An Ode to the Endling - The Minolta XD Series

 
​"Endling" - an individual that is the last of its species.
​ 
-The journal Nature-

Chrome XD7 with New Leatherette and Inboard Exposure Compensation Lever

  Updated Feb. 6, 2021

​   Meet the last great manual focus Minolta...the XD (XD 11 in North America/XD 7 in Europe). Steady on, now! Wasn't the X-700 (1981) an award-winning camera with a more extensive and capable system of accessories?! Yes...yes it was, and it sold very well (2.1 million copies versus 750,000 XDs)...and lived a much longer life...and it has TTL flash...and a real motor drive...yadda, yadda, yadda. Just pick up an example of each and stroke the film advance lever. Case closed. Well, not really closed...I'm just getting warmed up ;-). Now the objective of this article is not to denigrate the X-700. (That would be rather unappreciative, seeing as it was my first real camera, it got me hooked on photography, and it is a good camera.) But a funny thing happened when I was looking for a backup body, back in 2000. I chanced upon a black XD 11 at my local pusher...I mean camera store, and for $50 less than I had paid for the X-700! Fast forward 16 years, and the 11 is still with me while the X-700 was sent down the road a few years back. Why? 

 What Makes the XD Special?

​   Minolta began development of the XD shortly after the introduction of the XE in 1974 (coincidentally, at almost exactly the same time, Canon started development of their revolutionary AE-1). They were pushing the technological envelope, adding a shutter-priority mode to the XE's aperture-priority and manual modes, adopting a more sensitive Silicon Photo Diode (SPD) meter instead of the cadmium sulfide (CdS) meter of the XE, introducing a new, brighter Acute-Matte focusing screen, an LED viewfinder display, and notably, (thanks to the AE-1 ;-)) a microprocessor. But the most visible difference from the XE was the result of another SLR's influence.

    In 1973, Olympus had introduced it's groundbreaking OM-1, the first truly compact SLR. The XE was too close to production to make the transition to this new form factor. But it's not hard to see the effect of the OM-1 in the XD. The XD is 220 grams (almost 8 oz.) lighter than the XE and within a few millimeters of the OM-1's dimensions. The XD provided all of the XE's capability and more in a lighter, smaller package. And it was aimed at the enthusiast photographer, not the average consumer (as opposed to the Canon AE-1 and Minolta's later X-700). So it retained the vertical-travel shutter configuration of the XE, metal top and bottom plates, very nearly the same silky film advance, the eyepiece shutter, and multiple exposure capability (although it used the system from the professional-level XK, which, ironically, was not as refined as the XE's). Now, Minolta obviously made XD production more efficient and cost-effective than that of the XE. But the drop-off in build quality was minimal, especially when compared to the XD versus the X-700. 

Sleeker XD Shows OM-1 Influence

Size comparison: XD to XE

XE Shows Classic Big Body Styling

   Some other features of the XD are:

• It nestles snugly and solidly in the hands. Controls move with a satisfyingly positive and well-damped feel. 
• The meter is activated by a slight press of the shutter release, not so much that you accidentally trip the shutter, but just enough to be comfortable. No more OFF/ON switch (I'm looking at you XE ;-)) to forget about and drain the batteries after leaving it ON. Although the release is electronic it still accepts a standard cable release.
• Film advance, as stated above, is wonderfully smooth and positive.
• The mirror features an air damper and the Seiko MFC-E shutter is a beauty, so noise and vibration are kept to a minimum (for an SLR).
• Another nice touch with the black models is the finish. As with the XE, Leitz collaborated with Minolta on the XD, with it serving as the chassis for their R4 through R7 models. Leitz had developed a black chrome finish for their cameras and Minolta used this on the XD. It has a nice semi-matte look and is very durable. 
• Another feature introduced with the XD was Minolta's "Final Check" metering. Basically, the camera snatches another meter reading after the lens has stopped down to the taking aperture, and fine tunes the exposure by adjusting the shutter speed slightly if necessary. This enhances exposure accuracy and is one of the features that made it to the X-700. Nikon also adopted this feature for its FG model. This did increase the shutter lag from the XE's stellar 38 milliseconds to 60 milliseconds, but seeing as the standard reaction time of a photographer is around 200 milliseconds, it's not a huge adjustment.
• The viewfinder is a gem with changing display masks for the 3 exposure modes (M, A, S). The user can adjust shutter speed and aperture without taking their eye from the viewfinder because the meter reading and pertinent settings for shutter and aperture are all there, in every mode. This is in contrast to the X-700's less comprehensive (read: cheaper) viewfinder.

 XD versus X-700
  
    The X-700 was Minolta's second-generation reply to the tremendous success of the Canon AE-1 and served as the direct competitor to its progeny, the AE-1 Program. It is not difficult to see the influence of Canon on Minolta's approach. Whereas the XD was targeted firmly at enthusiasts and carried an appropriate price tag, the X-700 was all about getting to the average consumer and sold for around $75 USD ($210 in 2021) less than the XD on its introduction. To accomplish that price reduction Minolta basically took its bottom-of-the-line XG chassis and hot-rodded it with more advanced electronics and a few bits from the XD (like the SPD "final check" meter). To appeal to the desire of people that just wanted to "point and shoot", the X-700 introduced Program mode (replacing the XD's Shutter-Priority mode) to the Minolta universe. The camera set both shutter and aperture, requiring the user only to focus and shoot (further proof that the X-700 was aimed at consumers: the camera did not display the aperture it had selected in Program mode). The X-700 also debuted Minolta's TTL (through the lens) flash metering, its most notable improvement over the XD (but tellingly, one that did not require any large outlay for new components). An even brighter Acute Matte focusing screen, a proper Motor Drive (instead of just an Auto Winder), and AE (Auto Exposure) lock rounded out the improvements over the XD. However, the subtractions are eerily similar to Canon's approach pioneered by the AE-1:

• Out went the vertical shutter for the cheaper horizontal type
• No more multiple exposures
• A less informative viewfinder, particularly in Program and Manual modes
• No more integrated eyepiece shutter
• Plastic and more plastic (top and bottom plates, and much of the innards)
• The film advance is XG (plastic gears) all the way: OK, but nothing like the XD's 

Black Chrome XD11

Top Deck Comparison of XD11 & X-700

X-700

     X-700s sold like crazy. Minolta sold more of them in the camera's first three years than it did XDs (including the slightly de-contented XD-5: same mechanicals, but with no aperture readout in the viewfinder, no film safe-load signal, and no integrated eyepiece shutter) in eight years. The X-700 stayed in production until 1999, meaning there are oodles of them still available. Prices are lower than for an XD in equivalent condition, but have been inching closer in recent years. So, should you buy one instead of an XD?

    I sold my X-700 and kept my XD for a few reasons. They may or may not be pertinent to your situation:

1. The TTL flash metering and the Motor Drive 1 are the two biggest advantages of the X-700, in my mind. When I was shooting weddings, they were essential! I am mostly a landscape shooter now, so my need for those two features has lessened. Manual film advance goes to the XD, hands down. And the Auto Winder D (2 fps) is enough when I need automatic film winding (which is very rarely).
2. When I bought my X-700, Program was a big deal for me because I was a newb. But it wasn't long before I came up against its limitations. It favored higher shutter speeds (logically, I might add) versus smaller apertures. As soon as I wanted to control depth of field (DOF), Program became superfluous. I used Aperture Priority from then on. I stayed away from Manual mode because the camera only showed the suggested shutter speed in the viewfinder, requiring me to take the camera away from my eye to visually confirm the shutter speed setting on the dial. The XD displays both the meter's suggestion and the actual setting on the dial in the viewfinder. This allows you to keep the camera to your eye and focus more on composition rather than messing with the camera.
3. Do some research on the X-700 and you will sooner or later come across the word "capacitor". This issue affects  many of Minolta's X-xxx series cameras (mostly the X-3xx/X-7A/X-9 and X-700 as they were produced much longer than the X-570, and capacitor quality really began to fall off only after the X-570 ceased production in 1985). I learned about this through an experience with my own camera around 2001. I picked it up one day, went to snap a picture, and...nothing. The shutter wouldn't fire. So I took it to my local store (which has always been good to me). They sent it away, and I got it back in a couple weeks, as good as new...with a $150 repair bill. Two 10-cent capacitors (in the quantities Minolta would have been purchasing them) were at fault. With the XD, Minolta had used top quality solid tantalum capacitors for the release circuit, but the cost pressures of meeting the AE-1 & AE-1 Program head-on with the XG- and the X-xxx series took their toll. There was also a massive price increase in 1979-80 for tantalum capacitors that led to many electronics manufacturers, including Minolta, switching to (cheaper) aluminum liquid electrolytic capacitors by the mid-'80s. The trouble with these capacitors is that they eventually have their liquid electrolyte evaporate or leak and boom...dead camera. I was a bit disappointed with Minolta. I know, I know...when you're producing millions of cameras, 80 or 90 cents per camera looms large. But I have never had that problem (or any problem, for that matter) with my XD 11. That's not to say I never expect to have a problem with an XD. Anything can happen anytime with any camera (and tantalum capacitors can also fail, but it is a much rarer occurrence). I admit that my love for my X-700 was weakening. I still kept the camera for another 9 years, but I didn't have the same level of confidence in its reliability. It now became the backup to my XD 11. I cannot help but view the higher build quality of the XD as a distinct advantage over the X-700. And the XD has that backup mechanical shutter speed of 1/100 sec. just in case :-).
4. Over time, I came to like the "feel" of the XD more than the X-700. This is admittedly a very personal decision, but for me the ergonomics of the XD are more suitable, and the camera just feels solid in my hands, more so than the X-700. There is no locking of the shutter speed dial, because the mode switch is separate on the XD instead of being integrated with the dial as on the X-700. The XD gets out of my way in a manner that the X-700 cannot match. And the X-700 went back to a power switch (albeit a very good one, and necessary because of its "touch switch" shutter release), but the XD is ready to shoot instantly. I also do a lot of long-exposure tripod shooting and the integrated eyepiece shutter and mechanical Bulb setting of the XD are a better fit than the X-700's Bulb setting (which maxes out at about a 3-hour exposure because it uses electricity to hold the shutter open) and slip-on eyepiece cover (which is a pain to mount on a strap wider than the piddly factory strap). (Just remember to take out the XD's batteries for this kind of photography as the meter will still be activated in Bulb mode and that will drain the batteries.) These are certainly little things, but they add up over time.

 
 Conclusion

     This is not to say that the XD is perfect. On early versions, the exposure compensation lever is located in an area where it can be accidentally dislodged. Later versions had the EC lever moved inboard to prevent this. Also, the leatherette shrinks badly on the earlier-production copies. But you can work that in your favor if you are looking to purchase one. The shabby looks can knock the price down a bit. And then you have the opportunity to dress up the look of the camera with a custom covering, which comes in a wide variety of materials and colors for $15 to $30 USD depending on the source. If you are hesitant to do it yourself, 678 Vintage Cameras offers kits & installation for $60 CAD + shipping. You can factor that in when considering buying an XD, with prices generally ranging from $100 to $200 USD for a body in decent nick (excepting the ridiculous prices for 50th Anniversary models: with nothing added other than a badge; and the limited production XD-s model, with its built-in diopter adjustment in place of the eyepiece shutter).

​     The XD was the final Minolta manual focus body in development before the Canon AE-1 changed the SLR industry forever. As such, it was designed and produced according to the build quality standards of the early to mid 1970s. Although it came out a year after the AE-1, it was aimed at the more established enthusiast rather than the average consumer. Post-AE-1, every manufacturer had to make compromises in components and construction if they were going to successfully compete on price with Canon. Minolta was not immune to this, and so the lower-end XG series was born in the same year, 1977, as the XD was introduced. It was a direct response to the AE-1. The XG sold as many units in its first 15 months as the XD sold in its entire eight-year lifespan. So it is really no surprise that when Minolta looked at what it would use as the basis for the X-xxx series of cameras, which would be up against Canon's improved AE-1 Program (1981), there would be far more XG DNA present than that of the XD. Minolta would also consolidate the two lines of cameras into one, which would further cut production costs. The X-700 would try to be all things to everyone. That involves compromise. AKA "good enough". And the X-700 is good enough. But not "great".

​    The XD is the last Minolta manual focus body that moved the bar higher in several areas: more  exposure modes, more accurate metering, better vibration control, miniaturization, auto winding,  brighter viewfinders, and all  without compromising component and build quality. It was striving for the best in state-of-the-art technology. Its descendants would make further refinements in TTL flash metering, and better accessories. But "good enough" would now be given priority over "best", especially when it came to components. The race was now a race to the bottom. How far could an SLR be stripped down qualitywise and still be "good enough" to satisfy most users? It is a pattern that continues to repeat itself, not only in photography, but in all sorts of manufactured goods. That, to me, is what makes the XD an "endling", the last manual focus Minolta of its kind. And one of Minolta's all-time best.

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 References:

      Minolta XD, XG, & X-series @ http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Cameras.html
      Minolta XD11 Brochure XDC 709E-A1
      Minolta X-700 Instruction Manual @ www.butkus.org
      Minolta XD11 Manual @ www.butkus.org
      Canon Camera Museum 1976-1986 @ http://global.canon/en