The Minolta XE is a 35mm SLR camera. It was introduced in the 1970s and sold to photographers in Japan. The model was built in a factory in Japan. In Europe, the model was available under the name XE-1. As the XE-7, the camera was sold in North America.
The lenses of the 35mm camera can be interchanged. It comes with a Minolta SR bayonet. In most cases, the 35mm photo camera comes with the Minolta MC Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7. Of course, there is a wide range of other lenses for this mount. You will have to manually focus the lens on the subject you want to photograph.
The Minolta XE has a light meter. It is designed for film from ISO 12 to ISO 3200, and the correct exposure is measured by the SLR lens. The shutter speed and aperture can be selected by the photographer. However, there is also an automatic exposure mode. In this case, one selects the aperture and the shutter speed is set automatically.
The shutter supports exposure times from 1/1000 second to 4 seconds. There is also a Bulb mode for long exposures and shooting at night. It is advisable to use a cable release and mount the camera on a tripod, otherwise the pictures can blur quickly.
An external flash can be connected via the hot shoe. There is also a PC flash port. The photo camera has a built-in self-timer. Depending on how far you move the lever, the longer the lead time before the picture is taken. The camera also has a multiple exposure mode.
The camera body measures 14.8 x 9.7 x 6.1 cm and weighs 775 grams without film and lens. The camera requires two 1.5 V silver oxide batteries.
Films for the Minolta XE
35mm film is needed to take pictures with the Minolta XE. 35mm films are still manufactured and are developed without problems at most photo labs. You can buy them conveniently online.
For black and white images, you can go for the Kodak T-Max 400*. For color images, the Kodak Ultramax 400* is an option. Other suitable films are also offered by Ilford, Foma, Rollei and Adox, among others.
The images taken with the Japanese SLR occupy an area of 24 mm x 36 mm on the film. So normally 36 images fit on one roll of film. The film transport is mechanical. The return transport of the film material into the cartridge is also done by hand.
