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 L