I suspect a lot of people, when they first encounter a Minolta Hi-Matic 7s wonder if the fully automatic exposure system is really going to work. It just seems too easy to simply press the shutter release and get a perfectly exposed picture every time.
I experimented a bit with mine, checking the metered values when the camera was on full auto, and then with the shutter and aperture set manually. It did seem to be consistent in its performance, so it seemed the next step should be a real-world test. I started a roll of Kodak UltraMax 400 on Wednesday at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, and then took the camera on Friday for a walk around Old Town Albuquerque.
I could not find anything to complain about in how the HiMatic 7s handled the full range of lighting from dim interiors to full sun in the Plaza Vieja.
No camera, of course, is perfect. The display of EV values only in the meter leaves one wishing for aperture and shutter numbers. Size and weight are the other big issues. The camera, while of extraordinary build quality, is a heavy-weight among rangefinders. Here is a comparison picture showing the HiMatic 7s next to the little Olympus 35 RC, also having auto-exposure.
6 comments:
Nice work. Sort of makes me wish I hadn't sold my 7. But your short list of cons for this camera are spot on. But that lens, that lens.
The 7s and the Yashica Lynx-14 have a lot in common, including the auto-parallax correction that I really like.
It is a testament to how well these cameras were made that this one still delivers spot-on exposures after all of these years.
Mine looked new when I found it in the thrift shop and needed nothing beyond superficial cleaning. A friend has one that had some corroded wiring, but he seems to have that fixed. The solid construction seems to make repairs likely to have some success.
This, and other Japanese cameras of that era, had the CDS sensor inside the filter threads so that it would read the light passing through a filter. No need for clumsy filter factors. I occasionally goof up on the factors when using a hand held meter. These Minolta lenses were top grade.
I seldom use filters, but the CDS sensor certainly improved the appearance of the cameras, and they were a lot more durable provided batteries were not left too long in the camera.
Post a Comment