Minolta was a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photo-copiers, fax machines and laser printers. Minolta was founded in Osaka, Japan in 1928 as Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten (日独写真機商店; meaning Japanese-German camera shop). It is perhaps best known for making the first integrated autofocus 35 mm SLR camera system. It was not until 1933 that the brand name appeared on a camera, a copy of the Plaubel Makina simply called "Minolta". A camera is a device used to capture images, as still photographs or as sequences of moving images (movies or videos). ... A small, much-used Xerox copier in a high school library. ... 1993 Apple LaserWriter Pro 630 laser printer A laser printer is a common type of computer printer that rapidly produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper. ... Autofocus (or AF) is a feature of some optical systems that allow them to maintain correct focus on a target. ... The Plaubel Makina was a series of medium format press cameras manufactured by Plaubel & Co. ...

In 2003, Konica Corporation merged with Minolta to form Konica Minolta. Konica ) was a Japanese manufacturer of, among other products, film, film cameras, camera accessories, photographic and photo-processing equipment, photocopiers, fax machines and laser printers. ... Konica Minolta (コニカミノルタ) is a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photo-copiers, fax machines and laser printers formed by a merger between Japanese imaging firms Konica and Minolta announced on January 7, 2003. ...

On January 19, 2006, Konica Minolta announced that it was leaving the camera and photo business [1] and that it would sell a portion of its SLR camera business to Sony as part of its move to pull completely out of the business of selling cameras and photographic film. [2] January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The single-lens reflex (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image seen through the lens to a matte focusing screen. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

History

Milestones

• 1928: Kazuo Tajima established Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten (Japanese-German photo company; the precursor of Minolta Co., Ltd.).
• 1929: Marketed the Company's first camera, the "Nifcalette".
• 1937: The "Minolta Flex" is Japan's first twin-lens reflex camera.
• 1958: The Minolta SR-2 is Minolta's first single-lens reflex camera.
• 1962: John Glenn takes a specially modified Ansco-logo'd Minolta Hi-Matic camera into space aboard Freedom 7. The company changes its name to Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.
• 1966: The Minolta SR-T 101 SLR camera is Minolta's first with through-the-lens full aperture (TTL) light metering.
• 1972: Minolta signs an agreement to cooperate with Leica in SLR development.
• 1973: The Minolta CL is the first fruit of this agreement.
• 1976: The Leica R3 is introduced. Minolta produces the R3, R4, and R5 models in the Leica R series. Subsequent cameras are built in Germany by Leica themselves.
• 1981: Implementation of Minolta's invention and patent of TTL OTF Through The Lens Off The Film exposure metering: The Minolta CLE is the first 35 mm rangefinder camera to feature TTL metering and aperture priority auto-exposure. The Minolta X-700 manual-focus SLR is introduced; this model is sold until 1999 and is enormously successful. XD-11 (Model E) is the first Minolta product branded with an updated logo in caps until the 2003 merger with Konica.
• 1985: The Minolta Maxxum 7000 becomes the world's first truly successful autofocus SLR. Other manufacturers soon follow suit, but Minolta's innovation gives much sales success.
• 1991: Minolta's innovative autofocus design was found to infringe on the patents of Honeywell, a U.S. corporation. After protracted litigation, Minolta in 1991 was ordered to pay Honeywell damages, penalties, trial costs and other expenses in a final amount of 127.6 million dollars (source: NY Times).
• 1994: The company changes its name to Minolta Co., Ltd. because it no longer is primarily a camera company.
• 1995: Introduction of the Minolta RD-175, an early 1.75 megapixel digital SLR camera.
• 1996: The Minolta Vectis camera is a completely new SLR system designed around the Advanced Photo System (APS) film format.
• 1998: The Minolta Maxxum 9 autofocus SLR is introduced. This system is targeted toward the professional photographer and has many features not duplicated by the competition.
• 2003: DiMAGE A1 introduced, replacing the DiMAGE 7HI. DiMAGE A1 final Minolta product branded prior to the Konica Minolta merger.
• 2006: Minolta announces it is discontinuing all film and digital camera production, ending a 78-year history as a camera manufacturer.

The front of a Kinaflex twin-lens reflex camera Sketch of an early 20th century twin-lens reflex camera 1957 Kodak Duaflex IV, an inexpensive fixed-focus TLR A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. ... The single-lens reflex (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image seen through the lens to a matte focusing screen. ... For other persons named John Glenn, see John Glenn (disambiguation). ... An Ansco B2 Speedex Junior Ansco was the name of a photographic company based in Binghamton, New York, which produced inexpensive cameras for most of the 20th century. ... The original Hi-Matic of 1962 Hi-Matic AF, 1979 Hi-Matic was the name of a long-running series of 35mm cameras made by Minolta. ... // Crew Alan Shepard (flew on Mercury 3 & Apollo 14) Backup Crew John Glenn Mission parameters Mass: 1,295 kg (apogee) Maximum Altitude: 187. ... The Minolta SR-T 101 is a manual focus, SLR 35 mm camera manufactured between 1966 and 1975. ... Through-the-lens (TTL) metering is a photographic technique in which measurements (usually of light levels) are made through the lens of a camera. ... A light meter, or lux meter, is a device used to measure the intensity of light. ... Leica is the name of several cameras produced by a German company of the same name. ... 135 Film Size, Kodak Tri-X 400 speed 135 (ISO 1007) is a film format for still photography. ... A Foca camera of 1947 at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. ... Aperture priority refers to a setting on automatic cameras that ensures proper exposure by keeping the aperture fixed to a specific diameter and adjusting the shutter speed in changing light levels. ... Minolta X-700. ... Konica ) was a Japanese manufacturer of, among other products, film, film cameras, camera accessories, photographic and photo-processing equipment, photocopiers, fax machines and laser printers. ... Minolta MAXXUM 7000 The Minolta MAXXUM 7000 (7000 AF in Europe) 35mm SLR camera was introduced in 1985. ... Autofocus (or AF) is a feature of some optical systems that allow them to maintain correct focus on a target. ... A pixel (a contraction of picture element) is one of the many tiny dots that make up the representation of a picture in a computers memory. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Minolta Vectis is an APS camera system model by Minolta. ... An Advanced Photo System (IX240) film cartridge Advanced Photo System (APS) is a film format for still photography. ... // Movie film formats Amateur formats: 8 mm Single-8 Super 8 mm Polavision 9,5 mm film 17. ... Konica Minolta (コニカミノルタ) is a Japanese worldwide manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photo-copiers, fax machines and laser printers formed by a merger between Japanese imaging firms Konica and Minolta announced on January 7, 2003. ...

Early cameras

Minolta Autocord TLR

Relying heavily on imported German technology, Nichi-Doku turned out their first product, a bellows camera called the Nifcalette, in March 1929. By 1937, the company reorganized as Chiyoda Kogaku Seikō, K.K. (Chiyoda Optics and Fine Engineering, Ltd.) and built the first Japanese-made twin-lens reflex camera, the Minoltaflex based on the German Rolleiflex. Download high resolution version (478x760, 72 KB) This image (C) User:Monk Bretton, 2005. ... Download high resolution version (478x760, 72 KB) This image (C) User:Monk Bretton, 2005. ... A folding camera is a camera that can be folded to a compact and rugged package when not in use. ... The front of a Kinaflex twin-lens reflex camera Sketch of an early 20th century twin-lens reflex camera 1957 Kodak Duaflex IV, an inexpensive fixed-focus TLR A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. ...

In 1950, Minolta developed a planetarium projector, the first-ever made in Japan, beginning the company's connection to astronomical optics. John Glenn took a Minolta Hi-Matic rangefinder 35 mm camera aboard the spacecraft Friendship 7 in 1962, and in 1968, Apollo 8 orbited the moon with a Minolta Space Meter aboard. A planetarium projector is a device used to project images of celestial objects onto the dome in a planetarium. ... A spacecraft is a vessel, craft or device designed to operate beyond the surface of the Earth in outer space. ... // Crew John Glenn (flew on Mercury 6 & STS-95) Backup Crew M. Scott Carpenter Mission parameters Mass: 1,352 kg Perigee: 159 km Apogee: 265 km Inclination: 32. ... Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to orbit around the Moon. ...

In the late 1950s and 1960s, Minolta competed in the medium-format rollfilm camera market with the excellent Autocord series of TLR (twin lens reflex) cameras. Marketed at a time when other indifferent copies of the Rolleiflex TLR design were flooding the market, the Autocords soon acquired an enviable reputation for the high quality of their Rokkor optics.

Minolta SRT303

In the 1960s Minolta introduced its SR and later SRT (for SR with through-the-lens metering) series 35mm SLR cameras which are widely regarded as some of the most innovative single lens reflex (SLR) cameras of the era. Although well-made, the SR/SRT were not made to the level of the professional-level Nikon F or F2. Like the Canon Ftb, the Minolta SR/SRT design used sleeve bushings instead of bearings on its focal plane spindles, and had greater tolerances between working parts. This occasionally caused problems in very cold weather or extremely high-levels of use. Nevertheless, the cameras appealed to serious amateur photographers with their more affordable prices and high-quality optics. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 415 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Minolta Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 415 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Minolta Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... The single-lens reflex camera, more commonly known by the abbreviation SLR, uses a mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image seen through the lens to a matte focusing screen. ... The single-lens reflex (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image seen through the lens to a matte focusing screen. ...

From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, Minolta was arguably the most innovative camera manufacturer - the first Japanese manufacturer to introduce a bayonet lens mount rather than a screw mount, the first manufacturer to introduce TTL metering with full aperture, and the first manufacturer to introduce multi-mode metering.

In 1972, Minolta drew up a formal cooperation agreement with Leitz. Leitz desperately needed expertise in camera body electronics, and Minolta felt that they could learn from Leitz's undoubted optical expertise. Tangible results of this cooperation were the Leica CL/Minolta CL, an affordable rangefinder camera to supplement the Leica M range. The Leica CL was built by Minolta, to Leica specifications. Other results were the Leica R3, which was in fact the Minolta XE-1 with a Leica viewfinder and spot light metering system. the Leica I, 1935, 1:3,5 The Leica was the first practical 35 mm camera. ... Leica is the name of several cameras produced by a German company of the same name. ...

In 1977, Minolta introduced the XD-11, the first multi-mode 35 mm compact SLR to include both aperture and shutter priority in a single body. The XD-11 is considered by many to be the best manual-focus 35mm SLR Minolta ever produced, and the last serious attempt by Minolta to enter the professional and semi-professional 35mm SLR market until the Maxxum 9 in 1998. Others regard the XM (XK in the Americas, X-1 in Japan), a rugged camera designed for the serious amateur and professional phtographer dating from 1972, to be the quintessential Minolta. The XM / XK /X-1 Motor(the motorized version) may well be the most collectible Japanese 35 mm camera - in September 2004 an XM Motor of 1976 was sold for €2566, approximately 200% of its price back in 1976. Elements of the XD11 design, called the XD7 in Europe, were utilized by Leitz for the Leica R4 camera. The Minolta XD-7 (sold as the XD-11 in the U.S. and as the XD in Japan) was a 35mm SLR camera manufactured by Minolta and introduced in 1977. ...

Minolta continued to offer 35mm MF SLR cameras in its X370, X-570, and X-700 from 1981, but slowly repositioned its cameras to appeal to a broader market. Minolta decided to abandon the extremely high level of design and parts specification of its earlier XD/XE line. The new amateur-level X-570, X-700, and related models offered additional program and metering features designed to appeal to newer photographers, at a lower cost. The advanced vertical metal shutter design of the older cameras was rejected in favor of a cheaper horizontal cloth-curtain shutter, reducing flash sync to a very slow 1/60th second. Further cost savings were made internally, where some operating components were changed from metal to plastic. As Minolta's autofocus Maxxums were proving successful, Minolta invested fewer resources in its manual focus line as time went on.

Minolta was quick to enter the highly competitive 35mm compact camera market in the 1980s. Transitioning from older rangefinder designs to 'point-and-shoot' (P&S)electronic, autofocus/autowind cameras was applauded by most camera buyers, but decried by those who missed the old Minolta quality. Minolta, like other major manufacturers faced with low-cost competition from elsewhere in Asia, found it difficult to build quality P&S cameras at a cost the consumer was willing to pay, and was forced to offshore production, gradually redesigning successive cameras to reduce cost and maintain profit margins.

Autofocus SLRs

Infrared negatives fogged by the frame counter of a Minolta Maxxum 4.

In 1985, Minolta introduced a new line of autofocus (AF) SLR cameras. In North America, they used the name 'Maxxum', in Europe the cameras were called 'Dynax' and in Japan they were named 'Alpha'. They were Minolta's first line of automatic focus SLR cameras, and in fact the first commercially successful autofocus-cameras the world had seen. The heavy-duty metal bodies of earlier Minoltas were abandoned in favor of lighter and less expensive plastics. The Maxxum 7000, the most popular of the new Maxxums, introduced the innovation of arrow buttons for setting aperture and shutter speed, rather than a shutter speed dial on the body and an aperture ring on the lens. That way, the only control necessary on the lens is the manual focusing ring (plus the zoom ring in the case of zoom lenses). The 7000 has two 8-bit CPUs and six integrated circuits. A circuit on the lens relays aperture information to the camera body, and the motor for autofocus is contained within the camera body. An LCD shows aperture, shutter speed and film frame count. The 7000 has TTL phase-detection focusing and metering, autoexposure and predictive autofocus. All Maxxum cameras use the Minolta 'A' autofocus lens mount, and earlier manual-focus Minolta MC and MD lenses are incompatible with the new AF cameras. The effects of the Minolta Maxxum 4 frame counter on infrared film. ... The effects of the Minolta Maxxum 4 frame counter on infrared film. ... The Minolta AF-mount. ... The Minolta AF-mount. ... The Minolta AF-mount. ... Autofocus (or AF) is a feature of some optical systems that allow them to maintain correct focus on a target. ... The Minolta MAXXUM 7000 (7000 AF in Europe) 35mm SLR camera was introduced in 1985. ... a big (1) and a small (2) aperture For other uses, see Aperture (disambiguation). ... The shutter speed dial of a Fujica STX-1. ...

Unfortunately for Minolta, its autofocus design was found to infringe on the patents of Honeywell, a U.S. corporation. After protracted litigation, Minolta in 1991 was ordered to pay Honeywell damages, penalties, trial costs and other expenses in a final amount of 127.6 million dollars (source: NY Times).

After the 4-digit Maxxum i line which included the 3000i, 5000i, 7000i and 8000i came the 1-digit Maxxum xi line, followed by the 3-digit si line, the 1-digit line without letters (Alpha/Dynax/Maxxum 3, 4, 5, 7, 9), and finally, the Maxxum 50 (Dynax 40) and Maxxum 70 (Dynax 60).

The 2000 Minolta Dynax 7.

Minolta also invested heavily in APS (Advanced Photo System) film-format cameras, most notably with the Vectis line of SLR cameras beginning in 1996. Unfortunately, APS proved to be a technological dead end and the cameras did not sell as hoped. Minolta eventually discontinued all APS camera production. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (534x759, 86 KB) Photo By: Anders Djerf I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (534x759, 86 KB) Photo By: Anders Djerf I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

Minolta introduced features that became standard in all brands a few years later. Among standardized features that were first introduced on Minolta models are: multisensor light-metering coupled to multiple AF-sensors; automatic flash balance system; wireless TTL flash control; TTL controlled full-time flash sync; speedy front and rear wheels for shutter and aperture control. Special features introduced by Minolta are: interactive LCD viewfinder display; setup memory; expansion program cards (discontinued); eye-activated startup; infrared frame counter.

In an effort to strengthen market share and acquire additional assets in film, film cameras and optical equipment, Minolta merged with another long-time Japanese camera manufacturer, Konica Ltd., in 2003. The new corporation was called Konica-Minolta Ltd.

Until Konica-Minolta announced their withdrawal plan in 2006, K-M made Maxxum/Dynax digital and film-based cameras (retaining the different names in the different markets), improving the design while maintaining the basic concepts. The Maxxum 4 is a low-priced 35mm SLR with an A-type bayonet mount, built-in flash, autoexposure, predictive autofocus, electronically controlled vertical-traverse focal plane shutter, through-the-lens (TTL) phase-detection focusing and metering. In advertising literature, Minolta claimed that the Maxxum 4 was the most compact 35 mm AF SLR, and the second fastest at autofocusing, while the Maxxum 5 was the fastest at autofocusing. These cameras were, however, intended for the consumer end of the market. Minolta made one last attempt to enter the serious amateur and professional market with the Maxxum (Dynax) 9 in 1998, followed by the Maxxum 7 in 2000. Though well received by the photographic press, the 7 and 9 did not sell to expectation or achieve any significant breakthrough with their intended customer base, who had largely gone over to Canon or Nikon. All of these cameras were eventually discontinued in favor of the less-expensive Maxxum 50 and 70, which were sold under the Minolta name until 2006, when Konica-Minota ceased production of all film cameras. Through-the-lens (TTL) metering is a photographic technique in which measurements (usually of light levels) are made through the lens of a camera. ...

Digital cameras

The DiMage EX, an early digital camera

Minolta has a line of digital point and shoot cameras to compete in the digital photography market. Their DiMage line includes digital cameras and imaging software as well as film scanners. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1656x988, 191 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Minolta Dimage EX Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1656x988, 191 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Minolta Dimage EX Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... The Minolta DiMage EX is a digital camera of 1998. ... 10 MP Nikon D200 and a Nikon film scanner The Canon EOS 350D The Canon PowerShot A95 Digital photography, as opposed to film photography, uses electronic devices to record the image as binary data. ...

Minolta created a new category of 'ZSLR' or fixed zoom-lens SLR-type cameras with the introduction of the DiMage 7. Designed for use by people familiar with 35mm single-lens-reflex or SLR cameras, without the added complication of interchangeable lenses or optical reflex viewfinders, the DiMage incorporated many of the features of a higher level film camera with the simplicity of smaller compact digicams. The camera had a traditional zoom ring and focus ring on the lens barrel, and was equipped with an electronic (EVF) viewfinder rather than the direct optical reflex view of an SLR. It added other features such as a histogram and the cameras were compatible with Minolta's flashes for modern film SLRs. However, the DiMage 7 (including the DiMAGE A1, A2, and A200) and similar 'ZSLR' cameras were not really adequate substitutes for professional SLR cameras, and initially there were many reports of slow autofocus speed and various malfunctions (this has surfaced where a Sony-designed CCD chip would malfunction, rendering the camera useless. Minolta, however, issued a CCD alert and fixed faulty units free of charge; after Konica Minolta's withdrawal from the photo business, Sony has taken over the CCD alert). Minolta later innovated in this line by being the first manufacturer to integrate a mechanical anti-shake system. In statistics, a histogram is a graphical display of tabulated frequencies. ... The Minolta DiMAGE A1 is a hybrid ZSLR camera produced by Minolta, which was introduced in July 2003, replacing the DiMAGE 7Hi (part of the DiMAGE 7 series). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In January 2002 Minolta again created a new category of camera, introducing the Minolta Dimage X, an ultra compact digital with a 3x folded zoom lens. With the folded approach, no moving parts of the lens are external to the camera. Instead a 45 degree mirror bounces light to a conventional zoom lens safely tucked inside the camera body. Fast startup times are one potential benefit of this design (since nothing needs to extend), but slow focus and shutter lag times marred the advantage of this innovation.

Digital SLRs

After the merger with Konica, it was thought by many that Minolta would quickly enter the digital SLR market, a belief that proved premature.

Although Minolta had launched the first digital SLR system as early as 1995, the RD-175 – a 1.75 megapixel camera based on the Maxxum 500si – this camera was never successful and in 1998, this camera was superseded by the RD3000, a 3 megapixel SLR based on the lens mount of the Vectis APS SLR camera line, which was equally unsuccessful and short-lived.

While Minolta was the inventor of the modern integrated AF SLR, it took Konica-Minolta a long time to enter the digital SLR market, a delay that may have proved fatal. K-M was the last of the large camera manufacturers to launch a digital SLR camera (Maxxum/Dynax 5D and 7D) using the 35 mm AF-mount. Popular with many owners, the DSLR cameras appeared to suffer from a lack of marketing and promotion, certainly in comparison to Nikon or Canon. In January 2006, K-M announced that all DSLR production would cease. Support for these cameras was taken over by Sony, who announced the first Minolta-based Sony SLR - the Alpha A100 - on June 5, 2006. The Minolta AF-mount. ... Nikon Corporation )   (TYO: 7731 ), also known as Nikon or Nikon Corp. ... Canon USAs Silicon Valley offices Canon Inc. ... Sony α (Greek letter alpha) is a digital SLR camera system introduced on June 5, 2006[1]. It utilizes and expands upon Konica Minolta camera technologies, including the Minolta AF SLR lens mount, which were acquired by Sony after the end of Minoltas camera operations in early 2006. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

See also

• List of Minolta products
• Category:Minolta cameras

List of products manufactured by electronics company Minolta. ...

References

• Photoxels.com. Brief History of Minolta. Retrieved on November 29, 2005.
• Sony Corporation announced a new brand for digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras which Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Inc has developed