Created April 9, 1999 Last Modified: April 9, 1999

The 700si is either a third or a fourth generation Maxxum camera, depending upon your beliefs. There is some argument about whether the 700si is a new generation, or just a revision. The focusing is faster, and the low-light-level focusing is superior, but the 14 segment honeycomb metering is very much the same as used on the previous model, the 7xi, so I consider it a revision rather than a whole new series.

The 700si has made a number of improvements over the previous models, primarily in the areas of controls and ease of use.

It has a *lot* of features, and it can confuse some people. (I bought a book to go with it, and I still have trouble remembering how to activate all of the features.) It can be used in fully automatic modes, and function as a point and shoot that even my sister can use, or you can control everything down to the tiniest detail of how it operates. It is a very smart camera, and a tough competitor.

The basic philosophy of the controls layout is similar to earlier models. The major outer controls include two thumbwheels, with more controls inside the door on the right.

When I got the 700si, my first impression (and an article I read confirmed) was that Minolta had done a really good job of surveying their current customers, finding out their opinions, and designing their requested features in. The 700si is (in my opinion) very similar internally to the 7xi, with a better set of controls and features.

I will try to give you some of the new features and controls of the 700si.

The built in flash is pulled up manually. It does NOT pop up automatically. That was a "feature" on the old models that really drove me crazy in a lot of instances. On the 700si, if you pull it up, it fires. If you put it down, it doesn't argue with you.

The fill-flash control on the 700si is a simple external button.

The 700si has a built in memory feature. You can dial-in all of the settings just the way you want, and set them in memory. Then if you reset or change things, you can go back to the memory settings. The 700si has this feature built in. It is really nice to be able to set spotmetering, spot focus and whatever, and be able to change anything and simply bop right back to your spot settings in a snap.

Speaking of that, the 700si has a spotmeter button on the outside so it is much easier to go into this mode. In addition, you can use it as a momentary thing to make the camera act like a spot meter even in a normal metering mode. As a serious amateur you should appreciate this. It helps you scan and meter a scene using the camera. This is good for the "zone system".

On the 700si you can turn the automatic eye-start feature off. Some people won't care at all, but some people *HATE* the eye-start and demanded to be able to override it. Again that is personal taste. I like the fact that the cameras turn on and begin to focus and meter as soon as it detects my eye arriving at the eyepiece. The camera is focusing at the same time the operator is so grab shots are quicker than with older models. On the other hand, when I carry the camera low, and it brushes against my pant leg, sometimes you hear the camera starting to autofocus or autozoom. It depends upon how you carry the camera and whether you care. It is just one more control that lets you modify the 700si operating characteristics to your personal tastes.

The 700si has a depth of field preview button that can be very useful to a serious amateur. However, I must confess that I never use it. (This is a side effect of too many features) I use my experience to decide speed and f-stop for the situation.

The 700si has the ability to do multiple exposures built in. Supposedly, you can do many exposures on one frame with the 700si, but I don't remember how. It seems that two exposures was easy to do, more exposures were hard.

The 700si has a built in frame count down feature. Once you get below ten frames remaining, it counts down the number remaining in the led display inside the viewfinder. This is a good feature if you notice it. It can be really nice to get some warning before the camera starts to automatically rewind right in the middle of something important. The film rewind on the 700si is automatic, although you can force it to rewind at any time.

That leads me to rewind speed. The 700si has two speeds of rewind. One is fast and the other is quiet or something like that. Obviously that is not a big deal to me, but in some cases it could be important. If you do weddings, a quiet rewind could be very valuable.

The 700si also has a choice of release modes. There is a focus priority mode that is the standard. It won't allow the picture to be taken until it senses that it is in focus. It can be changed to a release priority mode. This just gives you additional flexibility.

The 700si has an optional "kung foo grip" that you can put on the bottom for vertical operation. It puts duplicate controls on the bottom so that if you do a lot of vertically oriented shooting you don't suffer from fatigue in your hands so badly.

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