Minolta A5

The Minolta A5 is a 35mm camera. It was introduced in the early 1960s. It belongs to the Minolta A family and is the last model of the series. It is the successor of the Minolta A3. It was built in Japan until the mid-1960s.

The lens of the 35mm camera is fixed. In most cases, you can find the camera with a Minolta Rokkor-TD 45mm f/2.8 with four lens elements. However, there were also models with a six-lens f/2 45mm Rokkor lens. You have to focus the lens by hand. The camera does not have an autofocus function. The built-in rangefinder helps with focusing. The minimum distance to the subject must be 91 cm. The lens can be stopped down to f/22.

The correct exposure cannot be measured by the Minolta A5, as it does not have a light meter. Shutter speed and aperture are set manually. The Citizen MLV supports shutter speeds from 1/500 second to 1 second.

Additionally, there is a Bulb mode for long exposures. To avoid camera shake, the camera can be mounted on a tripod. It can be triggered by a cable release or also via the built-in self-timer.

The use of an external flash unit is possible via the PC flash socket. The flash unit can be attached to a cold shoe on the top of the camera. Batteries are not needed for the camera. It works completely mechanically.

Films for the Minolta A5

The Minolta A5 requires photographic film to take pictures. More precisely, 35mm films are needed. The exposure area of the photo camera has a size of 24 mm x 36 mm. The film has to be rewound manually by the photographer with a quick-release lever.

35 mm films are still manufactured today. They can be developed in most laboratories. A good choice for the compact camera is the Kodak ColorPlus 200* (color film) and the Kodak T-Max 100* (black and white film). Both films are well suited for everyday use and are convincing in test reports. The development process for the color film is the C-41 process. This development process is available at almost every photo lab. The black and white film has to go into a real black and white developer. This development process is also offered by most professional photo labs.

Minolta A5 1000

In addition to the variations in the lens of the camera, there were also differences in the shutters. For example, some models have a maximum shutter speed of 1/1000 second.