do not hold their value well, especially when new models are brought out twice a year or so. This time next year 300Ds will be sitting in the 99p bins and that's only 2-3 years after I bought mine.

What I mean is buy the camera for what it can do for you today, not for what it might be worth later on.

[Steep]

p.s. I've not used a 5d but have owned a Minolta s304 compact, it was a great camera, very well made and is still working away happily in the hands of a friend of mind.

[RobertP]

Before I bought my 20D I joined a user group on Yahoo groups for the 20D so I could look through the message archive and see what oweners were saying.

There are thousands of groups - each kind of like a forum but by email. You just join and can have messages emailed to you and post your own by email. You can also then search the archives of the group.

Its a useful resource and its all free. I don't get any junk mail on the subscribed address. I searched the groups page for 5D and This one was near the top of the list. Not that active but should give you more info and answers to any questions.

[Gandhi]

Afaik, sony have indeed bought the rights to the lens mount system, alongside other technologies (i'm guessing the IS, as sony don't have one for cams yet) They will continue to develop slr's using this mount for the forseeable future, so no worries about upgrade paths then!

I personaly don't think it will make a vast amount difference which system you buy into as it's going to be a massive step up from your current kit. It's all too easy to be caught up in the idea that the best kit will make your photographs better.

[Dave]

Although you state you won't upgrade, from experience I know you can never tell what's down the path.....you might decide to sell the lot & go back to compact. For these kind of reasons I usually stick to "nearly new" (eg. S/H 6 months old) to get best price, plus also the brands that keep money best (eg. Nikon / Canon) . From following this advice over the years I've managed to get hi end kit in areas such as Home Cinema, Hi-Fi, Digital Cameras & sometimes even cars, for decent prices & very little loss when selling on again.

Just another angle to look at things from. Best of luck with whatever you get & looking forward to the shots

[Gemok]

I went in to jessops down in exeter yesterday and luckilly they had my three contenders 350d, d50 and 5d available for a play I didn't like the feel of the canon my fingers are too chunky for it to be comfortable so ruled that out. Liked the feel of both the d50 and 5d though so will prob be one of those ....

[CT]

Originally Posted by Gemok

Liked the feel of both the d50 and 5d though so will prob be one of those ....

Quite a price differential there!

[mfwild13]

Originally Posted by CT

Quite a price differential there!

Tsk tsk. Not reading the start of the post

Originally Posted by Gemok

..... considering getting a minolta 5d (not to be confused with the canon 5d) as my first DSLR.

[CT]

LOL.