Minolta Capios 25

The Minolta Capios 25 is a camera from Minolta. It was released in the 90s and was aimed at the average consumer. The model was produced in a factory in China and then sold on the Japanese home market. Comparable variants were also offered under the names “Minolta Riva Zoom 70W” and “Minolta Explorer Freedom Zoom“.

The zoom lens of the 35 mm photo camera is fixed. With a switch, you can choose between 28 mm to 70 mm. The maximum aperture is f/3.5 at 28 mm and f/8.4 at 70 mm. There is no need to focus manually with the 35 mm camera, as there is an automatic focusing system. The lens’ closest focusing distance, i.e. the distance to the subject, can be 40 cm in macro mode. The lens consists of four lenses in four groups, two of which are aspherically coated.

An exposure meter is built into the camera. It is designed for films in a range from ISO 25 to ISO 3200. The technology determines the correct sensitivity of the film via the DX code on the cartridge. Exposure settings are automatically controlled by the camera electronics. Therefore, shutter speed and aperture cannot be selected by the user.

The camera has various exposure modes. Thus, there is a full auto mode, a macro mode, a mode for landscape photography and a mode for portrait photography at night. In this mode, the built-in flash is used to freeze the subject in motion.

The flash, located in the upper corner, has a range of up to 6 meters. This value refers to a film speed of ISO 100 at wide-angle zoom. The flash can be fired automatically, forced, or turned off completely as needed. Additionally, there is an automatic red-eye protection.

The Minolta compact camera can expose the shooting time in a corner of the images. Among other things, a clock is built in for this purpose. The calendar lasts until the year 2029, and it does not require an additional battery.

In addition, the aforementioned model can create a fake panorama effect. To do this, part of the negative inside the camera is covered. This then creates the look of a panorama. Of course, the image can also be edited accordingly later in post-processing.

The camera with its plastic housing weighs 245 grams and measures 12.1 x 6.6 x 4.4 cm. There is a connection for a tripod on the bottom. A camera strap can also be used with the camera. The Minolta requires a CR123A battery (eBay / Amazon*). One battery charge lasts for an average of 300 pictures.

Films for the Minolta Capios 25

The Minolta Capios 25 captures its images on 35mm film. The images on the negatives are 24 mm x 36 mm. So, at least 36 images will fit on a normal film. The film in the photo camera automatically advances to the next image. You can take about 1.2 pictures per second with the camera. If the display shows a blinking “0”, the film is not loaded properly. Otherwise, the display shows the number of photos taken. There is a self-timer for group pictures or selfies. The self-timer gives ten seconds to get into position.

There is still a good selection of material for color and black and white images for this film format. Nice 35mm films for color and black and white images, respectively, are the Kodak ColorPlus 200* and the Ilford XP2 Super*. These are both solid films that deliver solid results according to reviews. Of course, there are a variety of other 35mm films available for this camera.