Home > Consumer Reviews > Minolta DYNAX 5 35mm SLR Camera with 28-80(D) Lens

Having become increasingly unsatisfied with the pictures we were taking with a 10 year old compact camera I decided to look for a more modern replacement. The main requirements were something reasonably small, lightweight and with a zoom lens.

I spent some time looking into digital cameras but concluded that good ones are still expensive and that the hassle of a digital camera (downloading the files, backing up, editing, buying special paper, buying coloured ink cartridges, etc.) makes them the wrong choice for me. Call me old fashioned, but I quite enjoy opening up an envelope of prints freshly back from the processors and looking through them with the family.

Having settled on a conventional 35mm camera I started looking into compact cameras with zoom, and also into SLRs (single lens reflexes), and was surprised to find that modern SLRs like the Minolta Dynax 5 are very light weight and good value. My previous experiences and research on the web led me to conclude that none of the compacts on the market really stand up in competition with SLRs in terms of picture quality, so I took the plunge and ordered the Dynax 5 via Amazon.

The Minolta Dynax 5 is a small single lens reflex camera (which means you look through the lens and so get exactly the same image on film as you get on the film). It uses the standard 35mm film that you can buy everywhere.

Having had the camera for a couple of months the Minolta Dynax 5 is proving excellent. The first two films have given great pictures, with the zoom lens and pop-up flash allowing pictures to be taken in most "everyday" conditions. I especially enjoy being able to focus in closely onto people's faces to catch their expressions.

The camera offers pretty much idiot-proof automatic operation with fast and accurate automatic focusing, automatic exposure control and easy to use zoom operation. However, it also has a huge range of options for the keen photographer, offering every conceivable operational mode (aperture priority, shutter priority, manual focus, multiple exposure bracketing, selectable focus zones, etc.). I rather like the idea that I can use these things if I want, but can also just put it on automatic and press the button to take snaps.

The camera seems well designed and the pictures are sharp with good colour balance and accurate exposures. The construction quality seems good but it does feel a little flimsy with its plastic body - however if that is the price I have to pay for it weighing so little - 1.5lbs according to my kitchen scales (which for those who want a comparison is the same as 4 small bananas and an apple!). Some of the controls are quite small and fiddly, especially if you have large hands, and it has taken me a while to get used to them. But to be honest, in everyday use, you can leave most of them alone and let the camera sort out the pictures itself.

For anyone buying this camera I would recommend purchasing a "daylight filter" to put on the lens as a means of protecting the front surface. This is a tip I picked up from another website, the filter doesn't really alter the picture taking, but acts to protect the front surface of the lens from dirt (and the greasy fingers of small curious children).

Overall I would recommend this camera, I don't have experience with the competitor SLR products, but I can't believe anything else is significantly better for the money. I'm certainly happy with the Minolta Dynax 5 and for the moment, at least, I am glad that I went with this over a digital.

I recently returned to photography (having got a Fuji digital camera which is only 1.3 pixels, it takes great pics but the problem starts with the PC side of things, and as for me it seems a lot of hassle and cheating) - so I went out and bought a minolta slr and it looks great, takes great pics on auto and is very,very easy to use, in fact I have just bought another zoom lens for it.
But as with a lot of things there is one irritating problem which I am trying to get sorted out and that is the auto focus sometimes is very sensitive and just when you have got the picture set ready to press shutter - the auto focus setting moves and you have to go throug it all again - the problem is the shutter button has to be pressed halfway to auto-focus then fully pressed to take picture.
But apart from that and the wide choice of cameras I would say buy one and give it a try.

My dad is an Archeologist and his job is research, since I was a kid he always had cameras from his office, almost always a Minolta. Dad retired this December. Since his job involved lot of photography, we also used his camera at home.

I bought this camera in quite a rush, the camera was the last thing we bought in a matter of minutes I looked at some brands and liked Minolta, I didn't have time to go through the features so just trusted the name and the feel that i could get by holding it in my hand.

After coming to India I gifted it to him. He loved it and since he is a professional photographer and knows a lot, said that the camera has a lot of features and that it is a excellent buy.
He has taken some pictures with it too and he is pleased with its output. I don't know much about cameras but I too clicked some snaps with it, just point and shoot mode. They came out excellent too, and must say I'm pleased with the buy too. Thanks to Minolta I have an SLR I'd always dreamt of having since i was a kid.

I must admit that I don't see much point in writing a review for a one-off second-hand camera that's not going to be available for anyone else - until, that is, the supply of photographic film finally dries up and I'm forced to join everyone else and go digital ...... THEN, I might want to dispose of this camera again - though NOBODY will have a use for it !
Anyway, the camera was bought to replace my previous Dynax 5 which had failed after about 550 films from new ( parts are, of course, unobtainable ) : It arrived just in time for me to take it on holiday in Ireland and it performed impeccably - twenty films arrived back from Fuji yesterday and I'm perfectly happy with the results so far.