Minolta Hi-Matic S2

The Minolta Hi-Matic S2 is a 35mm camera from the Hi-Matic series. In the series, it belongs rather to the simpler models. It was introduced by Minolta in the 1980s. The indication of the country of manufacture is Japan.

The 35mm camera comes with a fixed 38mm lens. The largest aperture is f/2.8, the smallest is f/17. A filter or lens hood can be screwed onto the 46 mm thread. Focusing is manual. There is no rangefinder, but small pictograms help to set the distance. You can choose between 0.8 meters (point), 1 meter (head), 1.5 m (person with upper body), 3 m (whole person) and infinity (mountain).

The Minolta Hi-Matic S2 has a built-in light meter, of course. This is designed for films with a sensitivity of ISO 25 to ISO 400. So if you often use high-sensitivity films, you should rather go for another camera. The aperture and shutter speed are set automatically by the camera technology. The shutter allows speeds from 1/430 s to 1/8 s. In low-light situations, the camera warns of the danger of camera shake due to a slow shutter speed.

Sufficient light is provided by the built-in flash. The flash has a range of up to 5 meters at ISO 100. The charging time is around five seconds. The 35mm photo camera can be mounted on a tripod. A connection for a cable release and a self-timer are missing. Whereas there were probably also copies with a self-timer.

According to the manual, the dimensions of the Minolta Hi-Matic S2 are 12.9 x 7.6 x 5.3 cm. The plastic housing weighs 310 grams. The power supply is provided by two AA batteries (eBay / Amazon*). Of course, you can use rechargeable ones here. One battery charge is enough for about 250 shots with flash. If you do without artificial lighting, the batteries should last much longer.

Films for the Minolta Hi-Matic S2

The Minolta Hi-Matic S2 takes its pictures on 35mm film. This is a common film format for which there is still a good selection of film stock available today. The films should be in the range of ISO 25 and ISO 400 in terms of sensitivity.One possibility for B&W images is the Ilford HP5*. A possible film for color images is the Kodak Ultramax 400*. Other suitable films are also offered by Fujifilm, Foma, Rollei and Adox, among others.

The negatives of the 35mm camera have a size of 24 mm x 36 mm. So normally 36 pictures fit on a roll of film. For the next picture, the film is wound up manually with a lever. On the top is the counter for the number of pictures already taken. When the end of the film is reached, a small button on the underside must be pressed in and the film material returned to the cartridge with a crank. Only then can the camera be opened and the film removed for development. If this is done beforehand, the images can be destroyed by the incident light.