Throwback Thursday: This camera was tested in January 2016.
I love this camera, it is my first ever Minolta. I saw it in the junk bin, just the body. So I looked around for a lens and I found two that might fit. As everything was in bags it was difficult to tell if they were for the same camera, but I took a chance and bought two. A 100-300mm zoom, and a 28-80mm macro. All for the total princely sum of around $25. I have seen some online for about the same price without a lens, with a basic lens the price doubles…never seen one with a zoom lens as well. Of course, I had no idea if they fitted together or worked. But I was happy to find they did fit and after inserting a 2CR5 battery in the very clean compartment, found the camera worked too.
I loaded a very old film and went for a walk around Kenkyu-Gakuen Station.
Everything about this camera just worked. The lenses were sharp and the focusing was quick. The light seals were perfect, nothing needed to be done at all. It was light and comfortable to wear around the neck, even with the larger lens on. And, it was so cheap I didn’t mind just throwing it in a bag. I think I might damage it more than the previous owners.
Apparently, this was one of Minolta’s cheaper cameras from the late 1990s. Maybe that is why it is so clean, it is practically brand new. It has all the functions you might need – Automatic, aperture priority, speed priority, manual etc. No bells and whistles though like the digital cameras of today. I was so impressed with the quality of the test roll that I decided to take it out again, to a bird sanctuary. I even put a newer film in, only two years out of date.
I took a digital with me as well, just in case I saw something special..such as the kingfisher. I think this camera coped better with the focusing than the digital one did.
I feel I should keep this one, but I have an OM4 so do I need two?? Yes because I don’t have an autofocus SLR or a 100-300mm.
Update: Of course, I eventually parted with this camera as I don’t have the space to keep everything. When I left Japan I had to leave lots of cameras. I have recently got a 505si and a 100-400mm lens, but I have yet to test it.
If you kept it, did you know the lenses will fit all Sony DSLRs too?
I didn’t but I will probably not own a digital Sony as I have a Nikon I really like. But Minolta cameras are easy to get, so I will probably use it on another one….though I do like this one despite the damage.
The very first proper af camera was Minolta the 7000 is probably the best of the lot, smaller than they all ended up more like a manual camera with grip. The lenses that were released at the time are fab glass, lenses with metal bodies. If you see any information the early ones cheap grab them. The 70-210 constant f4 is fab and usually £50 or less. For a constant f4 zoom!! The primes are great too, you’ll get an af 50mm f1.8 for £30 on a good day. They are essentially the same as the earlier mf rokkor glass.
So wish I had kept that lens 🙂