Newsgroups: rec.photo
From: acs@csri.toronto.edu (Alvin Chia-Hua Shih)
Subject: Re: A very simple question by a beginner
Date: 31 Dec 92 00:27:16 GMT

In <58129@dime.cs.umass.edu> shekhar@sinai.pilgrim.umass.edu (Ajay Shekhar) writes:

>Hi,
>	I started subscribing to this news group 2 days back. I am an 
>absolute novice about photography, so pardon the naiveity of the foll.
>questions.

We're all here to learn!  :-)

>	My friend (who knows nothing about photography) asked me about
>the camera he should buy.
>	The final choice was a Minolta 5000i. Now, after reading rec.photo,
>this choice seems to be a bad one. Everyone seems to be discussing ONLY 
>about Nikon and Canon cameras. Further, I haven't seen a single article on
>the 5000i. Has this line been discontinued by Minolta ?

Yes.  The 5000i is superceeded by the 5xi.

The heavy Nikon/Canon traffic in the last two weeks was largely due to
discussion over the usefulness of various features of the new Nikon F90.
(And a very heated discussion it was! :-)

>	The 3xi and 5xi, have this feature (I don't know the technical name
>for it) that, the camera will automatically focus when you aim the camera at
>a subject. The 5000i/7000i, focus only when the shutter is half pressed. I 
>would have thought, that the automatic movement of the 3xi/5xi, was an
>un-necessary drain on the batteries.

The feature you mention is Minolta's "Eye-Start" technology.  It's
supposed to work by detecting the user grip the camera (notice the two
contact strips on the handle), and firing up an IR emitter/detector
pair near the eyepiece.  When you bring the camera to your eye, the IR
receiver signals the AF system to start.  So, it's not really doing
that much unless you handle the camera a lot.

It's sometimes useful for quick "grab shots".  Everybody else seems to
cope with leaving their cameras on and pressing the shutter button half
way.

I don't know if Eye Start is a battery eater.  My guess is probably no.

>	Basically, the camera is not needed for anything special. It is for
>normal family/picnic/may be a bit of zoom photography etc. My friend does
>want a built in flash, and a 35 to 70/80 or 105 mm zoom.

The 5000i with an appropriate lens (35-105 sounds ok) should do fine.
I don't know if it has a built-in flash.  My guess is no.  The 5xi
does have a built-in flash.

>	Can anyone give me any advice on the subject ?

Everybody in rec.photo can give advice on the subject!  :-)

Everybody in rec.photo bought their cameras with various factors in
mind.  The weight of each of these factors rests with the individual.
There are many Nikon and Canon owners here due to the fact that Nikon
and Canon are simply bigger camera manufacturers than Minolta and
Pentax.

Many here are "serious" about photography, and thus place higher
emphasis on lens quality, system support, durability, etc.  These
issues are largely "intangible" verging on religion.  (Notice how there
are so many requests for lens test information.  If lenses were that
different in quality, nobody would bother asking, but would rather do
the tests themselves...)

For a camera for just family shooting, you almost can't go wrong
with any major manufacturer.  Just name your price range.

ACS
-- 
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|   |   | __|"The Nikon lens owners are more gratingly smug, while the     |
| - | --|__ | Canon lens owners are more verbally abusive." - Tony Arnerich|
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