The Minolta Panorama Zoom 28 is a point-and-shoot camera. It was presented by the Japanese company Minolta in the 90s and was also built in Japan. The model comes with a black plastic body and resembles similar models from that time. The target group was mainly hobbyists and casual users.
The 35mm camera comes with a fixed zoom lens. The zoom range goes from 28 mm up to 70 mm. The setting is controlled by a toggle switch on the top. The maximum aperture goes from f/3.5 to f/8.4 in the telephoto range. Focusing is made easy by a built-in autofocus.
The 35mm photo camera comes with a light meter. The exposure is set automatically by the technology. As a photographer, you have no influence on the aperture, nor the shutter speed. The sensitivity of the film is read out via the DX coding on the film cartridge.
Of course, the camera is also equipped with a built-in automatic flash. The flash comes with an automatic mode for red-eye prevention. There is also a mode for backlit shots where the flash always fires to compensate for the difference in brightness.
The camera can be mounted on a tripod via the thread on the bottom. It can also be triggered via the self-timer. It is also possible to use the camera together with an additional wireless remote control.
The camera requires two CR123A batteries (eBay / Amazon*). This type of battery is still sold today and does not leave a big hole in your wallet. An additional battery is needed for the date imprinting function, where the date of shooting is immortalized in one corner of the image. If you want to use the function, you need a CR2025 battery (eBay / Amazon*).
Films for the Minolta Panorama Zoom 28
According to the instruction manual, the Minolta Panorama Zoom 28 uses 35mm film. Films of this format are still readily available today and are still being developed. A nice film for color images is the Fujifilm Superia 400* and for black and white images the Kodak T-Max 400*. Both films deliver solid results with the compact camera.
The film is automatically advanced by the Minolta Panorama Zoom 28. The number of frames is shown on the display on the top. The transport back into the cartridge also works automatically due to the built-in motor.
The negatives of the 35mm camera have a size of 24 mm x 36 mm. Per film (135-36), 36 shots are thus usually possible. The same number of images will fit on a roll of film even with the additional panorama mode. The mode can be switched on if desired. In this mode, bars are pushed into the image at the top and bottom of the camera's interior. Cropping the image creates the look of a panorama. Of course, you don't gain any additional image information with this method.
