I have used this camera since September of 1985 and it has been a very durable and solid performer in the field and for inside photography. The camera has Minolta bayonet lens mount and it take a wide array of Minolta lens products which have allowed me to cover any need from wide angle to telephoto. The camera will use any film from 25 to 1600 speed ISO film and produces well with this wide selection of film speeds. The flash mount is durable and the Minolta brand flashes provide excellent coverage in all the low light and fill in situations that I have come across. I have worn out two flash units during the time I have used this camera and I am now using a Minolta Auto 280 PX and with its high and low setting found that it covers most of my flash requirements. The flash setting for synchronization is 1/60. The camera has a couple of things that at first are hard to work with and if you do not have an extra camera battery can result in your not being able to use the camera. The first of these is the on and off control, it has two on settings and a off setting located between the on settings. The purpose of the two on setting is to provide for a on setting that warns you about low speed and the other for times that you do not need the warning sound for low speed or find it to be an annoyance. Since the off setting is between the on setting, there are many times when you think you are shutting off the camera, but you are just changing it to another on setting and thus you battery goes dead. The second reason to always carry a camera battery with you is that the battery will work right up to the time it dies and then you are left with no power to operate your shutter. The camera allows you three exposure settings and they are Program, this setting always gives you the narrowest depth of field and fastest shutter speed. It is very good for giving you images in which the primary subject seems to pop out of the background on the photograph. The second setting on the camera is aperture priority and this is what I use for outdoor photography where depth of field is not a primary consideration and thirdly, manual with setting of bulb to one thousand of a second.

I feel it best at his point let you know how I have used this camera during the last 13 years plus, so that you can determine if this camera will meet your needs. I shoot between 50 and 70 rolls of film per year of assorted speeds and types (color print, black and white and slide). I use it as my primary camera and 80% of the time out in the field in all temperatures and weather conditions. I have photographed the Texas Capital building in 100 degree plus and have taken photos with it at 30 degrees below zero at a hot air balloon festival in early February and in all occasions produced sharp usable photos. I have taken it to the beach at Nags Head, North Carolina , in boats out in Lake Superior , on hikes in the forest. I have used it to record family weddings, funerals, births and birthdays. It has never once been in the repair shop and outside of the worn areas where the straps connect to the camera. I feel the camera still looks like when I purchased it in 1985 despite the use and having been dropped on the lens resulting in breaking of a cirular polarizing filter. In short when this camera needs to be replaced, I would feel I should buy another Minolta X700.