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	The Minolta Auto Wide made its debut in 1958 with an ad campaign that touted the camera as having the first "automatic" exposure system. Actually, it probably wasn't first, and it also wasn't quite automatic, but rather featured a match-needle, coupled meter. In practice, after setting the appropriate film ASA the shutter speed was selected with a wheel on the camera's back, and then the inner portion of the same wheel was rotated to match up a pointer with the meter's needle, thus setting the aperture for the exposure. At that point, the aperture and shutter settings were locked together, and spinning the same wheel would maintain the exposure throughout the range of possible combinations. The description is more complicated than the actual operation of the system, which was actually quite practical. Looking at the Auto Wide from the front, there is a resemblance to the German-built Kodak Retinas and Retinettes of the same period. On close examination, however, it really seems that the Minolta designers set out to trump their German competition on every front; the camera seems over-engineered in nearly every conceivable way. The result was a largish, non-rangefinder, fixed-lens camera of considerable weight. Offsetting the somewhat awkward appearance were easily accessed controls, an Optiper shutter with a full range of speeds from 1 second to 1/500th, and a superb 6-element f2.8 35mm Rokkor lens. The viewfinder is wonderfully easy on the eyes, with a bright-line frame and paralax correction markings. Focus estimation is enhanced with click-stopped points for portrait, group and scenic distance settings, but an indexed scale marked in feet is also available. There is hardly a mark on my camera that indicates age or use; it is hard to believe it is fifty years old. The shutter was a little sluggish when I got it, but a couple drops of Ronsonol made it very snappy. The meter seems right on, and the images from the first roll through the camera fully met my expectations. * * * Some sample images from the Auto Wide:
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