The Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 is a viewfinder camera. The 35mm camera was built by Minolta in a factory in Japan. It is the successor of the Minolta Hi-Matic AF and the second model with autofocus of the Hi-Matic series.
The photo camera comes with an infrared-based autofocus system. The lens is automatically focused in a distance range from one meter to infinity. The fixed focal length is an optical system consisting of four lens elements. It has a focal length of 38 mm. The maximum aperture is f/2.8, and the smallest aperture is specified as f/17.
The aperture is set automatically by the camera. The exposure meter is designed for films from ISO 25 to ISO 400. The camera technology also automatically selects the shutter speed based on the measured values. Here it has the choice between 1/430 second to 1/8 second. There are no manual setting options for shutter speed and aperture.
The 35mm camera comes with a built-in flash. With ISO 100 filming, it reaches up to 4.8 meters. The flash can be turned on and off. Two AA batteries (eBay / Amazon*) are needed to power the camera and flash.
The dimensions of the Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 are 12.9 x 7.6 x 5.3 cm. The camera body weighs 335 grams. There is a thread for a tripod on the bottom. A self-timer is also not missing. The self-timer has a lead time of ten seconds.
Films for the Minolta Hi-Matic AF2
What is needed is 35mm film for the Minolta Hi-Matic AF2. The camera is one of the forerunners of the snapshot camera, but still the film has to be transported manually after each picture. The quick release lever transports the film to the next free area and initiates the frame counter, which displays the number of frames taken. The transport back into the cartridge is also manual.
35mm films are still produced today by different manufacturers from different countries. They can be developed in most professional laboratories. Great films for the Japanese camera that still exist today and are easy to find are the Kodak Ultramax 400* for color images and the Ilford Delta 400* for B&W images. You should make sure that the films are within the range of the exposure meter. This can only set the exposure correctly for films between ISO 25 and ISO 400.
