MINOLTA α7 Limited

Minolta’s last SLR film camera

A review and photo examples of the Minolta film camera, α7 Limited.

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The lens used in the photo examples is the SIGMA 50-500 EX DG HSM, and the film is Kodak Kodachrome 64.

1．Usage

The Minolta α7 Limited is a film SLR camera from Minolta.

I got the α7 Limited in 2007, when digital SLR cameras were just starting to become popular. It was my first Minolta SLR camera in a long time after using the α8700i. At the time, I was using the digital camera α Sweet Digital, so I had several α lenses, and I wanted to try using an α lens on a 35mm full-frame camera for the first time in a long time. I was wondering whether to buy the film camera α9 or α7, when I found the limited edition α-7 at Kitamura Camera in Tokyo Station and bought it. I remember that the purchase price for the body alone was less than 20,000 yen. This was a time when film cameras were being sold at bargain prices.

It was a very satisfying camera with a good-looking viewfinder, an autofocus that tracked at a satisfactory speed, and a moderate shutter response.

2．About camera

The basic camera specifications follow the α7, and the differences between the α-7 Limited and the α-7 regular version are as follows.

Focus frame selector is standard equipment
AF/MF control button is standard equipment
Shooting data storage area increased from 7 rolls of film to 18 rolls
Opening and ending images added
Special strap
Special body color adopted, emblem changed

Functional additions 1 to 3 could be upgraded to the α-7 regular version for a fee. I had never used the basic α-7, so I used 1 and 2 thinking that it was like that.

As for the increase in shooting data memory in 3, a special DS-100 was required to export the function to export the stored data in the camera to the now-nostalgic SmartMedia, so for DS-100 users, it was fine to export 7 or 18 rolls as needed, and non-DS-100 users could not export, so the increase in memory area was meaningless.

4 to 6 are honestly inconsequential changes. The difference is so small that, apart from the fact that the engraved letters on the camera are gold, this camera does not have much of a limited edition feel.

3．Minolta and Konica

Minolta was one of the film camera manufacturers that was slow to transition to digital cameras, and the digital camera α-7 Digital was released in 2004, after Konica and Minolta merged to become Konica Minolta in 2003.

Both Minolta and Konica had their own fans and positions in the film camera era. However, although Minolta and Konica had released compact digital cameras, both were reluctant to release interchangeable lens digital cameras, which require huge investments. Even if the two companies merged, the overall development of the camera business could not be expected, and three years after the merger, part of the camera business was sold to Sony.
Kenko Tokina took over support for the camera-related business that could not be sold, but that also ended in 2022. I am impressed that they continued to support it until 2022.

Specification and Competitor

Name	α7 Limited	SA-7N
Finder	Eye level fixed type, glass prism	ペンタミラー式一眼レフファインダー
Viewfinder Magnification	0.8 times	0.7 times
Field of view	92% x 94％	92％ x 92％
AF method	TTL phase difference detection method	←
Operating range	EV-1 to +18 (ISO100)	←
Shutter mechanism	Electronically controlled vertical focal plane shutter	Full speed electronically controlled vertical travel metal focal plane shutter
Shutter speed	1/8000〜30 sec	1/2000〜4 sec
Photometry	TTL full aperture metering (14-segment honeycomb pattern), center-weighted average metering	8-segment evaluative metering, center-weighted average metering, center-weighted average metering
Battery	3V lithium battery (2 CR123A type)	3V lithium battery (2 CR2 type)
Size(mm) W x Hさ x D	143.5 × 97.5 × 65.5	132.5 × 91.5 × 69.5
Weight(g) Only body	575g	395g
Release date	2001	2002
Price(Yen/No-tax)	¥100,000-	¥55,000-