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
Camera collectors are nice people. Well, at least they are no worse than anybody else—except when it comes to camera gear. I’ve come to realize that camera collectors have no sense of proportion. They never ask, “How many do I really need?” You see, a regular person who owns aContinue Reading
I like the Minolta Semi P—much more than expected. For the second round of testing, I loaded it with Lomography Potsdam Kino, took a few shots around the house, then went for a stroll. Unfortunately, a developing mishap led to odd floral-like patterns on the negatives. The few frames thatContinue Reading
Now that I have a few gear reports under my belt, I’ve become stymied on how to proceed with the Vintage Minolta Love Project. Initially, I laid out a roadmap in chronological order from the SR-2 to the 5D. Well, that is no longer working for me. I have usedContinue Reading
The Vintage Minolta Love Project began as a stroll through Minolta’s SLR models, starting with the SR-2. No other camera types were given any serious consideration—TLRs were too expensive, point and shoots seemed like a waste of time, and I had an active dislike for rangefinders. Some may find this difficult toContinue Reading
This is the first Vintage Minolta Love Project (VMLP) post. To learn more about VLMP, read this. Last year, I bid on a 35-105mm RMC Tokina lens intended for use with my recently-acquired Minolta X-570. There were plenty of pictures. When the lens arrived, I spent 10 minutes trying toContinue Reading
The Vintage Minolta Love Project is in its preliminary stages. Shooting every major Minolta SLR necessitates buying more cameras. Since I’m buying on a budget, every camera is tested when it arrives in case I have to send it back. I wish I could buy the remaining cameras from KEHContinue Reading
Like a lot of people, I usually root for the underdog. When I bought my first Minolta, an SR-T 101, in 1975 from a pawn shop, it was a purely economic decision. I wanted a “real’ camera and that 101 was the only thing I could afford at the time.Continue Reading
