Minolta Dynax 300si

The Minolta Dynax 300si is an SLR camera from Minolta. It was introduced by the Japanese manufacturer in the mid-1990s. In the USA it was sold under two names. It was available as Minolta Maxxum 300si and Maxxum RZ300si. The RZ300si was sold exclusively by the photo retailer Ritz Camera. In addition, there was a version of the Dynax 300si with the option of date imprinting.

The camera comes with a Minolta A bayonet. There is a selection of lenses for this mount. Among them are fixed focal length and zoom lenses. The kit lens was usually a 35mm-70mm f/3.5-4.5 zoom lens. There is no need to focus manually with the 35mm camera. The Minolta Dynax 300si has an autofocus system. However, you can also adjust the focus manually. There is with a slider on the front for manual and autofocus.

Aperture and shutter speed cannot be set manually. The camera only comes with a program automatic, which sets both values automatically. The exposure meter is designed for an ISO range of 25 to 5000. The correct sensitivity is determined via the DX code on the film cartridge. If this code is not present, the camera technology sets a value of ISO 100. The exposure modes include one each for portraits, landscapes, close-ups, sports and night portraits.

There is a built-in flash for taking pictures in low light conditions. The flash has a charging time of around two seconds. It can be used automatically if desired, triggered with every shot or switched off. There is also a mode for avoiding red-eye in the pictures. In addition, a Minolta plug-in flash can also be connected via the connection on the top.

The camera has a thread for a tripod on the underside of the housing. There is also a self-timer. The self-timer has a lead time of ten seconds.

With a size of 14.7 x 10.1 x 6.8 cm, the Minolta Dynax 300si weighs 380 grams according to the instruction manual. The power source of the 35mm photo camera is a 2CR5 battery (eBay / Amazon*). This battery can easily be bought online. One battery charge is enough for about 600 pictures.

Films for the Minolta Dynax 300si

The Minolta Dynax 300si was built for the 35mm format. 35mm films are still produced today and can also still be easily purchased. In principle, you can use any film, but the film should have DX encoding and be in the sensitivity range of ISO 25 to ISO 5000.

Available photo films for the Minolta Dynax 300si, which can be easily obtained from online retailers, are the Kodak T-Max 100* for magical black and white images and the Kodak Gold 200* for brilliant colour images. Other films are available from suppliers such as Lomography, Rollei, Adox or Foma.

The exposure area of the Japanese 35mm camera is 24 mm x 36 mm. A common 35mm film holds about 36 frames at this size. The film is automatically transported by a motor from the 35mm camera. You can take about 1 picture per second with the camera. There is an extra mode for continuous shooting for this purpose.