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The Minolta Hi-Matic C is another example of catching up with the market
while producing something new. In 1968 Olympus introduced the Trip 35.
The "Trip" was a wildly popular, easy to use Zone focus camera that
produces outstanding photographs. Minolta never let an opportunity to ride
a marketing wave go by, and in 1971 they introduced the Hi-Matic C which is
also an easy to use Zone focus camera that produces outstanding pictures.
As I have been unable to find instructions for the camera, it has been bit of a
mystery to figure out. While exploring how it works, I have still been
snapping away.
One of the more interesting features of the camera is the fact that the lens
is collapsible. The lens stores in a collapsed position making the camera
much more pocketable. Once you are ready to shoot, you press the Green
button on the camera front and the lens pops into shooting position. Unlike
the fully automatic Trip 35, the Hi-Matic C allows much more control over the
camera settings.
The main controls of the camera are on the lens barrel. You can set the film
speed, the focus zone, shutter speed and guide number for using a flash.
The Hi-Matic C is a very limited shutter priority camera. You basically have 2
choices. You set the shutter on either the Sunny icon (1/250) or Cloudy icon
(1/30) and the camera then choses the aperture from f/2.7 to f/22 which is
displayed in the viewfinder. Setting the camera to a Guide Number, changes
the shutter to 1/30 second and sets the aperture based on focus zone
selected. Once the shutter speed is selected, the camera can then be
focused to one of three zones by choosing the appropriate icon for the
picture subject: Portrait, Group or Landscape. Considering the 40mm lens's
deeper depth of field, more precise focusing is not necessary.
while producing something new. In 1968 Olympus introduced the Trip 35.
The "Trip" was a wildly popular, easy to use Zone focus camera that
produces outstanding photographs. Minolta never let an opportunity to ride
a marketing wave go by, and in 1971 they introduced the Hi-Matic C which is
also an easy to use Zone focus camera that produces outstanding pictures.
As I have been unable to find instructions for the camera, it has been bit of a
mystery to figure out. While exploring how it works, I have still been
snapping away.
One of the more interesting features of the camera is the fact that the lens
is collapsible. The lens stores in a collapsed position making the camera
much more pocketable. Once you are ready to shoot, you press the Green
button on the camera front and the lens pops into shooting position. Unlike
the fully automatic Trip 35, the Hi-Matic C allows much more control over the
camera settings.
The main controls of the camera are on the lens barrel. You can set the film
speed, the focus zone, shutter speed and guide number for using a flash.
The Hi-Matic C is a very limited shutter priority camera. You basically have 2
choices. You set the shutter on either the Sunny icon (1/250) or Cloudy icon
(1/30) and the camera then choses the aperture from f/2.7 to f/22 which is
displayed in the viewfinder. Setting the camera to a Guide Number, changes
the shutter to 1/30 second and sets the aperture based on focus zone
selected. Once the shutter speed is selected, the camera can then be
focused to one of three zones by choosing the appropriate icon for the
picture subject: Portrait, Group or Landscape. Considering the 40mm lens's
deeper depth of field, more precise focusing is not necessary.
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| Phoenix, Arizona Photography Enthusiast Specializing in Portrait, Landscape and Fine Art Photography |
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Click the picture below to see examples from this
camera on my Flickr.com site.
camera on my Flickr.com site.
