Minolta Camera Lenses
Minolta Camera Lenses
Minolta camera lenses are facing somewhat of a resurgence in the photography world as people dig out their own Minolta cameras from the back of their closets or attics and try to breathe back a bit of life in them (possibly to relive the good old days) or even so they can hand them down to their son or daughter or even granddaughter and grandson.
Minolta made their camera mounts proprietary which means that no other camera lenses can be used on the Minolta bodies. At the time they decided to do this it was thought to be a good move as this would mean that camera owners would have to purchase only Minolta camera lenses which of course would mean more revenue for the company. Little did they know at the time that this would be a bad decision for owners of the cameras as no one dreamt that Minolta would eventually leave the camera manufacturing business altogether.
Now to some people the Minolta cameras were some of the best around, even by today’s standards but the problem is that it’s obviously hard to get lenses for them with the manufacturer being out of business. Some people still use the SLR versions today because they have an attachment to them.
Minolta Camera Lenses In The Closet
A popular option now for people who have old Minolta lenses sitting around in the back of their closet is to purchase an adapter so they can use their old lenses on their new digital camera. There are some drawbacks to using an adapter however, that being that some of the features may not work (autofocus etc). The great thing though is that you can at least use those old Minolta camera lenses.
Now although Minolta camera lenses may be difficult to find they are still readily available and some of the best places that you can find them are online (obviously) but there are also some fantastic places offline. Online you will want to take a look at EBay as there are bound to be a heap of them on there. 
Craigslist is another fantastic source for old Minolta gear and there really are some bargains to be had on there. Another fantastic place is bhphotovideo.com, they have a wide range of lenses which are usually listed at some great prices. Your local auction site (if you have one) should also be a place that you visit, currently at our local auction site there are over 500 listings for Minolta gear and they are so cheap that you will be surprised.
Offline you want to be looking at second hand shops as a lot of people look to offload their gear there and your local pawnbrokers, people always tend to pawn their camera gear when times get tough so you really will be able to find some gems in there.Minolta camera lenses are facing somewhat of a resurgance in the photography world as people dig out their own minolta cameras from the back of their closets or attics and try to breathe back a bit of life in them (possibly to relive the good old days) or even so they can hand them down to their son or daughter or even granddaughter and grandson.
Minolta Camera Lenses History
Minolta made their camera mounts propiotory which means that no other camera lenses can be used on the Minolta bodies. At the time they decided to do this it was thought to be a good move as this would mean that camera owners would have to purhcase only Minolta camera lenses which of course would mean more revenue for the company. Little did they know at the time that this would be a bad decision for owners of the cameras as no one dreamt that Minolta would eventually leave the camera manufacturing business altogether.
Now to some people the Minolta cameras were some of the best around , even by todays standards but the problem is that it’s obviously hard to get lenses for them with the manufactuer being out of business. Some people still use the SLR versions today because they have an attachment to them.
A popular option now for people who have old Minolta lenses sitting around in the back of their closet is to purchase an adapter so they can use their old lenses on their new digital camera. There are some drawbacks to using an adapter however, that being that some of the features may not work (autofocus etc). The great thing though is that you can at least use those old minolta camera lenses.
Now although minolta camera lenses may be difficult to find they are still readily available and some of the best places that you can find them are online (obviously) but there are also some fantastic places offline. Online you will want to take a look at Ebay as there are bound to be a heap of them on there. Craigslist is another fantastic source for old Minolta gear and there really are some bargains to be had on there. Another fantastic place is bhphotovideo.com, they have a wide range of lenses which are usually listed at some great prices. Your local auction site (if you have one) should also be a place that you visit, currently at our local auction site there are over 500 listings for Minolta gear and they are so cheap that you will be surprised.
Offline you want to be looking at second hand shops as a lot of people look to offload their gear there and your local pawnbrokers, people always tend to pawn their camera gear when times get tough so you really will be able to find some gems in there, especially some good old minolta camera lenses.
Konica Minolta Digital Cameras
Minolta had quite a range of point and shoot cameras in their quest to compete in the digital camera arena. Their contribution was the DiMage line which included imaging software, film scanners and of course cameras.
Minolta designed and new type of camera known as the ZSLR which were fixed zoom lens digital cameras. These cameras were made for those who were familiar with the conventional 35mm SLR but were made to be non complicated and so didn’t include interchangeable lenses. The DiMage range had many of the features of the higher level professional cameras with the ease of use of the smaller compact cameras. The camera also incorporated a zoom ring in addition to a focus ring on the lens barrel. Together with an electronic view finder, this was an impressive camera for its time. It also featured a histogram and had the added feature of being compatible with Minolta flashes on modern film SLRs.
As good as the DiMarge 7 series was they were not good enough for the professionals, there was talk of poor autofocus in addition to other malfunctions (funnily enough this was more to do with the Sony CCD chip and not a Minolta flaw). Minolta fixed all the faulty CCD units free of charge which Sony took over once Minolta withdrew from the camera market. Minolta later revolutionized the camera market by creating an anti-shake mechanism inside the camera as opposed to in the lens as other camera manufacturers were doing.
In 2002 Minolta created a new category of camera known as the DiMarge X. This was a very compact unit with a 3x powerful zoom lens which folded. With the lens having the folding feature this meant that there were no moving parts that were external. This innovation operated by bouncing light off a 45 degree mirror to a zoom lens which was inside the body. This camera boasted a fast start up times however the shutter lag times and slow focus took away from any positives that this camera had.
With the merger of Minolta and Konica everybody thought that this would be the start very powerful empire and that they would immediately enter the DSLR market; however this proved to be very wrong, in fact they took so long to enter the market that they were the last of the major manufacturers to launch a DSLR camera
Konica Minolta Camera Lenses
Most people automatically think of cameras when they hear the name Minolta. Minolta was a large Japanese company based in Japan, they specialized in fax machines, photocomopiers,laser printers,camera and of course camera accessories. Minolta’s birth place was Osaka in 1928. Minoltas first claim to fame was the first 35mm autofocus SLR camera. However it was not until 5 years later in 1933 that the brand name “Minolta” even appeared on the camera.
Fast forward to 2003 and Konica, another well name camera brand merged with Minolta to form Konica Minolta. This partnership wasn’t as successful as had been hoped and only 3 years later Konica Minolta annouced that they were leaving the photo and camera business and onselling it to Sony.
Here are some Milestones that the company had.
1928 Minolta first established but was initially called Nichi-Doku Sh ten which when translated means Japanese German photo company.
1929 Released their first camera named Nifcalette.
1937 Released first twin lens reflex camera known as the Minolta Flex
1958 Rleased the Minolta SR-2 which was their first single lens reflex camera.
1962 Company changes its name to Minolta Camera Co. A modified Minolta Hi-Matic camera goes into space aboard Freedom 7
1966 Minolta releases its first TTL full aperture light metering system.
1972 Leica and Minolta sign an agreement to co-operate in SLR development.
1973 Minolta CL is the first camera released underneath this agreement.
1985 The Maxxum 7000 Alpha Mount becomes the worlds first 35mm autofocus SLR with build in autofocus motor.
1987 Honeywell takes a lawsuit against Minolta for patent infringements regarding their autofocus technologies.
1991 Honeywell patent infingement was upheld and they were forced to pay trial costs,penalties,damages to the amount of $127 million.
1992 Minolta decides to settle out of court with Honeywell
1994 Due to a change in focus they change their name to Minolta Co Ltd as they are no longer just a camera company.
1995 Introduces the Minolta RD-175 with a massive 1.75 Megapiexels.
1998 Minolta release Maxxum 9 autofocus SLR. This camera was aimed towards the professional photographer.
2003 DiMage A1 released featuring the first sensor anti shake technology. This was the final product released under the Minolta brand before the Konica Minolta merger.
2005 Konica Minolta announces that they are partnering with SONY on CMOS and CCD technologies.
2006 Konica Minolta discontinues all film and camera production.