Overview | |
---|---|
Type | 35mm rangefinder camera |
Lens | |
Lens mount | 39mm thread |
Exposure/Metering | |
Exposure | 24×32mm |
The Minolta-35 was launched in the spring of 1947 by Chiyoda Kogaku. It was the first successful new 35mm rangefinder camera with Leica specifications to emerge on the market after World War II that utilises the 39mm screw lens-mount. The Minolta-35 range of cameras was manufactured in quantities during its twelve-year production period, totalling about 40,000 units. Only the 1933 FED and the 1940 Leotax cameras had appeared successfully before it, although several Leica copies had appeared in both Italy and Japan.
There are eight successive models of the Minolta-35.
1 - Minolta-35 (Model A) On entering the miniature camera business, Chiyoda Kogaku had decided to make the frame size 24×32mm, a logical proposition at the time since most photo copies were made on paper closer to this format. The already established international standard was 36 images of 24×36mm. By doing so, a standard length of film yielded four more exposures on a 36-exposure load. The Minolta-35 has a combined viewfinder and rangefinder eyepiece, negating the need to move the sight from one window to the other. It also features a self-timer and a hinged rear door to facilitate film loading. The camera came with a decent Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 standard optic comprising five elements in three groups, including the front group of three cemented elements designed to secure sharp images on the small negative. When the camera appeared all engravings on the lens and on the slow-speed dial were oriented to be read from the front side of the camera. Later, at about serial no. 4000, they were turned to be read as one holds the camera for picture taking. Accessory mounted in the shoe on top of the camera is secured by a spring-loaded ball that sometimes mistakenly is assumed to be a flash synchroniser contact, which it is not.
2 - Minolta-35 (Model B) Already after a few months production successive modifications were introduced, both internally and on the outside. The first one, at about serial no.600, the engraving sequence on the long time dial was changed from 1-2-5-10-25 to 1-2-4-8-25. At about serial number 1500 the inscription at the top of the camera was simplified from the full company name, Chiyoda-Kogaku Osaka, to the initials C.K.S. for Chiyoda Kogaku Seiko.