The older model Minolta XG1 uses film.
In 1978, Minolta sold the XG1 single-lens reflex camera. This was a simple and affordable camera, built with fewer features than the company's XG7. The XG1 allowed the photographer manual control over the metering if he did not want to use the automatic settings. Most Minolta changeable lenses up to that time were compatible with the XG1, including the Minolta MD lenses. Since this is an older non-digital camera, you should learn to take pictures right the first time so you don't waste film.
Instructions
1. Insert two new 1.5-volt A-76 batteries. Locate the battery chamber on the bottom of the camera. Use a coin to turn the slot counterclockwise and pull out the battery holder. Place the two batteries inside the chamber and screw everything back in place.
2. Turn the switch on the top left of the camera to the "On" position.
3. Pull up on the left silver release knob until the back of the device opens. Take your film and insert the cartridge side into the left slot. Insert the film end into a take-up spool on the right side.
4. Set the shutter speed to manual by turning the top right knob to a number such as 2, 4 or 8. Crank the lever at the top right to wind the film into place.
5. Close the back until it clicks into place. Crank the top right lever again until the frame counter dial pints to "1." The frame counter dial is located to the right of the top right lever.
6. Set the film speed by pulling up on the shutter speed knob. Lower settings such as 25 or 50 are cleaner but require more light. Higher settings such as 800 or 1600 require less light, but can result in more grainy photos.
7. Turn the shutter speed knob to the "A" or automatic setting.
8. Turn the aperture ring on the barrel of the Minolta lens to set the focus length. Smaller numbers of the aperture, or f/stop, mean the lens is open wider and thus requires less time to get sufficient light for a picture. It also results in a smaller depth of field. Using a larger f/stop number shrinks the lens opening and increases the depth of field, but also requires a longer shutter speed to get enough light.
9. Turn the lens to adjust your focus. You want the subject to be clear and not fuzzy. Once the subject is focused, press and release the shutter button on the top right to take the picture.
Tags: shutter speed, counter dial, depth field, film into, frame counter
