Minolta hi-matic e

<p>Hello everyone. I just bought this camera. I know it's fully automated, but does anyone know how the camera determines right exposure? For example, will it choose fastest aperature before slowing down shutter or? What is the balance. I know i can make some changes in exposure with iso, but not sure to what affect?</p>

<p>I don't recall ever seeing the program for the HiMatic E's exposure so it might or might not favor higher shutter speeds more. A test you might perform would be to focus near the minimum focus of the lens with the tripod-mounted camera set for ISO 400. You will need a way of varying the amount of light on your subject. Start with the light level at the threshold of activating the camera's slow shutter speed warning. Gradually increase light levels until the lens appears to be stopped down to its minimum aperture. You can look at the front of the lens to see how much the lens stops down. You can repeat with a roll of film loaded if you like. If you have a light meter or a camera with a built in meter you can also note the settings that each exposure is made at.</p>

<p>http://mattsclassiccameras.com/minolta_himatic_e.html hopefully this helps, the way this camera works is a bit strange for a point and shoot.</p>

<p>Okay thanks guys. There doesn't seem to be enough information. Maybe i'll try testing it myself and see how it behaves.</p>

<p>I participated in a "pass the camera around the world" event over at The Rangefinder Forum. The camera that was chosen for this event was a Minolta Hi-Matic, the "E" flavor, if memory serves. When it finally arrived at my doorstep, I was initially troubled by its lack of countrols. Just range focus, as I recall, and ISO. But I went ahead and shot a couple of rolls of Fuji Superia 400 through it. I did not use a flash, all photos were taken outdoors, and the light for most of the photos was overcast or subdued. Not one of the images suffered from camera shake, despite the low light levels. Probably having 400 ISO film helped in that regard. But because of this, I also suspect that the camera's exposure routine probably does bias toward a higher shutter speed whenever possible. Minolta knew a camera like this would mostly be used for handheld snapshots, so it makes sense that they would try to bias the program for the highest shutter speed possible.</p>

 

<p>This has been my backup camera for years when I travel . It always seems to peg the exposures .<br>

I've even covered the lens with my sunglasses and it never fails to give me a great exposure. On a <br>

future trip I'm fighting my concerns about bringing a Fujica GL690 or Mamiya 7, but I'm sure as<br>

heck bringing my Hi-Matic E. Peter</p>