Today's blog post is in honor of Warped Wing's Ester's Lil Secret. Brewed right here in Dayton Ohio. While I'm enjoying a nice cold one, I thought I'd share some photos from my photo walk with my Minolta X-370 35mm SLR and a little about the camera itself..
The Minolta X-370 was introduced in 1981. It contained microchips, hinting at Minolta's keen observation of what the future would bring for Minolta, which began offering auto-focus cameras not long after the X-370 was brought to market.
The X-370 is a manual focus 35mm SLR camera built for Rokkor lenses, accepts both MC and MD mounts, and came with the standard 50mm f1.7 lens. This lens was the standard kit lens for the X-370; was produced in large numbers, meaning it can still be found relatively cheap; and was the standard kit lens for the camera. But don't mistake inexpensive for cheap. This lense is a solid piece of glass and is super sharp. The X-370 offers automatic exposure in an aperture preferred mode.
Manual selection of shutter speed is also possible in speeds of Bulb, 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, and auto; making it a fully manual 35mm SLR camera. The X-370 requires a battery to activate the shutter and move the film advance lever. Some may mistake a camera as broken when all it needs is a new battery. I discovered the camera shown here in a local thrift store around 2008 for $35. Clean working examples can still be found on Ebay for around $50.
The X-370 is very comfortable to hold, easy to shoot, and is called a favorite "walking around camera" by many. It's small size makes it easy to carry and also allows it to easily be stowed in a coat pocket when needed. The film loading has been described by some as "tricky", but I've never found it to be very difficult.
The photos shown below were shot on an expired (and most likely not properly stored) roll of Kodak Tmax 400. No flash was used. I hadn't shot the camera in a while and really just wanted to run a quick roll of film through the trusty Minolta to get re-acclimated with it. It didn't take long to remember why this camera is a favorite of mine. Even on expired film, the photos turned out great.
If you're just getting into film photography and are looking for your first 35mm SLR, you really can't go wrong with this camera. It's as capable a camera today as when it was introduced. Add one to your collection. You won't regret it.