Minolta Dynax 5000i

Found this on my doorstep when I arrived home from work today. After making some enquiries it transpires that a family member donated it to me as they haven’t used it in about 20 yrs. Knowing that I mess with cameras at the cheaper end of the spectrum he thought that I may find a use for it. I have gratefully accepted this gift.

After speaking with the donor he doesn’t remember there being any issues with it, he wasn’t aware there is already a film in it so I will process this for him and see what if anything comes of it.

This camera was circa 1989 and was a strange beast in that the programmable modes we take for granted on SLR cameras today, had to be purchased as individual plug in cards for this camera. I guess was kind of like VHS versus Betamax back in the day and as things developed in the market I guess Minolta put this idea back to bed as a non starter.

This camera looks in great condition apart from wear and tear dust/dirt and initial checks of the lens show no evidence of fungal damage, the camera does not have that musty smell associated with age so I can only presume it has been stored correctly.

These cameras also work off a 6v lithium battery the 2CR5. Still available it retails for around £6-8 gbp. Again Minolta could have used a rechargeable but this was probably just at the beginning of that technology becoming widely available.

Information regarding this camera can be found here Minolta Dynax 5000i courtesy of Camerawiki.org

So, apparently these cameras are popular in the Lomography world. I’m going to give it a good clean/overhaul get a new battery and run a film through it to test. Not a lot to do so hopefully I’ll fit it in somewhere along the line soon. Keep checking back to see how things progress.

Thanks for passing by, always appreciated 👍