 |
| All images and content are the property of Wayne Young and Wayne Young Photography and may not be reproduced in any way without written permission. Thank You. |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Over it’s 78 years as a camera manufacturer, Minolta created many different
types of cameras. Many of these cameras include innovations that have
come to be standard features. On the other hand, Minolta also understood
the value of trends. The Minolta AF-C is a result of trend watching. In 1979
Olympus released the groundbreaking XA. This is a compact 35mm aperture
priority rangefinder with a detachable side-mounted flash. It is still
considered one of the best compacts ever made.
In 1983, Minolta introduced their spin on this style of compact camera going
in a different direction. Instead of a rangefinder focused camera, Minolta
went with Auto Focus and Auto Exposure. The AF-C is a 35mm leaf shutter
camera with an extremely compact design with sliding cover and a side
mounted flash unit, the EF-C. The 35mm f/2.8 lens is a sophisticated design
made up of 6 elements in 6 groups. It is one of the only 6 element lenses in
this class. This lens produces sharp and contrasty images and provides a
slightly wide angle of view. There is a cds-cell above the lens which
provides coupled automatic exposure metering.
By this time, camera manufacturers were making auto everything cameras
like the Canon AF35M (1979) and Nikon L35 AF (1983) which included auto
focus, auto exposure and auto film advance and rewind; Minolta even had
the auto everything Hi-Matic AF-2 MD (1982). However, the Minolta AF-C,
like it’s larger sibling, the Minolta Hi-Matic AF (1979), is a mixture of
automatic functions and manual operations. Even though Minolta
succeeded in producing a sophisticated design, this was a bare bones Point
and Shoot camera.
Minolta made up for the lack of photographer control by having the
automatic functions act in a persice and predictable way. Auto focus, auto
exposure and automatic flash exposure are always spot on. This made the
camera easy to use with simple to understand LED indicators in the
viewfinder. The when looking through the viewfinder, the photographer
sees the framing lines, the auto focus zone and the LEDs which light up for
proper focus and low light warning, respectively Yellow and Red. Even
though focus and exposure are automatic, there are a some things that the
photographer does have control over. These are focus lock for
recomposing an image, a self-timer, daylight fill flash or flash off
photography using a tripod.
The focus lock works by centering your subject in the viewfinder with the
focus zone indicator on the subject. You then press the shutter release
halfway to lock the focus distance measurement and the focus confirmation
LED should light up. While continuing to press the release halfway,
recompose the image with the subject off center and then press the release
the rest of the way to take the picture. Just a note: While the user’s manual
says that the proper focus LED is Yellow, I see it as a Green LED in my
particular camera.
Flash photography is very easy as well. In low light situations, the Red low
light warning LED will light. This prompts the photographer to either turn on
the EF-C flash or to use a tripod to prevent camera shake at slow shutter
speeds which can go down to 1/8 of a second at f/2.8. If the photographer
decides to use the flash instead, the EF-C will communicate with the camera
and adjust the flash based on the shutter speed, lens aperture and the
focused distance. In my experience, this works very well and the flash
illuminates either a specific subject or an entire room depending on camera
focus.
Now that I have gone over the automatic functions of the camera, it is time
to look at the Manual operations of the Minolta AF-C. Instead of giving the
camera a motor for film transport, Minolta chose to have a manual film
advance thumb-wheel on the back of the camera and a rewind crank on top
where you would expect it to be. Even though I have never read anything
regarding Minolta’s reasoning, I suspect they did this for a couple of
reason. One, size. By not having to put a motor in the camera, they could
keep the overall camera very small. Secondly, image quality. Keeping the
mechanics of the camera simple, the cost savings could be put into the
camera’s 6 element lens. And lastly, noise. Unlike the motor advance
cameras of this era, the AF-C is a nearly silent camera. The shutter makes a
discrete snick and the film advance hardly any sound at all. Along with the
small size, these make the AF-C a candidate for street shooting or the
perfect take along camera for impromptu snap shots.
Click here for the PDF Users Manual. It is in English, German, French and
Spanish.
Click the picture below to see examples from this camera on my Flickr.com
site.
types of cameras. Many of these cameras include innovations that have
come to be standard features. On the other hand, Minolta also understood
the value of trends. The Minolta AF-C is a result of trend watching. In 1979
Olympus released the groundbreaking XA. This is a compact 35mm aperture
priority rangefinder with a detachable side-mounted flash. It is still
considered one of the best compacts ever made.
In 1983, Minolta introduced their spin on this style of compact camera going
in a different direction. Instead of a rangefinder focused camera, Minolta
went with Auto Focus and Auto Exposure. The AF-C is a 35mm leaf shutter
camera with an extremely compact design with sliding cover and a side
mounted flash unit, the EF-C. The 35mm f/2.8 lens is a sophisticated design
made up of 6 elements in 6 groups. It is one of the only 6 element lenses in
this class. This lens produces sharp and contrasty images and provides a
slightly wide angle of view. There is a cds-cell above the lens which
provides coupled automatic exposure metering.
By this time, camera manufacturers were making auto everything cameras
like the Canon AF35M (1979) and Nikon L35 AF (1983) which included auto
focus, auto exposure and auto film advance and rewind; Minolta even had
the auto everything Hi-Matic AF-2 MD (1982). However, the Minolta AF-C,
like it’s larger sibling, the Minolta Hi-Matic AF (1979), is a mixture of
automatic functions and manual operations. Even though Minolta
succeeded in producing a sophisticated design, this was a bare bones Point
and Shoot camera.
Minolta made up for the lack of photographer control by having the
automatic functions act in a persice and predictable way. Auto focus, auto
exposure and automatic flash exposure are always spot on. This made the
camera easy to use with simple to understand LED indicators in the
viewfinder. The when looking through the viewfinder, the photographer
sees the framing lines, the auto focus zone and the LEDs which light up for
proper focus and low light warning, respectively Yellow and Red. Even
though focus and exposure are automatic, there are a some things that the
photographer does have control over. These are focus lock for
recomposing an image, a self-timer, daylight fill flash or flash off
photography using a tripod.
The focus lock works by centering your subject in the viewfinder with the
focus zone indicator on the subject. You then press the shutter release
halfway to lock the focus distance measurement and the focus confirmation
LED should light up. While continuing to press the release halfway,
recompose the image with the subject off center and then press the release
the rest of the way to take the picture. Just a note: While the user’s manual
says that the proper focus LED is Yellow, I see it as a Green LED in my
particular camera.
Flash photography is very easy as well. In low light situations, the Red low
light warning LED will light. This prompts the photographer to either turn on
the EF-C flash or to use a tripod to prevent camera shake at slow shutter
speeds which can go down to 1/8 of a second at f/2.8. If the photographer
decides to use the flash instead, the EF-C will communicate with the camera
and adjust the flash based on the shutter speed, lens aperture and the
focused distance. In my experience, this works very well and the flash
illuminates either a specific subject or an entire room depending on camera
focus.
Now that I have gone over the automatic functions of the camera, it is time
to look at the Manual operations of the Minolta AF-C. Instead of giving the
camera a motor for film transport, Minolta chose to have a manual film
advance thumb-wheel on the back of the camera and a rewind crank on top
where you would expect it to be. Even though I have never read anything
regarding Minolta’s reasoning, I suspect they did this for a couple of
reason. One, size. By not having to put a motor in the camera, they could
keep the overall camera very small. Secondly, image quality. Keeping the
mechanics of the camera simple, the cost savings could be put into the
camera’s 6 element lens. And lastly, noise. Unlike the motor advance
cameras of this era, the AF-C is a nearly silent camera. The shutter makes a
discrete snick and the film advance hardly any sound at all. Along with the
small size, these make the AF-C a candidate for street shooting or the
perfect take along camera for impromptu snap shots.
Click here for the PDF Users Manual. It is in English, German, French and
Spanish.
Click the picture below to see examples from this camera on my Flickr.com
site.
 |
 |
| Phoenix, Arizona Photography Enthusiast Specializing in Portrait, Landscape and Fine Art Photography |
