Minolta Freedom Action Zoom 90

The Minolta Freedom Action Zoom 90 is a compact camera from the 1990s. It was manufactured by Minolta in Japan and sold in the North American market. Similar variants were also sold on the market under the name “Minolta Freedom Zoom Traveller” and “Minolta Riva Zoom 90“. The cameras were aimed at entry-level and casual users. Therefore, they were not particularly expensive and easy to use, even without a manual.

The photo camera is equipped with a fixed zoom lens. 38 mm to 90 mm is the possible zoom range. The maximum aperture ranges from f/4.8 (wide angle) to f/10.8 (telephoto), depending on the zoom level. However, this is not particularly important since you cannot set the aperture manually anyway. With the 35mm camera, you don’t have to focus manually because it has an automatic autofocus system. The closest focusing distance for this lens is given as 100 cm. It consists of four elements in four lens groups.

The 35 mm camera has a built-in light meter. It is designed for film with an ISO value of ISO 100, ISO 200 and ISO 400. The film speed is read out via the DX code on the film cartridge. If this code is not present, the camera always selects a value of ISO 100. You cannot change the exposure settings yourself. There is also no exposure compensation on the camera. But there is a self-timer.

The built-in flash provides enough light in the dark. The flash range is up to 4.5 meters at ISO 100 in the wide-angle range. The camera is equipped with an automatic to prevent red-eye. Additionally, there is a fill-in flash for backlit shots and a mode for portraits at night. The flash can also be turned off completely if desired. The charging time is about eight seconds.

There is a thread for a tripod on the bottom of the camera. There is an eyelet on the side for attaching a wrist strap.

The dimensions of the Minolta Freedom Action Zoom 90 are 12 x 7.1 x 4.8 cm, according to the manual. It weighs 225 grams at this size. A normal CR123A battery (eBay / Amazon*) is responsible for the power supply. One battery lasts for about 300 pictures. The charge level is shown on a display on the top. The price for a battery is a few euros.

Films for the Minolta Freedom Action Zoom 90

35mm film is exposed in the Minolta Freedom Action Zoom 90. The film is transported automatically during this process. After the film is loaded into the camera, the motor does the rest of the work. The display shows the number of photos taken. If it shows “0”, the film has not been loaded correctly. Under no circumstances should the camera be opened when there is still film in the camera. The manual rewind button on the top can also be used to rewind the film before it is actually finished.

This type of film is still made and can be developed by almost any photo lab. A 35mm film for color photography is the Kodak Gold 200*. A possible black and white film is the Ilford Delta 400*. There are other manufacturers of film stock specifically for the 35mm format.