Minolta A c1955-1957

Coupled rangefinder. Shutter speeds up to an astounding 1/300 sec. !
There was a time when even mid-priced cameras were made with quality in mind.



My Minolta A is an early example as it's got an Optiper MX shutter. It's a nicely styled and finished camera.



Shutter speeds are set via the wheel above the "Minolta A" engraving.  The film rewind knob is way too small. Try rewinding film with frozen fingers
sometime if you doubt my assessment.



I enjoy wide film advance paddles on advance levers. The viewfinder is moderately bright.







Classic cameras have personalities. They have little in common with their digital relatives.
Like the cookie cutter cities and towns we now live in, camera character has been lost for the most part.

You can have a Big Mac in Miami, Florida or Bangor Maine and they'll taste just the same.



The shutter speeds are a bit off I think, as is the coupled rangefinder. Maybe the rangefinder is OK but I can't line up stuff
in the tiny viewfinder as well as I used to. I don't give a damn. Using the old Minolta was fun.
My old cameras captured someone else's significant events well before they fell into my hands