C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Minolta XD-7 (1977) is the European market designation for the camera sold as the **XD-11** in North America and simply **XD** in Japan. It was the world's first SLR to offer all four automatic and manual exposure modes simultaneously: program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual. The mechanism was co-developed with Leica, who licensed it for their R4 body (1980). Compact at 560 g, with an electronic vertical-metal shutter and TTL center-weighted SPD metering.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The European face of the world's first multi-mode SLR - same PASM machine that became the Leica R4.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Minolta MD bayonet |
| Years | 1977-1984 |
| Shutter | 1s - 1/1000s + B, electronic vertical metal |
| Flash sync | 1/100s |
| Meter | TTL center-weighted SPD |
| Modes | Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, Manual |
| Mechanical fallback | B and 1/100s |
| Weight | ~560 g |
| Battery | 2x SR44 / LR44 |
Announced and shipped October 1977. The XD designation appears across three markets with different trailing numbers: XD-7 (Europe), XD-11 (North America), and XD (Japan). A stripped-down XD-5 appeared later as a lower-cost variant with fewer display features. Production ran approximately seven years, ending around 1984 when the X-700 line became Minolta's primary manual-focus consumer body.
The Leica connection is the camera's most historically interesting footnote. Minolta and Leica had been cooperating since the CL (1973), and when Leica needed a new R-system body, they adopted the XD-7's mechanism wholesale. The Leica R4 (1980), R5, R6, and R7 all share this chassis in varying degrees - the same electronic shutter unit, the same basic layout, with Leica cosmetics, meters, and bayonet substituted.
The XD-7/XD-11 established PASM as the standard operating model for SLRs. Before it, cameras offered one or two automatic modes. After it, every serious SLR had all four. Canon's A-1 (1978) is often cited in this context but was announced after the XD's Japanese introduction; the XD-7 has a legitimate claim to the milestone.
The Leica relationship also means the XD-7 is the only mass-market SLR whose mechanism was judged worthy of carrying a Leica badge. That says something about build quality and precision, even if the XD-7 sold for a fraction of the R4's price.
Minolta MD mount with backward compatibility for older MC (Rokkor) glass. MD lenses gain full aperture coupling; MC lenses meter but may require stop-down in some modes. Standout Rokkor lenses for this body:
Motor Drive 1 and Auto Winder D are compatible. There is no TTL flash system as advanced as later X-700 bodies; use standard auto-flash units with the hot shoe.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →Minolta XD-7
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