🌐Website Resource Index
This strives to include at least a link to each site that allows anyone to dive further or pick up information at a glance.
Minoltapedia - Minolta Websites, Links, and Resources
This covers all the best resources you could need to read up, learn, troubleshoot, or repair Minolta gear. Many of these are already on the subreddit's menu links. This page allows for more links to be included, as well as a short description of what they actually are. This isn't exhaustive, but I'm striving to include at least a link to each site that allows anyone to dive further or pick up information at a glance. This is regularly updated and would always appreciate extra resource links if you know any! Just send a modmail and credit will be given where it's due for finding it.
I can also recommend checking out these other Minoltopedia Resources;
Wiki-/Encyclopedias
These resources are community and user-generated from a variety of sources, some of which cite other resources listed further below. As with all Wiki contents, without checking the citations it's difficult to tell if everything is 100% accurate. Good for a quick read, but remember to take it with a grain of salt unless it's backed up by a reliable source!
CameraWiki has an immense wealth of information on Minolta, covering everything from history, logo changes, most camera models, and finishes off with a huge source-list and bibliography if you want to verify further. It also cites many Minolta websites and Communities listed on this page!
This is kept for posterity, as the information on it is limited and the citations are a bit dubious.
Whilst the main entry for Minolta on Wikipedia is fairly lacklustre, the A-Mount entry goes into a lot of depth. If you wanna figure out the Minolta A-mount system quickly, this should be your first stop.
Communities
Social Media
If you ever want to know anything about Minolta, down to the serial numbers, you come here. There’s also lots of material here, and links to other resources. Also the only other remaining active community regarding Minolta exclusively.
The imagery for the banner came from scans of Minolta material from this community, for which I give my appreciation. In particular, I give thanks to Garry L., Henrik R., and Maury J. who gave permission to use their scans, as well as others whose scans were not included in the final banner.
The original and main subreddit for all things Minolta, it had been neglected for several years. A reddit request in September 2021 allowed it to be updated in line with reddit's redesign, similar to r/MinoltaGang.
This subreddit was made when r/minolta was abandoned, to get a feel for Reddit and testing out features before releasing them on the main Minolta subreddit. This hosts the original Minoltapedia, but is in line with the one available on Gitbook (here).
If r/minolta is the sister sub of r/MinoltaGang, the Discord is the brother community. Join for Minolta content as well as more relaxed conversations about dinner, your pets, etc. Courtesy of u/TomahawkEVO who got into contact, Minolta enthusiasts can talk even more to their heart's content about their gear, talk cars or food, or ask an impromptu question if you're not in a directly-related thread topic posting mood on reddit.
Forums
Dyxum (Dynax/Maxxum) is the one-stop community for all things related to the A-mount, from cameras to lens reviews. Each review is created by users who own the gear and contribute to the forums, which have been around since 2004. Naturally it covers Minolta, Konica Minolta, and Sony A-mounts.
A Minolta and Sony camera German-speaking forum that has been active for the last 20 years. Members of this community were able to organise the last conversions of Alpha 7/9's to SSM from Sony in 2015, an amazing feat considering those cameras were last made by Minolta in 1999 and stopped service in 2007. Get Google translate fired up, or viel Glück!
Another Minolta and Sony A-Mount Community Forum, but French-speaking! Monthly photo contests are there to take part in, and are still active. Again, the forum can be navigated for information using Google Translate, or Bon Chance with your French!
Independent/Dedicated Minolta Websites
Tabikaseki - Memories of Minolta [JP]
This rather clunky website is an absolute goldmine - from 1967 to 2005, Juichi Shinya worked at Minolta in Camera Design and Automation. His 'Memories' Series covers his time working at Minolta/Konica Minolta and the developments he oversaw from his nearly 40-year career. This includes the 50 Year Anniversary[JP] and Konica and Minolta's entire Camera lineup.
He also gives insight into some models he designed and tested, including the Leitz-Minolta CL, the Minolta XD, the Minolta X-700, and the Minolta Alpha 7000. This is about as close as it gets to see what Minolta was like from the inside.
John McGloin - MINMAN (Rehosted Version)
John McGloin - MINMAN (Archived Version)
Formally and formerly proclaimed “The best website dedicated to anything Minolta Manual Focus”, the owner abruptly shut down the site in 2016. This has been archived and rehosted with much of the resources still available online. It's not pretty, some links are broken, and the website isn't properly configured, but 'MINMAN' is still the go-to place for information on anything Manual Focus.
It covers a lot of adjacent topics, including Minolta Macro, Flash, and Metering Gear, good Books on Minolta, a History of Minolta, and even info on the Minolta X-300 copies made by Seagull!
Additionally he also has the most comprehensive Minolta SLR Comparison Table available. Occasionally the link to it doesn't work, so here's the archived version!
Another hobbyist website covering the majority of Minolta manual focus gear. This is still hosted by the owner, but no longer updated. An excellent resource that is more enjoyable to read and look at than the Minman site, albeit not as encyclopaedic as other more technical pages. For many, this is the first port of call if you want to learn more about Minolta.
CJ's Classic Cameras - Minolta
CJ has amassed a large personal collection of cameras, and Minolta had taken his fancy. In particular he takes interest in the non-SLR models, accompanying each are professional level product-shots of the cameras. Great for diving into the older or less common models from Minolta, and getting a look at them.
Mhohner - Minolta/Konica Minolta A-Mount Film Bodies
Michael Hohner's website is a compendium of all available A-mount cameras, lenses, flashes and accessories in a simple table format, and is often updated with new information. It covers all A-mount cameras from the first in 1985 (Minolta Alpha/Dynax/Maxxum 7000) to the last in 2016 (Sony Alpha/A-99 II). It has a lot of technical information, so much that you have to go to the bottom of the page to scroll across to see the rest (or zoom out the page).
It also has the best FAQ's around regarding A-mount lens compatibility with which bodies, among other things.
Butkus/Orphan Cameras - Minolta Manuals
The single largest resource of old camera manuals freely available on the web, he’s got a lot on various Minoltas if you ever buy one without a manual. I’d recommend looking at the other manuals and resources he’s got too, on the main camera page. He always appreciates a donation to keep the site running if you're the charitable type. If not, you can also purchase prints of the manuals without watermarks to support the site.
EarthSunFilm - Vintage Minolta Love Project
Since 2020, Earth Sun Film has been writing blogs intending to review every major SLR from Minolta, from 1958 to 2004. They have also been writing other great articles such as 'Buying guide for Newbies', their own Resource List with books to look out for, and most notable the US Minolta Repair Directory.
A former collective of Minolta Users back when Minolta still made cameras, it looks like the last update to the webpage occurred in 2004. It was hosted in several countries across the world, however only the European address remains online. Contributed to by various authors, it covers various bodies from the Manual Focus and AF eras, as well as some specifications on lenses, Flashes, and the Creative Expansion Cards.
A barebones resource, what Flashback lacks in overall Minolta content, it makes up with the detail it with it's handpicked articles. Acting as a 'top-up' to other resources, the coverage of Minolta Anglefinders is unmatched, as is it's pages on the Himatic 7s/7sII and Minolta RF Mirror Lenses. It also has the Minolta Camera Collectors group on Facebook associated with it, though it's used mostly to buy and sell Minolta equipment and not as a community.
Konica Minolta Support - Frequently Asked Questions
Despite announcing their departure from the photographic industry in 2006 and their complete absence by 2008, Konica Minolta still maintain a support page. Chock full of support FAQ's, it focuses mostly on their AF lineup. There are some gems regarding their older manual focus systems however, you just need to find them...
Artaphot dives into Minolta SLR's (Manual and Auto Focus), as well as lenses, the only catch is that it is in German (possibly Swiss German). In any case, it's an invaluable resource much like the other foreign-language sites linked here, and is often referenced in English-speaking Minolta communities!
If Minman had a French cousin, it would probably be Suaudeau. Chock-full of information, from Visual Camera History, Manuals & Brochures, to Service Manuals and Homemade Repair Guides, it's a great resource for French speakers, and for English speakers most of it can be translated through google. Bon Voyage!
This is Minman's hypothetical Italian cousin. Whilst the website is primarily in Italian, many of the pages are written in both Italian and English, such as the Minolta Lenses Table, and their Personal Minolta Gear Table. Much of the other information is in Italian but well worth a read and look through. you might find something cuddly!
Kenko-Tokina - Konica Minolta Info Archive [JP]
While they recently announced that they no longer provide support for Konica Minolta cameras, they do still have a wonderful resources on Konica and Minolta History, DiMAGE Driver software, and some Manuals (in Japanese). Most of the webpages can be translated for some interesting facts! Unfortunately as the pages have been removed from the web since 2023, the archive is all that's left and you may have to do some digging to find certain pages.
Cameras
General Minolta Camera Overviews
John McGloin/Minman - Minolta 35mm SLR Comparison Table
This is an archived page of a table comparing every manual focus Minolta SLR available from Minman's website. For some reason this page is normally unavailable through the regular Minman site link, so it has a separate entry. It's great for a quick look at features of each camera, including less known details like manufacturing periods, and supported accessories.
Knippsen - Estimated Minolta SLR Production Amounts
Knippsen used a fairly accurate algorithim to estimate SLR production numbers for a number of camera manufacturers. Obviously we'd be only interested in the Minolta estimates.
Since Minolta never really produced production totals for any of their series beyond 'Millionth Limited Edition' versions, serial number counts and estimates are all we have to guess how many were produced. There is a lot of erring on the side of caution with these estimates, but generally you can quantify how rare a model was to another, e.g. X-700's outnumber XK's about 40 times (2.1M vs 51K).
If you want to try it out, you can estimate it yourself with some serial numbers for models online or elsewhere!
Dick Sullivan - Minolta Manual Focus SLR's
An archive of Dick Sullivan's old Manual SLR page. As well as covering the SR, SRT, and 'X' (K,E,D,G,-100) series cameras in a more readable format than the Minman archive, it also covers a few technical tidbits such as The Mercury Battery Dilemma, SRT Troubleshooting, and Light Meter Relationships (including Sunny 16). This was so important that these pages were even backed up on the Rokkorfiles Site
LeoFoo on the Malaysia Internet Resources (MIR) site hosts a rather large resource on various film camera brands and models, particularly Nikons. At the bottom in red text is the Minolta Section. He covers a few popular models (XK, XD7, X-700, Alpha/Dynax/Maxxum 7000, and a barebones page on the 7000i). His content acts as a supplement to other resources, so it's a nice refreshing read after ingesting others.
Mike Eckman - Minolta Camera Reviews
Mike Eckman reviews cameras. He reviews a LOT of cameras. So much so that he has amassed a great pile of review work on Minolta cameras, SLR, Rangefinder, APS, manual focus and Auto Focus.
As a bonus, he also holds regular podcasts. Last year the topic ended up being Minolta, featuring an absolutely terrible Disco cover of popular music, released by Minolta in the 70's. I wish I was joking but you're just going to have to listen to it.
Specific Minolta Camera Pages
Paul Sokk/Leica Copies Japan - Minolta 35 Rangefinder
There's not many links regarding Minolta's Rangefinder offerings here, but that's about to change! Starting with the earliest Rangefinder by Minolta, a Leica LTM competitor with some improvements. This extensive page covers everything you would want to know, from Model types and variations, available lenses and accessories, as well as the 'Minolta Sky' Prototype. Sprinkled in at the start and end is a little bit of history, and Minolta's last flirting's with Leica, the CL/CLE
Volker covers all the SR cameras in series, starting with the SR-2, SR-1, the lesser known SR-3, SR-7, the SR-1s, and the motorised SR-M. You might be surprised to learn that the SR had a long established career, from 1959 to 1977!
Flynn Graphics - SR-1 including Manuals
Flynn has a short and sweet entry on one his cameras from his past. What makes this page interesting is the high resolution scans of the Manuals of the SR-2, an early SR-1 (without the clip-on meter), and a late model SR-1 (with the clip-on meter). Not even the mighty Butkus has a manual for this!
The Breakfast Post - Early SR-1 Notes
Chris Cannam's personal blog is mostly about music software, but as a hobbyist he goes into extraordinary detail about the Minolta SR-1(a) and the Minolta SR-1(b) Models. He also details a repair job on his Minolta XG-9 which resulted in a 3D model being created for a broken piece, now available to anyone with a 3D Printer!
Fred Wix -Autocord: Minolta’s TLRs
Fred’s website covers details on the Minolta Autocord models, which can be even more confusing than SRT’s. Very specific, but very handy if you are in the market for a TLR that isn’t as expensive as a Rollei, Yashica, or other well-known brand.
Mikkonis provided an excellent rundown of one of the more underrated series of Minolta - the XE. No website since has come near to the attention paid by Mikkonis to the XE. Unfortunately like most other nice resources formerly on GeoCities, the site went down when the host closed. This is archive of the original site.
High 5 Cameras - The 'X' Factor (X-7/5/300)
Mel does an in-depth review of the final manual focus SLR series by Minolta, the popular X-hundred series. The review covers everything, from why not all X-700's suffer from capacitor problems, the 'secret features' of the X-500, and why you should discount the X-300 as your first, second, or even Nth Minolta camera!
If you're in the market for the most technically advanced M-mount rangefinder between 1980-2001, then read no further. Stephen Gandy's Camera Quest hits all the buttons to sell the CLE to your heart, and why your brain should be in agreement. He also covers the earlier Leitz/Minolta CL and how it possibly threatened the sales of the Leica M4 and M5 at the time.
Do you want to learn everything about the Minolta 9000 AF SLR? Did you want it on a domain that is easy to remember, and covers the 9000 to the degree that you will have no questions about the 9000 AF SLR ever again? What do you mean you've never heard of the 9000 AF SLR!?
Marcus Wedberg has put some serious effort and love into his website all about the Minolta 9000 A-Mount camera. So much so, that the website is literally "www.9000.org". Even if you have no interest in A-mount I recommend paying a visit just to look at his webdesign.
From an unknown author, they explain the features and summarise the lens selections for the flagship APS SLR cameras (Vectis S1 and S100) offered by Minolta. I'm not sure if anyone uses APS film anymore, but this is kept for posterity and interest.
Paulschow - Using an RD175 in 2023
Paul covers in his project blog how to use the State-of-the-Art Digital (Note: in 1995) Minolta RD175 in 2023. Hope you've got PCMIA and SCSI adaptors!
Vitor Fonseca - Alpha/Maxxum/Dynax Creative Expansion Cards
This was found by 84hachi on the MinoltaGang Discord. With the release of the 2nd-Generation Minolta Autofocus Cameras (7000i,1988), they included a slot to insert a "Creative Expansion Card". These optional accessories added creative Program features that produced certain stylistic outputs, included extra Custom Functions, or stored settings for shots taken.
These had limited success, and by the final AF generation (Alpha/Dynax/Maxxum 3/5/7/9/9 Ti) in 1997, they were dropped as some CE-Cards' programs were incorporated into the cameras by default.
Despite being in quite a few i, xi, and si-series Autofocus Minoltas, there isn't a lot of documentation on them. This page however covers them all, including Product Numbers and Camera Model Compatibility!
Lenses
Dennis Lohmann - Minolta Manual Lens List
Covers every manual-focus SLR lens made by Minolta, as well as version types, release dates, technical data, etc. There's even a separate page for Lens Shades and some examples of Master Lenses for calibration.
Same as the Minolta Manual Lens List, but also covers Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and some others in the same format.
Minolta SU (formerly LensQAWorks)
Infamous for being absolutely saturated with anime girls, it’s also the best website to compare Minolta lenses against each other brands and the variations, in an objective and technical manner... if you can get past the weebery. Sorry!
Phillip Reeves - Guide to Adaptors for MD/MC Lenses
Phillip Reeve’s page reviews every adaptor available in the market up to 2018 to adapt Minolta MC/MD Lenses to a mirrorless camera. It’s covered in multiple pages depending on what brands you have, and goes into a bit more for Sony mirrorless cameras.
Optic Explorer - Minolta/Konica Minolta Lenses Simulator
This was first found by u/SaltySolomon on the MinoltaGang Discord. Optic Explorer is a 2-D optical lens simulator and designer. Some very helpful people have loaded up quite a few Minolta MD and RF-Rokkor lenses onto the database to simulate their performance! Filter through the 'Konica Minolta' folder and look at the lens designs available!
Peter Blaise - Minolta Manual Focus Lenses Interoperability/FAQ's
From a long archived page, Peter goes into detail about just how each series of Minolta's SR MC/MD lenses are compatible with each Minolta SR-mount body. It also goes through the nomenclature of the older MC Rokkor naming system.
Scanners and Scanning
Konica Minolta - DiMAGE Scanner Series
The official support page for Minolta Scanners, including drivers, manuals, and specifications. Yes, you can STILL get Windows XP/Mac 1.0 drivers for your 1995 SCSI scanner!
Roy Vanegas - Guide to using DiMAGE Scanners on Windows 10
If you can't/won't pay for Vuescan and the scanner drivers from the links above won't play nice on Windows 8/10/11, you can DIY some code sourced by Roy Vanegas to get it to work. This refers to the Dual Scan IV, but the .inf file refers to all Minolta scanner models. I have personally troubleshot driver issues with my Dual Scan II for Windows 10 & 11 using this article, and it works!
ScanTips - Minolta Dimage Dual Scan II Tips
As the earliest Dual Scanner to be USB compatible, it's also the cheapest available to start scanning 35mm yourself. Might be worth having a review and rundown of the software from the time!
Digital Junk (via Lomography) - Under the Hood of a Dimage Dual Scan IV
This article covers each step to get into a Dimage Dual Scan IV for cleaning dust from the mirror and lens inside. The coolest part about this is that the Dual Scan II and III share the same general design, so this can be used as a guide for them too! I have personally used this guide to work on my DSD II, and the part placement is an exact match!
Repairs
EarthSunFilm - US Repair Directory
This independent site covers an ever-updating directory for Minolta camera repair services across the US, as well as what models each repair site can service. Disclaimer: It doesn't vouch for them, it only offers ones people have mentioned. Personally, I would avoid Garry's Camera Repairs.
Karl Bryan - Autocord Repairs
Karl doesn't have a webpage or anything, but he comes highly recommended. He's located in the US, and is only contactable by email (karl.kathy@frontier.com) as far as I'm aware. He's not found on the EarthSunFilm Directory, so it's included here.
678 Vintage Cameras - What's up with Minolta Capacitors?
678 Vintage Cameras gives a complete rundown of the infamous capacitor issue, what models it affects, why, and how YOU can repair it, including links to the parts you'd need!
Learn Camera Repair - Minolta Service Manuals
Learn Camera Repair is an excellent resource for learning to repair old cameras, includes a course to undertake to repair yourself, and hosts ton of repair guides and official service manuals from various camera companies. This link will take you directly to the Minolta Service Manuals Page.
High5Cameras - Minolta Repair Articles
This small website primarily sells camera equipment, but I've linked it here for it's more important resource: Repair Articles written by Mel. This includes an XG-1 Restoration, X-700 capacitor replacements, and some common Minolta lens disassemblies.
'Frugal Mike' covers some of his experiences understanding and repairing his SRT camera. Text-heavy, but very concise with his information. The highlight of his Tune-Ups is the Mercury Cell Replacement Chart that sums up pretty well what your options are and what the pros and cons are of each.
SyberSite's Konica Minolta 5D/7D Manuals and 2186 Adjustment Program
Back in 2007 following Konica Minolta's exit from the imaging industry, they rather rudely demanded Dyxum close all links to the Service Manuals and Documentation they had built for the the then-new DiMAGE SLR's.
In response, they were archived and hosted externally on the SyberSite. In an unrelated turn of events, a Russian Minolta fan found a closing down sale of service parts for Konica Minolta service equipment, including a company-internal software package used to service and diagnose Konica Minolta 5D/7D Cameras. They were nice enough to share it with everyone, however their site went down soon afterwards and the software was lost, but not before the SyberSite also kept a copy.
Fortunately the archived SyberSite of the program and service manual was found by u/mimisnapshots! The software is considered abandonware given that no one services Konica Minolta cameras anymore, and it is not hosted directly on this website. Just bear in mind the program as intended for professionals and can risk bricking your camera if misused. It is highly advised to read through all the accompanying links and discussions to understand more regarding the program.
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