Lomopedia: Minolta Autocord

Sometimes, a quality product doesn’t need to break the bank. That’s exactly the case with the Minolta Autocord medium format TLR. Other high-end camera manufacturers during the 1950s were mostly German. Although they did produce high-quality gear, they also charged way higher than other companies. They say that you get what you pay for and we can’t argue with that but that’s where the Minolta Autocord overtook them — the medium format camera offered good if not better performance while remaining affordable for lower-budget consumers.

The Autocord is one of those cameras that cemented the position of Japanese brands in the camera manufacturing scene, the other being Nikon and their iconic Nikon F SLR. The Autocord is a 120/medium-format twin lens reflex camera that shot clean and crisp images with its Tessar-type, 4-element Rokkor 75 mm f/3.5 lens. It is one of those cameras that just purely create high-quality images with every click of the shutter due to its fine design and even finer construction.

Its features include a choice between slow shutter speeds (for low-light shots), low aperture settings (for possibly soft-focused images), self-timer, and an override button for multiple exposures. Earlier models of the Autocord featured 1/400 shutter speed while the latest numbers push it to 1/500. This specific camera underwent 17 revisions, although minor, between 1955 and 1966. This was done to still improve on the camera’s features and build quality. The revisions are very much welcome – the camera’s wide following proving that the Autocord indeed is a sought after camera decades after it was introduced.

The Minolta Autocord I followed its predecessor’s footsteps, toting around a Citizen MVL shutter and a Minolta Rokkor 75 mm f/3.5 lens.

Photos Taken by Our Community Members

Technical Specifications

Lens: Rokkor 75 mm f/3.5 4-elements, Tessar-type
Aperture: f/3.5 to f/22
Focus: twin lens reflex
Focusing range:
Shutter: 1 to 1/400 or 1/500 sec, Bulb, leaf
Size: 5.5 x 3 x 4 inches
Weight: 994 g
Material: metal
Flash: hot shoe
Film: 120

All information used in this article was sourced from Casual Photophile, Bay Images, and Camerapedia.

written by cheeo on 2017-02-13 #gear #lomopedia #medium-format #camera #minolta #gear #tlr #autocord #lomopedia