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Minolta Hi-Matic AF

The Minolta Hi-Matic AF is one of the last cameras in the long running Hi-Matic series of compact 35mm cameras produced by Minolta. Rolled out in 1979, the Hi-Matic AF was the first of the line to incorporate auto-focus. This camera is very similar to the Minolta Hi-Matic S2, in that it also features a prime 38mm f/2.8 lens and fully automated exposure (ranging from f/2.8 at 1/8th of a second up to f/17 at 1/430th of a second). Unlike the automated cameras that would soon follow it, the Hi-Matic AF still had manual film advance and rewind. The drive motors that took over for these functions were quite loud and they haven't become any quieter or more reliable with age.

Using the camera is very simple. The film is loaded in the traditional manner and a manual ISO dial is set to inform the camera of film speed. The dial has a range from ISO 25-400. Exposure is deduced by the camera's CdS meter, when the shutter button is partially depressed, and the lens focuses automatically and simultaneously. An indicator in the viewfinder lights up to signify the distance the AF system has chosen and then, it is up to the photographer to finish the job and press the shutter button the rest of the way down, creating an exposure. The whole process can easily take less than a second.

The Hi-Matic AF is fairly compact and lightweight. It can easily fit in a coat pocket and is a great outdoor, daytime camera. It does feature a built-in, pop-up flash for indoor or low-light photography but the flash's range and power are both limited, having a maximum range of 16 feet if used with ISO 400 film. The eye for the meter is located inside the lens' filter ring, meaning that the camera will adjust for any filters mounted on the lens. In short, this camera is great for daytime work and just gets by with nighttime work - save it for those daytime escapades.

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Minolta Hi-Matic AF

There are many different ways of considering cameras. One such manner is to remember that, in a sense, they are tools. The benefit to this perspective being that you can remind yourself, no one tool can do every job, that there are particular tools meant for particular tasks. One of the ways we approach many of the cameras we encounter is by figuring out their strengths and weaknesses. What can it excel at and where will it struggle? There are times when the frustration we encounter as photographers comes from trying to use the wrong equipment to make the right photos, or, conversely, using the right equipment to make the wrong photos. Of course, the line between what a camera cannot do, should not do, could do, and will do is blurred by creative ingenuity, but we think you get the overall point we are attempting to make. A wise photographer learns their equipment as thoroughly as possible, thereby learning its limits and where those limits can be pushed.

This Minolta Hi-Matic AF presented such an opportunity for us. We don't see this camera that often but, what stood out to us, is that it is not a great low light camera. Sure, it has a modestly fast f/2.8 lens but, at the same time, the camera lacks a bulb mode and it's automatic shutter speed range only goes as slow as 1/8th of a second. Additionally, its ISO setting tops out at 400. There is a built-in flash that pops up on command, but even with 400 speed film, the flash has a range of about 16 feet. You cannot really drag the shutter, nor can you get the benefit of fast film. Could you use this camera for nighttime or low light work? Certainly. Where there is a will, there is often a way and, as we said above, creative ingenuity blurs these limitations.

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Blue Moon Camera and Machine llc

sales@bluemooncamera.com
(503) 978-0333
(503) 978-0370
8417 North Lombard Street
Portland, OR 97203

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Minolta Hi-Matic AF

Minolta Hi-Matic AF

Blue Moon Camera and Machine llc