Minolta Riva Zoom 160

The Minolta Riva Zoom 160 is a compact camera. The 35mm camera was built by Minolta in China and sold in the early 2000s. The 35mm photo camera was also sold on the market under the name “Minolta Freedom Zoom 160” and “Minolta Capios 160A“.

The body of the camera is made of plastic. There is an eyelet on the side for attaching a wrist strap.

The lens of the 35mm camera is fixed. It has a zoom function and the zoom range goes from 37.5 mm to 160 mm. The widest aperture is f/5.4 at 37.5 mm and f/12.4 at 160 mm. The closest focusing distance of this lens is 60 cm.

There is no need to focus manually with the 35 mm camera, as there is an autofocus system. Here you have several modes to choose from. In Spot AF mode, the system focuses on a specific point. In Area AF, the focus zone is much larger. In Target AF mode, the subject is tracked by the sensors and the lens focuses accordingly.

Taking pictures is made easier by the built-in exposure meter. This is designed for an ISO range of 25 to 3200. The film speed is read out via the DX code. If this code is missing on the cartridge, ISO 100 is set. The exposure settings are automatically controlled and adjusted by the electronics. There is only an exposure compensation of +1.5 stops.

A flash is built in for low light images. Up to 4.6 meters is the specified range at a sensitivity of ISO 100 in wide-angle. The flash can also be turned off if desired. There is also a fill-in flash that fires with every picture, and a mode for portraits at night. The flash’s auto mode is supposed to automatically prevent red-eye in photos.

The camera comes with a thread for a tripod on the bottom. A self-timer is also installed. This has a lead time of ten seconds.

The dimensions of the Minolta Riva Zoom 160 are 11 x 6 x 4.5 cm. It weighs 195 grams. The power supply is provided by a CR123A battery (eBay / Amazon*). According to the manual, this lasts for up to 240 pictures if you use the flash for half of the photos.

In addition to the regular version, there was also the Minolta Riva Zoom 160 Date. The Quartz Date model can imprint the shooting time in one of the corners of the pictures. This makes it easy to determine the exact time the picture was taken. The integrated calendar extends to the year 2099.

Another feature of the Date model is the possibility to use a radio trigger. This requires the RC-3 infrared trigger. This has a range of up to 5 meters and needs a CR2032 battery (eBay / Amazon*).

Films for the Minolta Riva Zoom 160

The Minolta Riva Zoom 160 is designed for 35mm films. These are still easy to get today and are still developed.

The film is transported automatically by the camera. The motor manages about one frame every 2.2 seconds. A display on the top shows the current number of pictures taken. If there is a “0” there, the film has not been loaded correctly. If the film is full, it is also automatically rewound and the cartridge can be removed.

Possible films for the Minolta Riva Zoom 160 are the Kodak Portra 400* for color photos and the Ilford XP2 Super* for B&W photos. Both films deliver decent shots and are well suited for everyday use, according to reviews. Films from other manufacturers can of course also be used with the camera.