Minolta Hi-Matic 7s

The Minolta Hi-Matic 7s is a rangefinder camera from the 1960s. It was produced in a factory in Japan and sold to photographers in two finishes, Chrome and Black. The camera model is the successor to the Minolta Hi-Matic 7.

The “Rokkor PF” lens of the 35mm camera is fixed. The lens has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 and the focal length is 45mm. The smallest possible aperture for this model is f/22. It is composed of six elements in five lens groups. Focusing is manual with the help of the built-in rangefinder. The minimum distance to the subject is 91 cm or 3 feet. A filter can be screwed onto the 55 mm thread.

For shooting, the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s has a light meter. It can be used with films from ISO 25 to ISO 800. The aperture and exposure time can be freely set by the photographer. If one sets the respective setting rings to “A”, the camera automatically selects the appropriate settings. The Seiko LA blade shutter supports shutter speeds from 1/500 second to 1/4 second. The camera also has a Bulb setting for long exposure shots.

For blur-free long exposure photos, there is of course a thread on the bottom to attach the camera to a tripod. A cable release can be screwed on to guarantee no blur when pressing the shutter release. If you don’t have one at hand, you can also use the self-timer. This has a lead time of 10 seconds until it takes the picture.

An external flash can be used via the hot shoe or PC flash connection. If you use a flash, you should use the shutter speed of 1/30 second.

According to the manual, the camera weighs 720 grams and measures 14 x 8.2 x 4.7 cm. There are eyelets on the sides of the case for attaching a camera strap. A 1.35V mercury battery is needed for the power supply.

Films for the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s

The Minolta Hi-Matic 7s needs 35mm films. These are still easy to get today and are still being developed. Possible films for this camera model that you can still buy today are the Kodak Gold 200* and the Ilford XP2 Super*. Both films deliver solid results and also score well in test reports. Of course, there is a wide range of additional suitable films for this camera. However, these should be in the range of ISO 25 and ISO 800.

The film transport is mechanical in this model. A lever is used to move the film material a bit further after each frame. When the roll is full, first a button on the bottom is pushed in and then a crank is used to feed the film back into the cartridge. Only when the light-sensitive material is in the cartridge may the back be opened.