Shooting w/ a Minolta XL-440

[modest91]

Hi, I was wondering if anybody had any experience shooting with a Minolta Xl-440. I found one in really nice condition a few days ago in a thrift store. It looks practically brand new, and came with an original minolta bag and mic.

I have no experience with cinematography but I want to get in to it. If anybody has any experience with this camera I would love some advice. One thing in particular that I'm curious about is how you shoot a film with a camera that has a manual focus. Anywhere I move I have to re-focus the lens. Thanks ahead for any help.

Cheers

 

[directorik]

I love that camera!

The second camera I ever owned. I shot dozens of
short films with it and even a few music videos.

Throughout history films have been shot with manual
focus lenses. Even today, all professionals films are
shot without auto focus. It might take some getting
used to for those of you who have never has to "ride"
focus. Sometimes you do have to re-focus the lens
and even during shots you may have to ride the focus,
changing it all the time. With a little practice and
some time, you'll be just fine.