I spent a long time searching for the perfect compact and after weeks of thinking (and having read Hamish’s review a number of times) I ended up with a Minolta TC1.
Why? It has everything I want in a compact camera:
Form: It’s pocketable. Not “pocketable” like a lot of compacts, where it physically fits in your pocket but it looks like you’re carrying a brick in your trousers. Actually pocketable. The result: it comes everywhere with me.
Function: It shoots in aperture priority mode. It retains settings when you turn it on and off i.e. I can set it and forget about it. The viewfinder is bright, clear and has all the information I need in it.
Lens: It’s unreal. It delivers sharp, contrasty, beautiful images with a certain character that means every image has a “TC1 feel” to it.
I’ve owned plenty of film cameras in my time but I’ve put more rolls through this camera than any other by some distance. Its size and its ability to get out of your way whilst consistently producing amazing images means it’s hard to leave the house without it.
Below are five shots taken from a roll of Portra shot on our three week honeymoon in Sri Lanka (with the last image on the roll shot in a South London car park).
These images are all as they came back from the lab (corrected by the lab for colour cast and nothing else). Hopefully you’ll agree with my view that this lens is one of the best ever put on a compact!
If, like me, you spent hours trying to decide which compact is the one for you (and assuming 28mm works for you as a focal length), buy this camera. You won’t regret it.
You can see more images from this camera (and a few others) on my instagram: isa_on_film
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Comments
StephenJ on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
I looked at Ebay in regard to this camera... I was shocked, I thought that Contax compacts were bad. Remember that these cameras have primitive electronics that can never be repaired once broken.
Whilst I agree with your assertions regarding lens quality, I would rather have a pocketable Leica screwmount, and a fair few rolls of film thrown in for that money.
The camera and lens would last forever, you would learn more about the mechanics of photography and the lenses have more character than any of those compacts, and can be sourced from a plethora of manufacturers and price points.
Finally, you could sell it for more than you paid for it whenever you want to.
Isa on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
I would argue that a screwmount is the exact type of camera that goes into the “pocketable” rather than actually pocketable cameras I’ve referred to above, at least in any pair of jeans I own. Fortunately, for a number of years I have shot (and continue to shoot) manual cameras so have that experience, I don’t necessarily turn to this camera to learn the mechanics of photography.
Ultimately comparing a pocketable, autofocus compact to a Leica screwmount to me feels like apples and pears. Of course a Leica will last longer and is a better long term investment, but I don’t shoot film to save money or to invest, I shoot it because it’s fun and I love the images and shooting this camera is fun! Fortunately you don’t always have to buy a Leica to shoot Leica quality, the lens on this camera was so loved that an M mount version of the lens was created ;)
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Nigel Cliff on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Faraz on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Thomas Risberg on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
-Thomas
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Phil on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Brian on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 29/12/2018
Daniel Castelli on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 30/12/2018
My favorite pic is the one of her sitting in the open door of the train. It captures the excitement of your journey.
Happy New Year.
Comment posted: 30/12/2018
Comment posted: 30/12/2018
Robert on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 30/12/2018
Comment posted: 30/12/2018
Daniel Castelli on 5 frames with the Minolta TC1 – By Isa Maidan
Comment posted: 01/01/2019
I did an article on 35mmc "Five Frames with..." on my adventures with my CL last summer (2017). Check it out. The CL prices seem to be like a rubber ball, bouncing up & down. I actually sold my Leica CL, and replaced it with the Leitz-Minolta version of the CL (not the CLE.) The L/M version incorporated the engineering tweaks that Leica initiated over the production run. I'm very lucky: my exposure meter works. I switch the 40mm M-Rokkor between my CL and the two (film) M bodies I own. A nice little lens, performs well and is mostly ignored by the lens sharks gobbling up any M mount Leica lens. Happy new year & good shooting.