Minolta A (The Lump)
Not a very flattering nick name for a camera I will admit but a lump is a lump. Being that the camera is now over 50 years old though it can be forgiven. The lens isn’t that fast, having a maximum aperture of 3.5 but the 4 elements in 3 group 45mm ‘Rokkor’ lens is surprisingly good (when it was in focus). My camera needs a little TLC to tighten the lens to the camera body before the two parts part, and to adjust the rangefinder. Its build is nowhere near as good as the Minolta Super A but then it’s not as heavy either.
Despite the issues I had with the rangefinder not working and the lens not being tightly attached to the body (It’s not interchangeable the lens is supposed to stay on) I was surprised by the results which again were obtained on cheap film and without a meter. Its results like this that convince me to do silly things like make cameras from Lego or random camera parts.
Oh I almost forgot this camera has the worst rewind lever ever and took me several minutes just to rewind a roll of 24. As you turn the tiny little wheel, with no mechanical advantage, it goes back almost as far as you just went forward. It was a struggle.