The Minolta XK is an SLR camera. It was Minolta's first SLR model with an electronic shutter. It was introduced at Photokina in Germany in 1972. A year later, it was produced and sold to photographers in Japan under the name X-1. Starting in 1974, it was available as the XM in Europe and the XK in North America.
The lenses of the photo camera are interchangeable. It comes with a Minolta SR bayonet. Most of the time you meet the camera with the Minolta MC Rokkor 50mm f/1.7. Of course there are a lot of other lenses for this system. You have to focus the lens manually.
The viewfinder attachment can also be changed on the Minolta XK. The AE viewfinder has the ability to meter exposure. It is designed for films from ISO 12 to ISO 6400. On the one hand, you can read the values manually. On the other hand, there is an automatic. Here you set the aperture and the camera automatically selects the shutter speed.
The shortest exposure time of the electronic shutter is 1/1000 second. Mechanically, 1/100 second and Bulb mode are usable. In Bulb mode, the shutter is opened as long as the shutter button is held down.
The 1/100 second is also the flash sync time. An external flash can be connected to the PC flash socket. The 35mm camera can be triggered by self-timer or with an additional cable release. There is a thread for a tripod on the bottom.
The camera body weighs 670 grams. The dimensions are 14.75 x 8.4 x 4.8 cm. Power is supplied by two 1.5 V silver oxide batteries, for example Mallory MS-76 or Eveready S-76.
Films for the Minolta XK
According to the instruction manual, the Minolta XK is designed for 35mm film. These films are still being made and are easy to get on the internet. The film must be manually wound after each shot. There is a quick release lever for this purpose. The crank is used to wind the film back into the cartridge at the end.
Possible films for the Minolta XK that can still be purchased today are the Kodak Ultramax 400* for color photos and the Ilford FP4 Plus* for B&W images. Both films produce solid images with the SLR. A good number of other manufacturers also produce film for this format.
