Attached Link: http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/boritz/photo/xmain.html

A link to what appears to be a rather decent page on the X-700.... Seems like a very good basic camera, Auto-Program Mode, Aperture Priority and Manual. Although this camera for some reason does not have shutter priority. No big deal unless you are used to working in that mode. Can't really comment on any of it personally as I'm not familiar with the older Minolta cameras or their older lenses. This page talks of the lenses as well. When you say you need to do special effects, what exactly are looking to do? I'm also curious as to what top shutter speed is and what the f/stop of the lens is, as these factors could be limiting to what you want to accomplish. Remember that for the most part a camera is a camera, all they are is a light box, some with more features or ease of use than others, but the lens is important.... probably the most important thing when considering what to buy.

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