Minolta SLR Camera:
Setting industry standards!

Single lens reflex technology is the most widely used of all camera technologies and Minolta SLR cameras have thoroughly utilized this technology to their advantage.

The first ever manual focus SLR with TTL was the Minolta SR-T 101. This camera was launched in 1966. The thorough research and effort put into its production paid off nicely as the camera became very popular. It stayed in production for 10 years without any major design or technological changes; this in itself is praise for its solid engineering. Besides the Through-The-Lens exposure metering, this SLR camera featured full aperture metering.

This SLR camera also had an amazingly bright viewfinder with a central focusing aid. The view finder also displayed all the relevant exposure information. Cutting edge in its day, the cameras viewfinder also featured a battery check index mark. The SR-T 101 was made available in black and was loved by many people and chosen as their premier camera.

Another blockbuster Minolta SLR camera was the Minolta RD-175. It was one of the world’s first digital cameras. Introduced in 1995, this camera was a stuff of many amateur photographers’ dreams, and initially priced at US $10,000 it was unreachable for many of them. Instead this camera was targeted at the serious professional photographers. In 1995, its pixel resolution of 1.75 was greatly praised although now it seems like seriously ancient history! The camera handled like any other auto focus Minolta SLR camera. It had the same lenses as those available in Maxxum series.

Minolta Vectis was launched in 1996. It was an APS version of the Minolta SLR camera. The lenses used in this camera were quite unique and incompatible with Minolta’s 35mm Auto Focus Maxxum lens series. These lenses are still difficult to mount on modern cameras. Minolta also produced a weatherproof version and a compact version of the Vectis camera.

In 1998 another Minolta SLR exploded onto the scene. This time it was the immensely well received Minolta Maxxum 9. Targeted towards the professional photographer it got a lot of people hooked onto photography. With its dust resistant and moisture resistant construction it became the most widely used camera.

No matter what era it is, Minolta SLR cameras have always set the industry’s standards in customer loyalty and technology advancement. And with the multitude of accessories and goodies available for every camera many people still dig out deal on Minolta cameras. Because they are the best!