X-600

(1983) Not to be confused with the Minolta 600-X camera, the X-600 was produced in 1983 in limited numbers and was never officially exported outside of Japan.

The X-600 is like the X-700, but it dropped some features and added others.  First, it took the X-700 body style and changed it a bit.  The style would be used on the later X-370 cameras.  The most noticeable change is that the shutter speed dial is now hidden.  The selected shutter speed appears in a small window which, I guess, some ergonomic engineer thought would be easier to view.  It does isolate the set shutter speed, which is nice, but when you want to change the shutter speed, you are in for trouble.  Which way do you turn it?  Since you can't see the other speeds, there is no way to know.  What a nuisance.  It wasn't broke, but they decided to "fix" it.

Most people think the biggest change is that the X-600 lacks the programmed exposure mode of the X-700.  It does, and this was a big change, and why Minolta did it is quite confusing.  Programmed exposure mode is perfect for people who don't like to think while taking a picture -- this was the crowd that was the target of the X-600.  So Minolta removed one convenience feature from the X-700, added another, and came up with the X-600.  The feature that Minolta added on the X-600 is focus confirmation. The focus-confirmation feature was designed to be used with special lenses that have a focus-confirmation tab -- only on selected Minolta MD lenses -- but many report that the focusing confirmation system works just fine with any MD, MC and even pre-MC lenses.  There are actually two "confirmation" approaches in the X-600, one for bright light and one for lower light levels.  The tab in the lens merely tells the confirmation system which approach to use, but the default works fine in most situations.

Another change to the body style is a new sliding ON-OFF switch -- moved away from the shutter speed dial and back to where it was with the earlier XG cameras.  The power switch now has three positions - OFF, ON, and ON with a beep. It makes two different audible noises - one to warn for camera shake with slow shutter speeds and one for focus confirmation. This is actually a useful feature since the camera can be focused without looking through the viewfinder.  Just turn the focusing ring on the lens and listen for the beep. In addition, the built-in hand grip on the body extends further forward than on the X-700 as it houses the power source -- two AAA batteries. Also, the back of the camera has a molded thumb rest.

The viewfinder is very similar to the X-700 with the shutter speed scale on the right side of the viewfinder with red LEDs.  There is no aperture readout window.  The bottom of the screen provides two red arrows in opposite direction, and a large green dot in between that lights up when the focus is confirmed. One or the other of the arrows light up when the lens is not focused indicating the direction the lens focusing ring should be turned to bring the subject into focus (assuming you are using a Minolta lens). An LED system very similar to this was first used in the Minolta 16 QT -- to set the exposure.  The mirror on the X-600 has an interesting grid pattern etched into it that may helps with focus confirmation. The focusing screen is also different and lacks the split-image focusing aide.  It's not needed, of course, since the camera has a different way of determining correct focus.  

The camera retains most of the other features of the X-700.  It has aperture-priority automatic exposure control, metered manual, and manual modes.  The camera back is interchangeable. The camera accepts the Winder G, but not the Motor Drive 1. The front of the camera has the self timer and auto exposure lock sliding switch on the left side, near the hand grip. There is no depth of field preview button.  For a comparative look at the major features of the X-600, check out MINMAN's SLR table -- the world's most complete!

The X-600, like focus-confirmation cameras from other manufacturers, was destined to be short-lived and soon was replaced by fully-automatic focusing cameras.  Minolta canned the X-600 and, two years later, replaced it with the "auto-focusing" Maxxum 7000 in 1985.  With the new, wonderful Maxxum, you press a button and then wait until a green light glows in the viewfinder.  (They called it auto-focus.  I call it semi-auto-focus.)  Then you can take the picture -- unless you are in manual mode. In that case, you'll need to take your eye away from the viewfinder, since the manully-set speed is not displayed in the viewfinder.  Then you look at the LED panel, find the right button to press to change the shutter speed, and watch the panel as it changes.  And since the Maxxum has a built-in motor drive, it's larger and heavier than the older cameras.  Minolta addressed this problem by putting as much plastic as possible into the Maxxum.  Sounds like the perfect camera, huh?

One important quality control issue pertains to the two capacitors in the X-600 (and the X-700 and X-300 cameras, as well). They tend to leak, and in the process malfunction. You can usually spot a bad capacitor easily. Turn the camera on, using good batteries. Touching the shutter release button will turn on the LED meter for a second, but then it goes out. Some contend that the problem stems from the move to China and cheaper capacitors. There may be some truth to this as the earliest X-700 cameras have fewer capacitor problems. Others contend that the capacitors leak with time, use and humidy. In any case, it's an expensive repair and one reason some people avoid the last models that Minolta made.

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