What I learned on/still use when I want to shoot 35mm:

Holy sht; I have 3 of those! I also learned on the same camera.
Minolta had some very good 35mm SLR's at a reasonable price and decent glass. Just wasn't 'pro' quality. Their manual focus lenses would fit on any Minolta SLR until the SLR's went auto focus.
I seriously considered Minolta for digital, but since I'd have to buy new lenses anyway, I went to Nikon. Not any slam on Canon, just felt more at home with Nikon.
I, like Del, would have been content to slap a 35mm digital back on my Minolta's. The Nikon D700 that I now have is that concept.