Minolta Uniomat II

The Minolta Uniomat II is a rangefinder camera. It was produced by Minolta from 1961 to 1963. It is the successor of the Minolta Uniomat and the predecessor of the Minolta Uniomat III. The model was produced by Minolta in a factory in Japan. The 35mm photo camera of the Uniomat series was also sold on the market under the name “Ansco Anscoset II“.

The 35mm camera comes with a fixed Minolta Rokkor lens. The focal length of the lens is specified as 45 mm. The maximum aperture is f/2.8 and can be closed to f/16. The closest focusing distance is 91 cm.

Focusing is manual by hand. The coupled rangefinder helps to choose the right setting. There is an overlay in the viewfinder image. If the two images are exactly on top of each other, the focus is correct. If not, you have to turn the focus ring until it is in the right position.

The Minolta Uniomat II has a built-in selenium light meter. It measures light through many small cells. It is designed for an ISO range of 10 to 1600. To set the correct exposure, you turn the black exposure ring on the lens. According to the light meter, the correct exposure settings are selected when the green indicator is centered with the red needle on the top of the camera.

The exact shutter speed or aperture cannot be set. For long exposures, there is a Bulb mode. This opens the shutter as long as the shutter release button is held down. To get blur-free pictures, you should mount the camera on a tripod in this mode. It also doesn’t hurt to use a cable release or the self-timer for taking pictures.

An external flash can be connected to the PC flash socket. If the flash has a hot shoe, it can be attached to the top of the camera body.

No batteries are needed to take pictures. The light meter also works without batteries. However, this can lose accuracy over the years. It can be compensated for by modifying the film speed accordingly to correct the faulty metering. If the light meter is broken, it is difficult to repair the camera.

Films for the Minolta Uniomat II

What kind of photo films do you need for the Minolta Uniomat II? According to the manual, the camera uses 35mm films. This type of film is still produced and can be processed by most photo labs without any problems. A good option for color images is the Kodak Ultramax 400* and the Kodak T-Max 100* for black and white photos.

The area occupied by the images on the film is 24 mm x 36 mm. Thus, about 36 pictures fit on a normal film roll. After each image, you have to wind the film to the next free area. This is done with the lever on the top. Only when this step is done, you can take a new picture. This prevents one from accidentally taking a double exposure. At the end of the roll, the film must be rewound with a crank. Only then may the film be removed and taken for development.