Minolta Alpha 8700i

The Minolta Alpha 8700i is a 35mm camera. It belongs to the group of automatic SLR cameras for the 35mm format. It is the successor of the Minolta Alpha 7700i. The range of functions has remained relatively the same. The main changes were the shutter speed, the viewfinder and the LCD screen.

The camera was introduced in the 1990s. In Europe, the model is known as the Minolta Dynax 8000i. In the USA, photographers could buy a functionally identical model as the Maxxum 8000i.

As known from SLR cameras, the lenses can be exchanged. A Minolta A bayonet was installed for this purpose. There are many lenses with different focal lengths for this mount. Depending on the lens, the choice of aperture values is also different. The 35mm camera has an autofocus system, but also offers to set the focus manually.

The Minolta Alpha 8700i also has a light meter. It is designed for films in a range from ISO 25 to ISO 6400. These values can be set manually. When automatically reading the film speed, the camera technology can only cover a range of 25 to 5000. The sensitivity is read out via the DX coding on the film cartridge.

The camera comes with four exposure modes. The photographer can either choose all settings himself, have all values set by the camera, or choose only one of the values (aperture or shutter speed) himself. The automatic exposure modes can be influenced by exposure compensation. The shutter speed ranges from 1/8000 second to 30 seconds. There is also a bulb mode for long exposures.

For long exposures, the camera should be mounted on a tripod. There is a thread for this on the bottom of the housing. The display is found on the upper side. This gives some information about the number of photos taken. There is also an indication when the self-timer is turned on. The self-timer has a lead time of ten seconds. A flash can be connected via the proprietary port.

According to the manual, the camera weighs 600 grams. The dimensions of the housing without lens are 15.3 x 9.3 x 6.9 cm. A 2CR5 battery (eBay / Amazon*) is responsible for the power supply.

Film transport is automatic on this model. The motor in the camera manages up to three frames per second. At the end of the film roll, usually after about 36 frames, the film material is automatically wound back into the cartridge. Then you can remove the film and take it to be developed.

Films for the Minolta Alpha 8700i

What kind of films can you use with the Minolta Alpha 8700i? In principle, any film for the 35mm format. Possible and very solid films for the Japanese 35mm camera that you can still buy today are the Kodak Ultramax 400* and the Ilford HP5*. Both films are well suited for everyday shooting and can convince independent test reports. Of course, you can also use films from other manufacturers. Here we can mention Foma, Fujifilm, Adox or Lomography as suppliers.