Minolta 9000

The Minolta 9000 was the Japanese manufacturer’s first autofocus SLR camera. It was introduced in the mid-1980s. In its home country, it was marketed as the Minolta Alpha 9000. In North America, the camera body carried the name “Minolta Maxxum 9000“.

The lenses on the 35mm camera are interchangeable. Lenses with the Minolta A bayonet can be used. There are a variety of different options for this mount. The lens is focused by autofocus.

A light meter is built into the 35mm camera and is designed for an ISO range of 6 to 6400. The film speed can be read off the cameo by the DX code on the film cartridge. Exposure is metered normally through the lens.

One can use the Minolta 9000 in different exposure modes. The four modes that are still found on modern SLR cameras are available here. There is a fully automatic program mode. There is also an automatic mode with preselection of aperture or shutter speed. In manual mode, the settings can be freely selected. However, the measured exposure values are still output and can be used as orientation.

The available aperture values depend on the lens, of course. For the shutter speed, you can choose between values between 1/4000 second and 30 seconds. In addition, there is a Bulb mode for long exposures. Here, the shutter can be opened for a variable duration.

For creative shots with the camera, there is a function for multiple exposures. A flash can be connected via the hot shoe. A mounting option for the camera on a tripod is also available. And of course, the self-timer is not missing.

The camera body weighs 645 grams. The dimensions are 13.9 x 9.2 x 5.3 cm. The 35-mm photo camera is powered by two AA batteries (eBay / Amazon*). You usually have these in the house anyway or can get them in most stores. Here, of course, you can also resort to rechargeable copies.

Films for the Minolta 9000

The Minolta 9000 exposes normal 35mm film. Available photo films for the Minolta 9000 that you can easily get are the Kodak TRI-X 400* for black and white photos and the Kodak Ultramax 400* for color images. Both are great films for beautiful everyday photos. Of course, there are other film stocks from other manufacturers and not just Kodak. Other suppliers still in production include Foma, Fujifilm, Ilford, or even Lomography name.

In contrast to most of the functions of the SLR, the film transport is still mechanical. After each frame, the film must be advanced with a quick release lever. A frame counter on the top of the housing provides information about the number of pictures taken. With most films, the end is after 36 shots.