Skip to content
Earth, Sun, Film
Earth, Sun, Film
Primary Navigation Menu
Menu
  • Home
  • Resources
    • Buying and Collecting Minolta: A Guide for Newbies
    • Minolta Camera and Lens Repair Services
    • Minolta Cameras, Lenses, and Gear: Books, Guides, References, Magazines, and Links
    • What is the Vintage Minolta Love Project?
    • General Photography–Books, Links, Blogs
    • Gardening Resources–Books, Links, Blogs
  • About
  • Contact

Vintage-Minolta Love

Sticky

VMLP 41: Minolta 100mm f2.8 AF Macro (RS)—Sharp as a Tack

2025-02-24
On: February 24, 2025
In: Autofocus, Lens Love, Vintage-Minolta Love

The 100mm f2.8 AF macro lens was one of my earliest purchases.  At the time, my focus was on documenting my garden.   I wanted nice flower pics, and the only lens I owned was an AF 50mm 1.7.   The 7000i that I had recently bought came with twoContinue Reading

VMLP 40: Minolta Semi P— I’m Getting There…

2025-01-27
On: January 27, 2025
In: Manual, Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

My first Semi P had a non-original viewfinder.   I searched for a year or so for a cheap donor and, having found one, tried to do the replacement.  It didn’t work out because my working Semi P had been altered in more ways than I thought and attaching theContinue Reading

VMLP 39: Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII—Everything You’ve Heard is True

2024-12-30
On: December 30, 2024
In: Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

The 7sII is a gem, definitely a keeper.  If not for the VMLP, I would never have tried one, but I am so glad I did.  Before the 7sIl, I had only used a rangefinder once, my father-in-law’s Leica, which was probably an M3.   I did not like theContinue Reading

“X” Marks the Spot: A Minor Fascination with Crossed “XX” Minolta Gear

2024-12-09
On: December 9, 2024
In: Vintage-Minolta Love

If you spend enough time reading about Minolta gear, you will eventually come across a reference to crossed “XX” gear.   This is a thing for Minolta collectors—not a major thing, but a thing nonetheless.   When Minolta released the Maxxum line of cameras for the North American market, itContinue Reading

VMLP 38:   The Minolta XTsi with Battery Pack— A Rare Treat!

2024-11-25
On: November 25, 2024
In: Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

Minolta went crazy with “si” models.   There seem to be more of them than any other AF line by far.  By my count, there were 15 main models with additional variations of some of those. The XTsi arrived in 1998 and seems to be the more advanced of the laterContinue Reading

From the Maxxum 7000 to the Maxxum 70: Ranking My Minolta Autofocus Sevens

2024-10-07
On: October 7, 2024
In: Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

Back in the 1980s, I dreamed of owning a Minolta 7000i.   At the time, it was far beyond my budget, so I never got one.  In February 2019, after deciding  I wanted a film camera to record my garden, the first camera I looked for was a Minolta MaxxumContinue Reading

VMLP 37: Minolta MD Tele Rokkor 100mm f2.5 (MD II)—Buy One (NOW!!!)

2024-09-23
On: September 23, 2024
In: Lens Love, Manual, Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

Once I added manual focus cameras to the VMLP, I had to decide which lenses to explore.   Initially, I settled on zooms because I had the standard 50mm lenses, and prime SR lenses were more expensive than the AF lenses I used.    Once I had a decent collectionContinue Reading

VMLP 36:  The Minolta XE-5—A Good Camera, but Mistakes Were Made…

2024-09-02
On: September 2, 2024
In: Manual, Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

The XE-5 and XE-7 intrigued me because they were part of the Minolta-Leica collaboration, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about.  My first XE-5 was a Goodwill buy.  It arrived with a good 50mm f2 lens, but the film advance was stuck.  Fortunately, a little tinkering resultedContinue Reading

VMLP 35: The Minolta AF-C—Seeing is Believing

2024-08-12
On: August 12, 2024
In: Autofocus, Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

The “Back to Film” wave continues to move along, and as it does, it’s bringing back into use cameras set aside for their digital successors.  The last film cameras I remember from the late 1980s and early 1990s were inexpensive, disposable P&S cameras.  We used these a lot, taking picturesContinue Reading

VMLP 34: The Minolta-35 IIB—Inspired by Leica and Very Nice!

2024-07-22
On: July 22, 2024
In: Vintage Minolta Love Project, Vintage-Minolta Love

It had to happen eventually.   Five years of reading photography blogs and magazines extolling the virtues of Leica cameras and lenses (and knowing of the Minolta-Leica collaboration) made me want to try Minolta’s Leica-inspired offering.   I have used a Leica, and that initial experience was not a favorableContinue Reading

Posts pagination

1 2 … 8 Next

Welcome to Earth, Sun, Film!

Earth, Sun, Film is an exploration of gardening and photography.  For the backstory, read this. 

For more about site channels and the author, go to the About page.

Enjoy!

Subscribe to Earth, Sun, Film!

Loading

Minolta Guides and Info

  • Buying and Collecting Minolta: A Guide for Newbies
  • Minolta Camera and Lens Repair Services
  • Minolta Cameras, Lenses, and Gear: Books, Guides, References, Magazines, and Links
  • What is the Vintage Minolta Love Project?

Garden & Photo Info

  • Gardening Resources–Books, Links, Blogs
  • General Photography–Books, Links, Blogs
Ultrafine 400, Alpha 7, Maxxum 50mm, 1.7
Sunday Afternoon
Friends

Recent Posts

  • Frame Works? White Flower at + 1.5 Exposure Compensation
  • Season 12, Part 3: The Blessing of May Rains
  • Standing Out From the Crowd
  • Macro Photography Surprise:  Minolta Super Rokkor 50mm 1.8 (LTM) and Olympus e300
  • Season 12: This Year’s Garden Plans, Part 2
  • Gilded Shadows?
  • Decatur Art Stroll II—Boxes
  • Photographer Code: One Camera = Tourist; Two Cameras = Pro
  • Churchyard (City)
  • Season 12: This Year’s Garden Plans
  • Au Grand Cerf
  • Blue & Green
  • VMLP 41: Minolta 100mm f2.8 AF Macro (RS)—Sharp as a Tack
  • Hawk Eyes

Topic Areas

  • Amidst the Flowers (34)
  • For Your Consideration (51)
    • Arts & Letters (32)
      • Music (7)
      • Single Frame (18)
  • Gardening Journey (69)
    • Garden Frame (15)
  • Photography Journey (108)
    • Emulsions (10)
    • Frame Works? (19)
  • Through the Viewfinder (53)
    • Around the City (27)
    • For Your Consideration (8)
  • Uncategorized (5)
  • Vintage-Minolta Love (79)
    • Vintage Minolta Love Project (55)
      • Lens Love (23)
        • Autofocus (10)
        • Manual (9)

Archives

  • May 2025 (3)
  • April 2025 (4)
  • March 2025 (5)
  • February 2025 (4)
  • January 2025 (5)
  • December 2024 (4)
  • November 2024 (6)
  • October 2024 (5)
  • September 2024 (6)
  • August 2024 (6)
  • July 2024 (6)
  • June 2024 (4)
  • May 2024 (4)
  • April 2024 (4)
  • March 2024 (5)
  • February 2024 (4)
  • January 2024 (3)
  • December 2023 (3)
  • November 2023 (5)
  • October 2023 (5)
  • September 2023 (6)
  • August 2023 (9)
  • July 2023 (7)
  • June 2023 (2)
  • May 2023 (5)
  • April 2023 (3)
  • March 2023 (6)
  • February 2023 (4)
  • January 2023 (5)
  • December 2022 (5)
  • November 2022 (6)
  • October 2022 (2)
  • September 2022 (8)
  • August 2022 (10)
  • July 2022 (9)
  • June 2022 (2)
  • April 2022 (4)
  • March 2022 (7)
  • February 2022 (5)
  • January 2022 (4)
  • December 2021 (7)
  • November 2021 (7)
  • October 2021 (7)
  • September 2021 (5)
  • August 2021 (4)
  • July 2021 (6)
  • June 2021 (9)
  • May 2021 (8)
  • April 2021 (3)
  • March 2021 (10)
  • February 2021 (8)
  • January 2021 (7)
  • December 2020 (7)
  • November 2020 (7)
  • October 2020 (7)
  • September 2020 (8)
  • August 2020 (9)
  • July 2020 (10)
  • June 2020 (7)
  • May 2020 (8)
  • April 2020 (9)
  • March 2020 (9)
  • February 2020 (2)

 

 

 

Copyright (c) 2020-2025  Jerome Carter,  All Rights Reserved

None of the contents of this site may be used without permission.

Contact

Privacy Policy
Terms of Service