4 S D 4 S P E C T I V E

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Sunday, May 2, 2021

   As I was searching on the internet pictures of different point-and-shoot cameras, I stumbled upon a dated listing from Blue Moon Camera and Machine of a Konica AF3D. It was already sold but I fell in love with the looks of the camera. I found a couple of overseas examples on eBay but were selling close to 100 dollars or more. Finally, I found a listing that was for "parts or repair" for 14 dollars. I took a risk and bought it! To my surprise, with some used AAA batteries, the thing worked...most of the time.

   So after some testing, I realized that the reason for the intermittent functioning was due to just using used batteries, probably suffering from a voltage drop. I decided to get some fresh ones, not just any off the shelf ones, but a pair of good quality Varta AAAs. It was a night and day difference...

   Before I continue, here is a link of the Konica AF3D specs for all of you spec lovers out there. Ok, what do I like about this camera? First, the lens is a joy, quite sharp, and the lens thread mount can accept 46mm filters. Second, the shutter is virtually silent, great for street photography. Third, I personally like that you have to manually advance the film.

It did have a quirk though. Since this model has the date back function, it requires a second flat-button-style battery (sorry what type). Here's the kicker, to access it, you need to unscrew the inner back cover pressure plate!

It was enjoyable for the brief time I owned it. It did suffer from light leaks and an inaccurate autofocus system. Well, I guess that's the chance I took when purchasing a "parts or repair" camera. Otherwise, the Konica AF3/AF3D is an attractive camera well suited to street photography.

Friday, April 30, 2021

Minolta X-9 Image Samples

Here are some scanned images samples of the Minolta X-9 using the Minolta MD (III) 50mm F1.4 lens.

Kodak Ektar 100:

Kodak Ektachrome 100:

Fujifilm Provia 100f:

Fujifilm Superia 400:

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Minolta X-9

I grew up using my father's Minolta SR-mount cameras, specifically the X-700 and XG-M. Unfortunately, both cameras got worn out and developed issues so I decided to sell them a couple of years ago along with the lenses and accessories. However, in 2017, I wanted to recapture the feeling of using the aforementioned SLRs so decided to search for something similar.

Finally, I found and bought an X-570 since I liked how it displayed the selected shutter speed in the viewfinder when shooting in manual mode. To my dismay, after testing the camera for a brief time, I discovered it was suffering from light leaks that I could not fix.

With that being said, I sold off the X-570. After doing some research, I didn't realize that Minolta made a version called the X-9 which also displayed the selected shutter speed in the viewfinder while shooting in manual mode! I grabbed mine from KEH in excellent condition for 30 bucks along with a year warranty during a sale they had. Is the X-9 a viable alternative to the X-570 and X-700? Read on and find out!

First off, I won't bore you with technical specs of the X-9 so here is a link to the PDF manual courtesy of cameramanuals.org:

Minolta X-9 (cameramanuals.org)

Here is another article about the X-9 with some details: X-9 (subclub.org)

Some obligatory pictures as well:

As you can see, unlike the X-700 the body is mostly plastic. However, my copy has been to the Philippines and back, flung at the beach, and beaten around town. Ok, I try to take care of my cameras as best as possible but I can say that this is not a fragile camera. Personally, I find the X-9 to be a much cheaper alternative to the X-570 and X-700 (such bodies now cost close to 100 dollars in good condition) with little compromise.

Here are some features and peculiarities that I've discovered:

Since the X-9 was released in the 1990s, a great advantage over older cameras is that the rear door and surrounding perimeter uses light baffles instead of foam seals. No more foam degradation! There's only some foam around the clear film window though.

Here is an example of the viewfinder in manual mode showing the recommended shutter speed and what shutter speed you have it set. Note the center split-image, diagonal rangefinder for more accurate focusing.

My copy has a strange problem when using a 36 exposure roll of Kodak film. As you can see the ISO setting collar and the rewind crank lifts up when I'm close to finishing my film. It can't be pushed down so I usually would have to put tape to keep it from falling apart.

I don't have a problem using Fujifilm cartridges so I suspect the problem with Kodak rolls may be the center cut out notch which Fujifilm does not have that may cause the pushing of the rewind crank up.