Minolta Alpha 360si

The Minolta Alpha 360si is an SLR camera from the 1990s. The 35mm camera was built by Minolta and sold in its home country of Japan. Photographers outside Japan could also buy it as the Minolta Maxxum QTsi. In Europe, the camera was available to photographers as the Minolta Dynax 303si. There was also a QD (Quartz Date) model variant with the possibility to imprint the shooting time.

The lens of the 35mm camera is interchangeable. A Minolta A bayonet was used for this. The camera is equipped with an autofocus system. There is a large selection of suitable lenses with different focal lengths. Lenses with zoom function are also available from Minolta. The aperture setting depends on the lens. For the Minolta 35-80 mm f/4-5.6 lens, it is between f/4 and f/32.

The Japanese camera has a light meter. The light meter is designed for films with values from ISO 25 to ISO 5000. The film speed is determined automatically via the barcode on the film cartridge. Exposure is measured via the lens.

There is no manual mode. Aperture and shutter speed are set automatically by the camera. There are special modes for portrait, sports, close-up, landscape and sports photography. There is also a mode for taking portraits at night. Values from 1/2000 second to 30 seconds are available for the shutter speed.

In low light conditions, the built-in flash can be switched on. The flash has a guide number of 12 at ISO 100 and is charged after about three seconds. It is also possible to connect an external Minolta flash. If desired, the flash can of course also be deactivated

The Minolta Alpha 360si has a self-timer and a tripod connection. The self-timer has a lead time of ten seconds.

According to the manual, the dimensions of the Minolta Alpha 360si are 13.5 x 9 x 5.82 cm. It weighs 340 grams. The camera needs two CR2 batteries (eBay / Amazon*). These last for up to 65 rolls of film on average. The batteries can be purchased very easily online.

The film is automatically transported by the camera with a motor. It can take up to one picture per second in continuous shooting mode. The return transport to the film cartridge is also motorised. The number of photos taken is shown on the display on the top.

Films for the Minolta Alpha 360si

The Minolta Alpha 360si is loaded with 35mm film. 35mm films are still offered by various manufacturers. Possible films for the Japanese SLR that can still be bought today are the Kodak Ultramax 400* for colour images and the Ilford XP2 Super* for black and white images. Colour negative film is developed using the C-41 development process. Many photo labs offer this service.

The Minolta Alpha 360si can only be found second-hand. Depending on the condition, the costs for the 35mm photo camera vary.