5 frames with Minolta AF-S and well expired Kodak Ultra 400 – By Matt Krajewski

By Pure.amateur

Last year I bought a wee Kodak Brownie 127 and my adventure with analogue cameras has quickly developed into collecting; aka hoarding. Now, I have around 50 cameras in my collection, all working and all to be used (but when?).

This square Minolta AF-S was purchased in my local charity shop for pennies. I got it mainly because I can’t let others to have them hahaha, it also has a nice 35mm f 2.8 lens, ISO from 25-1000, and most important; flash is switched on manually. Minolta AF-S was released around 1984.. the same year I was born.

I’ve loaded it with a well expired Kodak Ultra 400 film. Like most of my point and shoot cameras, I carried boxy Minolta with me most of the time. Majority of the photos taken were of my family and friends, but few of them were of some random stuff.

It’s hard to judge on the quality of the Minolta as the film had some serious colour shift even I set the ISO to 200 to compensate for the years in the storage. However, I believe that with fresh roll of KodakColor 200 the final effect would be very satisfying.

This relatively small camera is very intuitive to use, only settings we have are an ISO and a flash, all the rest is set by the camera itself. Focus was always bang on apart of once when I was probably to close to my dog.

Will I keep it?……. I’ll shoot my Canon AF35ML QD first and then will decide.

Thanks for reading. More cameras to come !

Instagram: pure.amateur

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About The Author

By Pure.amateur
Love shooting film and collecting vintage cameras
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Comments

Gemma on 5 frames with Minolta AF-S and well expired Kodak Ultra 400 – By Matt Krajewski

Comment posted: 12/07/2020

Hey,
Did you decide to keep it? Or would you be interested in selling the lens cover? Just I lost mine and I have the exact camera for years it means a lot to me and my family.
Thanks so much,
Gemma
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Graeme on 5 frames with Minolta AF-S and well expired Kodak Ultra 400 – By Matt Krajewski

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

My first AF-S had such a sharp lens I bought two more (one for colour, one for b&w and one just in case) and paid no more than £10 for any. They use AA batteries and I love them.
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Pure.amateur replied:

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

It's a great camera to use. At the moment I have a large stock of other 35mm and 120 to test before I which will be my main point and shoot and SLR. Recently I got MJU II which I don't think I'll use that much as never liked MJU I

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Danny on 5 frames with Minolta AF-S and well expired Kodak Ultra 400 – By Matt Krajewski

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

You've got a very good eye for composition - keep shooting!
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Pure.amateur replied:

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

Thanks. I definitely will!

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David Angell on 5 frames with Minolta AF-S and well expired Kodak Ultra 400 – By Matt Krajewski

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

I have the Minolta Talker, which is this same camera with the added feature of it talking to you. If you try to take a photo in low light, the camera says, "Too dark. Use flash."
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Pure.amateur replied:

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

I've heard it can be really annoying?

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David Angell replied:

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

It doesn't bother me. It makes me laugh, because it sounds ridiculous.

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Philip Lewis Lambert on 5 frames with Minolta AF-S and well expired Kodak Ultra 400 – By Matt Krajewski

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

Hard to assess the results when the film is so bad. An in-date film would give a much better result from the same camera. Is modern film so much dearer than old material?
Phil
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Pure.amateur replied:

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

The cheapest film you can get in UK is Kodak colorplus 200 24exp for £3 in Jessops so it's not that expensive. Most expensive can cost £20 a roll. But if you come across an expired film for 10-50p it would be a crime not to buy it ;)

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Krishna Kumar in on 5 frames with Minolta AF-S and well expired Kodak Ultra 400 – By Matt Krajewski

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

You are absolutely right Matt !
Minolta excelled in making Autofocus Compacts with brilliant, sharp lenses, particularly the f/2.8 ones.
I feel what kept Minolta apart from others is their commitment to very superior build quality with very good lenses... !
I consider you to be lucky to have found the AF-S ... And please remember that it is for keeps ... !!!
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Pure.amateur replied:

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

I have a large number of Minolta cameras and i don't think ill part with any of them. I like the fact they are usually coming quite cheap compared to the Nikon or Canon.

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Terry B on 5 frames with Minolta AF-S and well expired Kodak Ultra 400 – By Matt Krajewski

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

Yes, this is what can happen with seriously outdated film. But, take heart. Picasso went through various periods during his life. Just class these results as your "Lomography" period, then literally millions will fave them. ????
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Pure.amateur replied:

Comment posted: 06/04/2019

Haha, I've got quite a large stock of expired film and just using it to practice. Sometimes i wish is used fresh film when I actually like the results.

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