#Minolta #MinoltaFacts, No. 6!

Minolta made plenty of Prototypes - but did you know that the XK(/XM/X1) was initially called the 'XX'?

And that's not all! The XE Prototype was named 'XE-F' prior to its US designation of XE-7! (EU went for XE-1, Japan went for XE).

Nameplates examples were created for each, and very few exist today.

Source: Gary Friedman's Blog, May 2023 (https://friedmanarchives.blogspot.com/2023/05/minoltas-full-circle.html?m=1) and Minolta Collector's Group on Facebook

#MinoltaFacts, No.5 (additonal)

Can't add 2 videos to one post, so here's the follow up of a Dynax 7D .MRW raw format file being read on a Sony A700.

Source: @84hachi on the MinoltaGang Discord

#Minolta #MinoltaFacts, No.5;

Minolta and Sony DSLR's can read their Raw formats, despite being proprietarily different!

(Konica) Minolta only released the Dynax 5D & 7D before being absorbed by Sony. Those came with a proprietary .MRW Raw file that only 5/7D's could read.

Later on, Sony released the A100 and A700 that came with their own .ARW format. But both can read each other's formats from a CF card! Watch below

Source: @84Hachi via the MinoltaGang Discord, incl. videos.

#Minolta #MinoltaFacts is back after a short hiatus!

No.4 - Hasselblad may get all the glory of being the camera of choice for the NASA Lunar Expeditions, but did you know the *meter of choice* was a Minolta "Space Meter"?

A modified Minolta Auto Spot Meter 1, it was used on Apollo 11. Later versions (Spot Meter M) were also lightly modified for the "Space Meter II" on the Shuttle Missions until they used Digital cameras.

Sources: https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/spotmeter-1-degree-automatic-apollo-11/nasm_A19980022000

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/minolta-spotmeter-model-m-space-shuttle-525-c-b074f82b8e

#Minolta #MinoltaFacts, No.3;

In 1983, Minolta released a vinyl for the 5th anniversary of the company in the Netherlands.

It was called 'Minolta Disco'. Apart from featuring synth covers of many hits of the time, it was a play on words as the cover shows someone holding a Minolta Disc camera, the inside sleeve is of the Disc camera, and even the Vinyl itself is printed to look like a Disc Film!

Source: https://camerosity.podbean.com/e/episode-36-minolta-disco/

To Listen (Warning: it's bad): https://www.discogs.com/release/1533528-Ed-Starink-Minolta-Disco

#minolta #minoltafacts , No.2;
A lot of cameras have been up in space on the ISS and with NASA...

But did you know Japan's first astronaut, Toyohiro Akiyama, brought a Minolta Alpha 8700i (Dynax/Maxxum 8000i) with him up to the Mir Space Station in 1990?

Source (Japanese): https://www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/konicaminolta/history/minolta/1990/1990.html

#minolta #minoltafacts , No. 1;
Minolta's "Anglefinder Vn" doesn't have a manual online. However, Sony continued manufacturing it past (Konica) Minolta's withdrawal in 2006.

It's the exact same, with the exception of having an Alpha logo on the back. So, the :Sony: "FDA-A1AM" Manual works as a defacto Minolta Anglefinder Vn Manual.

Just compare the two pictures!

Original Source of Info: https://www.minoltaflashback.com/angle-finders.html

Sony FDA-A1AM Manual/ 'Minolta Anglefinder Vn Manual':
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/accessories-camera-camcorder-accessories/fda-a1am

I've found out a lot of random things about Minolta gear, from various sources, but there's nowhere where these interesting tidbits are centralised. So... why not on a decentralised platform? That makes sense!

Expect #minoltafacts shortly...