Difference between revisions of "Minolta and Auto Minolta"

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|| ''Extract of a leaflet for the Minolta and Happy range dating c.1935.<br>Scan courtesy of Andrea Apra. {{public domain Japan old}}''
 
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Revision as of 20:40, 2 June 2008

Japanese plate strut-folding cameras (edit)
No.0 (4×5cm) CH
atom (4.5×6cm) Idea Spring
meishi (5.5×8cm) Minimum Idea | Korok
daimeishi (6.5×9cm) Idea Spring | Minolta | Auto Minolta | Auto Press Minolta | Nifca-Dox | Vester Klapp
tefuda (8×10.5cm) Focal Happy | Idea Spring | Idea Telephoto
10×15cm Kongo Press
kabine (12×16.5cm) Idea Spring | Idea Telephoto
Japanese plate film: monocular, box, folding bed and SLR ->
3×4 and 4×4, 4×5 and 4×6.5, 4.5×6, 6×6 and 6×9 ->
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The Minolta (ミノルタ) and Auto Minolta are strut-folding cameras taking 6.5×9cm plates or film sheets, made by Molta and later Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō (predecessors of Minolta).

Description

The Minolta and Auto Minolta were much inspired by the Plaubel Makina, but have a reversed configuration, with the viewfinder on the photographer's left.

The rectangular front plate is mounted on scissor struts. The spring-loaded main struts, at the top and bottom, are attached to a shaft on the right. They are complemented by smaller struts on the left-hand side. The viewfinder consists of a glass element at the front, retractable in a small casing attached to the front plate, and an eyepiece hinged to the main body, at the rear. It does not provide parallax correction, unlike that of the Makina. The main body has a handle on the photographer's right, and two tripod threads, at the bottom and on the left.

The camera is focused by varying the angle of the main struts via a small knob at the right end of the front plate. The distance is indicated by an index rotating inside a circular scale, under the viewfinder casing. A button is visible between the lens and the focusing wheel, used to unlock the scissor struts to open or close the camera.

The name Minolta and the body serial number are engraved on the viewfinder's front casing, and the round MTS logo of the Molta company is embossed at the top of the front plate, above the opening button.

Original Minolta

The original Minolta (ミノルタ) has no rangefinder. (This model is sometimes called "Minolta I" in some sources, but this name does not appear in the original documents and was certainly crafted by collectors for easier identification.)[1]

Auto Minolta

Notes

  1. "Minolta I": see for example Francesch, p.75.

Bibliography

Original documents

  • Leaflet for the Auto Minolta, dating c.1935. Ōto-fōkasu Minoruta kamera (オートフォカスミノルタカメラ, Auto-focus Minolta camera). Document owned by Andrea Apra and reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr.
  • Leaflet for the Minolta and Happy range, dating c.1935. Asanuma Shōkai hatsubai no kokusan kamera Minoruta Happī (浅沼商会発売の国産カメラミノルタ・ハッピー, Japan-made Minolta and Happy cameras distributed by Asanuma Shōkai). Document owned by Andrea Apra and reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr.

Collectors' sources

Links

In English:

In Japanese:


Nifca, Molta and Chiyoda prewar and wartime cameras (edit)
folding plate cameras
Nifcaklapp | Nifcasport | Sirius | Arcadia | Lomax | Eaton | Happy
folding rollfilm cameras telescopic bakelite cameras
Nifcarette | Sirius Bebe | Semi Minolta | Auto Semi Minolta Minolta Vest | Baby Minolta | Minolta Six
strut-folding cameras TLR cameras
Nifca-Dox | Minolta | Auto Minolta | Auto Press Minolta Minoltaflex | Minoltaflex Automat | Minoltaflex military prototype