Episode 36: Minolta Disco

For the second episode in a row, we take a deep dive into a singular brand of cameras, and as you can pretty much already guess, Episode 36 is all about Minolta! The guys and I visit the Minolta Disco with returning callers, Alex Luyckx, Bill Smith, Howard Sandler, Mark Faulkner, Mario Piper, Robert Rotoloni, Wannes Scheipers, and first time caller, Mig Cero.

The Minolta Disco is a strange place where we cover history of the company, our favorite models, common problems and what to look for when buying certain Minoltas, the Minolta and Leica connection, and what Minolta Auto focus SLRs you should consider if you like physical knobs. Minolta is one of the longest lived and prolific Japanese camera makers, so we had a huge number of things to talk about.

Not content to stick with just one single topic, Mike reveals a strange habit he does in the dark when loading film, Paul covers everyone’s favorite Topcon SLRs, along with a short review of the focal plane shutter Topcon IC-1 Auto, Robert gives us some history on why so many Japanese camera makers preferred 24mm x 32mm images, and a little bit of history on Japanese distributors in the United States.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are decided by you. The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we will hit the road and record our third European episode, recording at a time that is more friendly for our fans in Europe. For our friends in the UK, a lot has changed since the last time we talked, they lost their queen and have had three different Prime Ministers, so who knows what kind of mood they’ll be in.

We are not 100% sure on the exact time we will record Episode 37, but it will probably be Tuesday, November 22nd. Be sure to stay tuned for the official announcement.

This Week’s Episode

Mike’s Strange Habit of Closing His Eyes While in a Darkroom / Alex Purposely Waits to Look at His Digital Photos After Taking Them
We Start Talking About Minolta with a Topcon Super D and RE3 / Difference between the Super D and Super DM
Topcon RE lenses vs Topcon UV Lenses / Leaf Shutter Topcons / Topcon IC-1 Auto
Topcor Cult Lenses, 58mm f/1.4 and f/1.8 lenses / 135mm and 200mm Telephotos
Not All Exakta Lenses Will Work on the Topcon RE Super / The Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50/2 Hits the Mirror
What Other Cameras Came with Topcor Lenses? / Horseman and Leotax Did!
Tokyo Kogaku and Nippon Kogaku Both Had Very Similar Origins / Topcon Suffered from Poor Distribution in the US
Other Companies Who Were Killed By Distribution Like Miranda and Aires
Nikon Got Lucky With Ehrenreich / Canon Struggled With Distribution / Minolta Distributed Themselves
Minolta’s Early History Nichi Doku and Molta Eventually Became Chiyoda Kogaku
The Original Minolta was Based Off the Plaubel Makina / Minoltaflex and Minolta Autocord
When Did Minolta Become a Meaningful Force Outside of Japan? / Minolta Was Successful with Post Exchanges
Minolta’s Screw Mount Rangefinders / 24 x 32 Exposures / Japanese Film Was Very Expensive and Often Used for X-Rays
Was the US Government Responsible for the Disappearance of 24 x 32?
What is Everyone’s Favorite Minolta? / Minolta Super A (Anthony and Mike) / Minolta SRT-101 and 102 (Mario) / Minolta XD-11 (Bill Smith) / Minolta XM (Wayne) / Minolta Hi-Matic 7S II (Mig) / Minolta 110 Zoom SLR (Theo) / Molta Minolta Vest Camera (Mark) / Minolta Dynax 9 (Alex)
Full Bodied Japanese Fixed Lens Rangefinders Are Some of the Best Values Out There
Alex Loves the Minolta Maxxums 7 and 9
Minolta SLRs with Physical Knobs / Minolta 600si Classic and 650si Date / Make Your Own Handgrip with Sugru
Minolta Got Sued a Lot / Minolta Auto-Wide
The Minolta and Leica Collaboration Started with the CL / The Minolta XE-7 Has Nothing From Leitz In It / Leica R3
Minolta XD-11 and Leica R4 / Leica R-Series Lenses are REALLY Expensive
Robert Likes Minolta Subminis / The Konan Was the Predecessor to the Minolta 16
MINOLTA DISCO!!!!
Other Minoltas / Minolta Freedom Zoom 105i / Minolta Vectis S-1 / Minolta X-700 / Minolta SR-3 / Minolta Uniomat III
Did Konica and Minolta Ever Make a Serious Camera Together?

Show Notes

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group or Instagram page, or email us at [email protected].

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Camerosity Twitter – https://twitter.com/CamerosityPod

Alex Luyckx – http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/

Theo Panagopoulos – https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt – https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue – https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

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