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Minolta 7sII
Compact, well finished 35RF with fast
lens, AE and manual exposure. Some Minolta fans
believe the 7sII has the same lens as the Minolta produced 40/2 Leica CL. I
have not been able to confirm this, but welcome any more information on the subject.
The Plus Side
- Beautifully finished, better than most cameras of
its genre
- Compact 35 Rangefinder with 40/1.7 lens, focusing
to 36"
- Nice viewfinder/rangefinder with AE selected
F/stops in finder
- Shutter priority AE with manual over-ride
(non-metered), with NO lock beyond its limits
- The AE chosen f/stops are shown in the finder
- Very Quiet leaf shutter.
- The focusing lever is large, easy to grasp and
quick to operate
- AE exposure lock, just depress the shutter release
slightly
- Manual over-ride, alas with no metering.
- Large, convenient easy to use controls
- Flash sync at all speeds, 1/8 to 1/500 plus B.
- CDS cell inside 49 mm ring, making filter
compensation automatic
- ASA range 25-800
- Lens caps serves as ON/OFF switch to save battery
current -- no separate switch.
- To set the shutter on B, push
in the chrome catch on the left side of the lens
- Threaded cable shutter
release
- Weight 17 oz, measurements 4 9/16" long
x 3" high x 2 5/16" deep 115mm x 77mm x 60mm
- The 7sII camera case is well done of quality leather, higher quality
than most of its competitors.
- As a side note, the Minolta 7sII and Konica S3 are so
similar in size and features, I can't help but wonder if they
had the same designer or even came out of the same factory.

The Negative
- Not an easy to find camera, at least in the US.
- Designed for MERCURY 1.35v Eveready EPX-675
or equivalent
- Hot Shoe only -- no PC outlet
- NO Guide Number flash control, unlike many of its
competitors.
- NO metering in manual, just like most of its competitors.
The Minolta 7sII is small,
nicely made, and offers both AE and manual exposure. Yet it is an average design of
its type with no features to set it apart from its competition. While Yashica,
Olympus and Canon sought to compete in this class by adding new features, Minolta instead
was satisfied with a well finished camera of average specifications.
Revised:
November 25, 2003
. Copyright © 1998-2002
Stephen Gandy. All rights reserved. This means you may NOT
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publication of ANY kind. Information in this document is subject to change
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holders.