Ive owned Leica Zorki fed Kiev Yashica Canon and minolta rangefinders in the past I sold them all some decades ago, but from memory my best quality photos came from the Zorki with a Canon rangefinder lens.

Hi the camera that grabbed my attention and interest in photography as a young teenager was my late fathers Konica Auto S2 or S3 rangefinder I can't be sure which. Which ever it was I thought it was amazing & dreamt of the day I could afford one of my own. For nostalgias sake I picked up an S2 a few years ago which I'm ashamed to say I have never used! Any way thank you for jogging my memory. Cheers.... 👍

Hello , thank you very much . Me , 69 . Konica C 35 came to our house around in 1974 , ? My father bought it for our family . But in those days , I had no interest to take photo . Perhaps , you might not know about this . After that War , we stood up from Yake Nohala . And made many many products . And perhaps , Japanese are the most honest persons to keep everything cleanly . So that because , we could buy more than 40 , 50 years ago products . Feb. 18th 2024 Sun. 15:24 from Yokohama City Japan

Great presentation as always! I've got the Minolta Hi-matic 7sII with a slightly faster f1.7 lens, have used it both with the shutter priority and sunny 16 and it's a great camera. Those old Rokkor lenses and small hi-matic bodies are a great combo.

I bought a Yashica 35 Electro GTN about a year ago too. I also had to buy the battery conversion kit off eBay. It's worth remembering that a costly fault with them is the infamous 'pad of death' which renders it useless (or you could pay a repairer to fix it at similar cost to the original purchase price). The tiny diamond shaped focusing aid is great only if your eyesight is good. Recommend to 'try before you buy' because online descriptions/assurances are often lies.

Was recently given a Minolta Hi matic the design made me think it was made for the American market... not tried it yet.... Wow lens looks good....

Kodak Retina series is great too.

I'm tempted to get the Minolta I don't have enough cameras as it is!

I have a Petri Racer that my mom gave me on my 15th birthday in 1975, i still use it today,

Good video. That Yashica looks great as do the photos it makes. I'm tempted. I definitely don't need any more cameras but I'm tempted.

Another great video. I wasn't a fan of rangefinders until a few years ago and now I have 4, from Balda, Agfa, Minolta and Yashica - all from the 50s and 60s and all great fun to use. Your Minolta and Yashica cameras are later than mine and have continued the theme of great results for little money. I'm sure the little Konica will also produce great shots and look forward to seeing what it delivers. Marvelous! Keith.

To remove the Minolta top plate is simple. 3 screws (2 on top 1 on the side) the advance lever and a small retaining ring under the rewind crank, it then just lifts off... Great little cameras are the Hi-Matics 👍

I have a few, but haven't used them yet, although I really love the split image focus system and some auto functions, they really help if we are sure about either aperture or shutter and want the camera to set the other. I've only used SLR, but this video really now got me interested again to use them. What I don't like is just the soft shutter, it feels like I didn't take any photos and something is wrong with the release button, but that's how it is. It does help in animal/bird photography when you don't want to startle them and to avoid any shakes, that an SLR would give.

Good video. I personally Love my Olympus 35LC. and of course.... the Olympus 35RC

Great episode. I was very impressed with the pictures you took using the Minolta. It has such a good lens. I hope you will show us how you get on with the Konica in a future video assuming your repairs were successful.

I very much enjoy these style 70s rangefinders. I've got the Canon Canonet QL17 GIII. It was more expensive (~$150 in good condition) than the ones you showcased. It has a great feel and produces lovely images. Thanks for all your excellent videos highlighting the cameras and lens from the past.

I love the Yashica Minister range, I have the Minister D and the Minister III, both with the 45mm f2.8 lens. I also have the Minolta Hi Matic as featured, but mine has a problem with the film wind on return spring, you have to return it manually. Still works though, just not as convenient. The 50s and 60s were a great time to be into photography, so mant lovely cameras to choose from, and many of them survive to this day for us to enjoy all over again. Nice episode again Nigel. Be well George

I've got a Petri Racer- very similar in size/look to that Konika- with the 40mm f/1.8 lens. It needs some TLC (aperture blades need cleaning, light seals need replacement; leaf shutter is just fine) but I'm looking forward to trying it out one of these days. Got it from the local camera shop for US$25!

Removal of the top plate I’m not an expert, but the general rule with Japanese rangefinders seems to be that to remove the top plate you should (1) remove the rewind knob (2) unscrew the set nut of the wind lever (for the Himatic this will require a lens spanner) and (3) remove any screws. My only experience of this type of work is with a Konica Auto S2, but according to the (rather vague) instructions for the Minolta Himatic 7 (not 7S) in Michio Ozeki’s book: (1) Unscrew the rewind knob [by hand, while holding the spool in position with a screwdriver lodged in the fork of the spool - apparently the spool will also now come out on this camera.] (2) Carefully loosen the set nut of the wind lever using a lens spanner - the nut has two small notches. Make a note of the order and orientation of any parts that can now be lifted off (the lever plus anything else - Ozeki doesn’t specify what you will find, maybe there is nothing under the lever?) (3) Use the lens spanner to loosen the presser ring at the rewind side [I assume this is exposed when the rewind knob is removed]. (4) Remove two screws (looking at images of the 7S online, one is on the side near the wind lever, the other is at the back). Now you can lift off the plate, watching out for the shutter release button which will lift off. Again the Ozeki book is unclear - if it is like the Konica the rangefinder and viewfinder chambers will be covered with a thin metal dust shield held in place by a couple of screws, if so this can easily be removed. CAUTION: Ozeki specifically warns that the gold plating on the half mirror (the angled section in the viewfinder chamber) may be susceptible to damage if mirror cleaning is attempted. You should be ok cleaning the internal surfaces of the viewfinder tunnel itself, which may improve the rangefinder. Good luck!

I have an Hi-Matic 7S. It does have an Off switch, it is on the ISO setting lever. When mine arrived there were no foam light seals, and I read somewhere that they are not really required. I thought I'd give it at try and have put maybe 10 rolls through it without any sign of light leaks. Maybe I just struck lucky. I particularly like using the 7S with Rollei Superpan 200 and an IR720 filter, it never seems to miss the exposure and some of the results are very good.

Love my little Minolta Hi matic 7sII, though it’s currently jammed up, though will get that sorted out soon. Great Rokko lens.

I have the Yashica 35 GL the only difference is 40mm vs 45mm and the light sensor is on the lens so compensates when using filters. I am really impressed with my Yashica it produces wonderfuly sharp and with good contrast photos.

Best of the entire category? Fujica Compact Deluxe Why? Modern battery, fully mechanical, shutter priority AE or manual, rear dial focus, tack sharp 6-element 40mm lens, and meter display in the viewfinder. I like small rangefinders, but the lenses are too crowded with the controls for my big hands. The Fujica solves that with the rear dial focus. It's also got amazing clean lines, with the lever on the bottom.

Nigel have bought a Minolta High matic 7s off e bay for about £20 It may not be perfect but it's perfect for me as the song says.... So will see how I get on.... watch this space!!?

Japan Vintage Cameras has a KZfaq channel that covers repair and several vids cover the Minolta Hi-Matics.

The 7Si is smaller than the 7 and I prefer the finder in the 7Si

. My minolta HI..Matic not a posh one like yours in fact base model...rokkor 45mm f2.8....no battery just selenium cell next to vf....single speed and B and auto..... Looks to me to be trying to compete with Olympus trip 35....still a rangefinder distance scale no zone focus unless you guess.....!!!

Are you going to make a video of replacing the light seals?

🐣

Decided to sell my Hi matic and buy better one all on e-bay just saying.....Nigel...