In the era of Minolta manual focusing camera, there is no real professional camera. It can be said that the X-700 was Minolta's highest-grade camera at that time. The X-700 was developed as a high-end amateur camera, which was not only suitable for amateur photographers at that time, but also suitable for some professional photographers, so its positioning at that time was very high, which was equivalent to the market positioning of the later 7XI and the latest α-7. Therefore, in terms of machinery, materials and optics, it is far better than the current entry-level SLR cameras such as Canon EOS300, and some professional functions are not available in low-end amateur cameras. The structure of X-700 is a metal skeleton with an engineering plastic shell. Although it is not as strong as FM-2, it is actually not weak. From its metal mirror box and smooth sliding guide rail on the back, we can see that it is different from cameras such as EOS300 and even better than EOS5. X-700 uses a horizontal shutter, the highest shutter speed is only11000 seconds, and the highest synchronous flash speed is only 1/60 seconds, which is really not very advanced, but it is limited to the technology at that time. On the other hand, the X-700 uses this shutter structure for reliability and durability, because Minolta has more advanced experience in using metal shutters. A similar example is the later Nikon professional camera F3, which abandoned the shutter of FE-2 with the highest speed of1/4000s and the synchronization speed of1/250s, and used a more reliable side metal shutter, so that the highest shutter speed was only1/2000s and the synchronization speed was only1/90s. X-700' s horizontal shutter does bring high reliability and durability, and the shutter sound is also low. Until now, Leica M6 and the new M7 still insist on this shutter design. A new technology used by X-700 at that time was the stainless steel bayonet sintered by oil infiltration. This technology can make the contact between the lens and the fuselage closer, while the rotation is smoother and more durable. This cost-increasing material has not even been used on top professional cameras such as Nikon F5, Canon EOS- 1V, but only on top cameras such as Minolta's 9XI and the new professional α-9, which shows the importance Minolta attaches to the X-700. Another leading technology of Minolta in those days was focusing screen technology. Just compare the contemporary X-700 and FM-2, you will find that the X-700 has a brighter focus screen and a clearer view through the viewfinder. At that time, Minolta was also favored by Leica in Germany. Leica cooperated with Minolta to develop the viewfinder of its R series SLR camera by using the latter's leading technology in focusing the screen. Another indicator that determines the grade of the camera is the viewfinder range and magnification. The viewfinder range of the X-700 is 95%, which is as high as FM-2. For example, the viewfinder range of the quasi-professional Canon EOS3 is 97%, while the professional EOS- 1N and EOS- 1V are 100%, and the high-end ones are high-end. The EOS50E with a lower grade is only 92%, but now the Minolta 505Si between EOS300 and EOS50E has a framing range of 90%, which shows that the positioning of the X-700 is really high. Some features will only appear in higher-end cameras. Depth-of-field prediction is a professional function, especially 20 years ago, even today's entry-level mass cameras are usually not available, such as Canon EOS88, EOS500N and some Nikon cameras, but they were already available on the X-700 20 years ago. PC jack is a professional function, which has always been installed only on high-end cameras, such as Canon EOS5 and above, Nikon F90X and so on. At that time, both X-700 and Nikon FM-2 had PC jacks, which can also prove that the current X-700 is equivalent to EOS5. The replaceable focus screen and camera back are also very professional functions, as are the X-700, and the replaceable data back is also excellent. In those days, if the top camera wanted to realize continuous shooting, it was necessary to add a winding motor, while the X-700 had two kinds of motors to choose from: G and/kloc-0. Among them, 1 handle motor can hold 8 5th batteries, and the highest speed in continuous shooting reaches 3.5 pieces/second, which is very remarkable data in ordinary cameras of that year, and it is better than FM-2 in performance, feel and aesthetics. Even the Canon EOS50E introduced by 1995 has a continuous shooting speed of only 3 frames per second, and the EOS300 is even lower. X-700 is a photographic system with huge accessories behind it, such as motor, flash, wireless controller for data transmission, etc. Although many of these accessories have lost their original value with the progress of technology, they are indeed at the forefront of the times and have played an indelible role. X-700 and FM-2 have been produced for so many years, which shows that their design is successful and the camera function is still very practical. X-700' s small black body is just right in size and weight, with beautiful appearance and good grip. Most buttons and dials are located correctly and easy to use. Everything is impeccable except that there is no multiple exposure and low shutter speed. With the development of electronic technology, the position of electronic X-700 is naturally inferior to that of all-mechanical FM-2, which is normal. However, if we compare the overall performance of X-700 and FM-2 without the background of cheap electronic cameras, X-700 should be slightly ahead, because X-700 has two very important and practical functions, which FM-2 does not have: automatic exposure and TTL automatic flash. X-700 is a famous machine, and its status and grade are incomparable to the current entry-level autofocus cameras such as EOS300. Even with the popularity of autofocus cameras today, manual focus cameras are not useless. Well-known brands such as Leica and Kangtaishi are still sticking to this market, and Nikon's FM series is also constantly developing. Now its FM3 has replaced the original FM-2, and the X-700 naturally has some use value.
Is the X-700 still worth buying? The price is the same as the entry-level autofocus cameras EOS300 and F65, which makes some friends wonder whether to choose the classic manual focusing X-700 or the advanced autofocus EOS300 and F65. Unfortunately, it can be said that if you don't particularly like Minolta manual equipment, from the perspective of photography, generally don't choose X-700. Photography is not the function of a single camera, but the result of the interaction of camera, lens and various accessories, which involves a photography system. Manual cameras such as FM-2 and F3 are so attractive because Nikon's manual system and automatic system are compatible, and its manual body can continue to function by using huge manual and automatic lenses, and can also be used as an auxiliary machine for autofocus cameras. Leica R series and Contax have a huge and the best manual lens group in the world, and they are constantly updated, so they can also dominate one side. However, as Minolta's manual MD system, the development was abandoned as early as 1980s, and then the production line of X-700 was moved to China. Now we can only buy a few brand-new lenses, MD28-70F3.5-4.8, MD70-2 10F3.5-5.6, and the imaging quality is very general. No matter how good the fuselage is, it needs lens support. Minolta's manual lenses also have some fine products, such as MD50F/KOOC-0/.4MD/KOOC-0/35F2.8, as well as MD35-70F3.5 and MD70-2/KOOC-0/0F4, which are rumored to be related to Leica. However, these excellent lenses have been discontinued for a long time, and it is not easy to find them in the second-hand market, and finding the price may not be appropriate. For friends who generally have no experience in buying second-hand photographic equipment, it is not very wise to take Minolta manual MD system. Photographers of a certain age in China believe that no one will forget Minolta and its X-700, so many people come from Minolta's manual system. As you can imagine, with the discontinuation of X-700, X-700 will gradually withdraw from the photography stage, but like Nikon FM-2, F3, Canon AE- 1, NEWF- 1, it once had a glorious history and will leave a good impression on people.