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52-454: Rokkor was a brand name used for all Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō and later Minolta lenses between 1940 and 1980, including a few which were marketed and sold by other companies like Leica . The name was derived from the name of Rokkō (六甲山), a 932 metre (3058') high mountain, which could be seen from the company's glass-making and optics factory at Mukogawa near Osaka , Japan. The company's founder Kazuo Tashima  [ ja ] wanted

104-634: A cost the consumer was willing to pay, and was forced to offshore production, gradually redesigning successive cameras to reduce cost and maintain profit margins. Minolta purchased the patent rights to autofocus lens technology from Leica Camera in the 1970s. In 1985, Minolta introduced a new line of autofocus (AF) SLR cameras. In North America, they used the name Maxxum ; in Europe, the cameras were called Dynax ; and in Japan, they were named Alpha . They were Minolta's first line of automatic focus SLR cameras, and

156-504: A line of digital point-and-shoot cameras to compete in the digital photography market. Their DiMAGE line included digital cameras and imaging software as well as film scanners. Minolta created a new category of " bridge cameras ," with the introduction of the DiMAGE 7 . Designed for use by people familiar with 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras but without the added cost or complication of interchangeable lenses or optical reflex viewfinders,

208-497: A lower cost. The advanced vertical metal shutter design of the older cameras was rejected in favor of a cheaper horizontal cloth-curtain shutter, reducing flash sync to a slow 1/60th second. Further cost savings were made internally, where some operating components were changed from metal to plastic. The first version of the X-370, the chrome version that was made in Japan, was a rugged, all-metal camera that sometimes had greater appeal than

260-524: A major shift in the industry that had sold only copiers before. The County initial order of 250 copiers required Konica to redirect all of it inventory throughout North America to the county. On 5 August 2003, Konica merged with Minolta to form Konica Minolta . In 2006, Konica Minolta exited the photography business. In March 2006, the merged company closed down its photo imaging division, which produced color film , color paper, photo chemicals and digital minilab machines. Its digital SLR camera section

312-441: A motor drive, removable pentaprism, and removable back. Minolta cameras appealed to amateur photographers with their lower prices and high-quality optics. From the late 1950s through the 1980s, Minolta was the first Japanese manufacturer to introduce a bayonet lens mount rather than a screw mount; and the first manufacturer to introduce multimode metering. They also introduced the first commercially successful autofocus SLR line with

364-565: A never released SR-mount Minolta MD Apo Tele Rokkor 300mm f / 2.8 manual-focus lens in the early 1980s, a lens design, which later saw life as the A-mount Minolta AF Apo Tele 300mm f / 2.8 G in 1985, a non-Rokkor auto-focus lens. The Rokkor name was also resurrected for a short time between 1996 and 1998 for the Minolta G-Rokkor 28mm f / 3.5 lens. As the only officially released auto-focus Rokkor ever, this lens

416-975: A technological dead end, as the cameras did not sell as hoped. Digital photography was entering the marketplace, and Minolta eventually discontinued all APS camera production. Minolta introduced features that became standard in all brands a few years later. Standardized features that were first introduced on Minolta models included multisensor light metering coupled to multiple AF sensors, automatic flash balance system, wireless TTL flash control, TTL-controlled full-time flash sync, and speedy front and rear wheels for shutter and aperture control. Special features introduced by Minolta are interactive LCD viewfinder display, setup memory, expansion program cards (discontinued), eye-activated startup, and infrared frame counter. In an effort to strengthen market share and acquire additional assets in film, film cameras, and optical equipment, Minolta merged with another long-time Japanese camera manufacturer, Konica Ltd., in 2003. The new corporation

468-462: The Minolta A-mount ; earlier manual-focus Minolta SR-mount lenses are incompatible with the new AF cameras. Unfortunately for Minolta, its autofocus design was found to infringe on the patents of Honeywell, a U.S. corporation. After protracted litigation, in 1991 Minolta was ordered to pay Honeywell damages, penalties, trial costs, and other expenses in a final amount of $ 127.6 million. After

520-489: The XD-11 , the first multimode 35 mm compact SLR to include both aperture and shutter priority in a single body. It was also the first camera to employ a computerised chip, which in shutter priority mode overrode the chosen speed if necessary to give a correct exposure, thus offering the first-ever 'programmed mode'. The XD-11 was the last attempt by Minolta to enter the professional and semiprofessional 35 mm SLR market until

572-447: The "Cherry Portable Camera" (チェリー手提用暗函), the first Japanese produced end-user oriented camera. New products were released respectively, and Konishi Main Shop became the leading camera company in Japan. In 1921, Konishi had his elder son succeed to the family and thus company head with the name, and in this occasion Konishi Honten was turned into a company Konishiroku Honten. The name Konishiroku

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624-594: The 4-digit Maxxum i line, which included the 3000i, 5000i, 7000i , and 8000i, came the 1-digit Maxxum xi line; followed by the 3-digit si line; the 1-digit line without letters (Alpha/Dynax/Maxxum 3, 4, 5, 7, 9); and finally, the Maxxum 50 (Dynax 40) and Maxxum 70 (Dynax 60). Minolta also invested in APS ( Advanced Photo System ) film-format cameras, most notably with the Vectis line of SLR cameras beginning in 1996. APS later proved to be

676-546: The DiMAGE 7 (including the DiMAGE A1 , A2 , and A200) and similar bridge cameras were not really adequate substitutes for professional SLR cameras, and initially there were many reports of slow autofocus speed and various malfunctions (this surfaced when a Sony-designed CCD chip would malfunction, rendering the camera useless. Minolta, however, issued a CCD alert and fixed faulty units free of charge; after Konica Minolta's withdrawal from

728-439: The DiMAGE incorporated many of the features of a higher-level film camera with the simplicity of smaller compact digicams. The camera had a traditional zoom ring and focus ring on the lens barrel and was equipped with an electronic viewfinder (EVF) rather than the direct optical reflex view of an SLR. It added other features such as a histogram , and the cameras were compatible with Minolta's flashes for modern film SLRs. However,

780-513: The Japanese market. Konica's single lens reflex cameras pioneered auto-exposure in cameras with focal-plane shutters and fully interchangeable lenses. The Konica Autoreflex of 1965 used an external light meter cell to set the lens diaphragm automatically after the user selected a shutter speed . With the Autoreflex T of 1968, Konica improved this design into a through-the-lens meter , using

832-619: The Konica F lens mount , named after the first camera to use it. This was a bayonet mount, and is not compatible with later Konica lens mounts. The flange focal distance of the F-mount was 40.5 mm, one of the smallest ever used for a 35 mm SLR. The diameter was 40 mm. It is not identical to Nikon F-mount , which has a much longer flange focal distance of 46.5 mm. Konica's second series of SLR cameras began with 1965's Auto-Reflex . This line came to an end in 1987 when Konica abandoned

884-726: The Leica R3, which was in fact the Minolta XE-1 with a Leica lens mount, viewfinder, and spot metering system, and the Leica R4 was based on the Minolta XD-11. Additionally, five Minolta lenses were repackaged as Leica R lenses: the Minolta 24/2.8 MC Rokkor-X optics are found in the Leica 24/2.8 Elmarit-R, and similarly for the Minolta 35-70/3.5, 75-200/4.5, 70-210/4, and 16/2.8. In 1977, Minolta introduced

936-399: The Maxxum 4 was the most compact 35 mm AF SLR, and the second fastest at autofocusing, while the Maxxum 5 was the fastest at autofocusing. These cameras were, however, intended for the consumer end of the market. Minolta made one last attempt to enter the amateur and professional market with the Maxxum (Dynax) 9 in 1998, followed by the Maxxum 7 in 2000, which used a full LCD readout on

988-699: The Maxxum 9 in 1998. Elements of the XD-11 design (called the XD-7 in Europe) were utilized by Leitz for the Leica R4 camera. Minolta continued to offer 35 mm manual focus SLR cameras in its X-370, X-570, and X-700 from 1981, but slowly repositioned its cameras to appeal to a broader market. Minolta decided to abandon the high level of design and parts specifications of its earlier XD/XE line. The new amateur-level X-570, X-700, and related models offered additional program and metering features designed to appeal to newer photographers, at

1040-487: The Maxxum series. In 1972, Minolta drew up a formal cooperation agreement with Leitz . Leitz needed expertise in camera body electronics, and Minolta felt that they could learn from Leitz's optical expertise. Tangible results of this cooperation were the Leica CL/Minolta CL, an affordable rangefinder camera to supplement the Leica M range. The Leica CL was built by Minolta to Leica specifications. Other results were

1092-457: The Minolta DiMAGE X, an ultracompact digital with a 3x folded zoom lens. With the folded approach, no moving parts of the lens are external to the camera. Instead, a 45-degree mirror bounces light to a conventional zoom lens safely tucked inside the camera body. Fast startup times are one potential benefit of this design (since nothing needs to extend), but slow focus and shutter lag times marred

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1144-546: The Minolta Talker, the first point & shoot camera to incorporate a voice-chip that assisted with autofocus and flash operations. As a result of their innovations, the products that Minolta launched with The William Esty Company increased their camera sales from third, behind Canon & Nikon, to first in the U.S. marketplace. With the Maxxum line, the heavy duty metal bodies of earlier Minoltas were abandoned in favor of lighter and less expensive plastics. The Maxxum 7000 ,

1196-472: The SLR market. Konica's AR lens mount kept the same flange-film distance that the earlier Konica F lens mount had (40.5 mm), but it has a larger diameter of 47 mm. Konica SLR interchangeable lenses were named Hexanon . The optical quality of most Hexanon lenses is regarded as truly superb, particularly the older fixed-focal length (prime) lenses. Many camera manufacturers of interchangeable lenses produce

1248-606: The USA and Canada (where the A-mount camera bodies were labelled Maxxum ) and just AF elsewhere (including in those regions otherwise using the Dynax and α labels for the cameras). Until around 1975, the Rokkor (or Rokkor-X) name was followed by a two-letter combination indicating the optical formula of the lens. The first letter stood for the number of groups, while the second letter indicated

1300-655: The United States. Although Minolta had launched their first digital SLR system as early as 1995, the RD-175  — a 3 sensor (3 x 0.38 megapixel ) camera based on the Maxxum 500si — was never successful, and in 1998, it was superseded by the Minolta Dimâge RD 3000 , a 3-megapixel DSLR based on the Minolta V-mount of Minolta's APS format SLR camera line, which was equally unsuccessful and short-lived. While Minolta

1352-410: The advantage of this innovation. According to a press release by Konica Minolta they "Konica Minolta Photo Imaging Inc. ceased its Camera Business Operations as of 31 March 2006, and ceased the entire customer services for Konica Minolta cameras and related products as of 31 December 2010" As of January 1, 2017, Minolta digital cameras are exclusively manufactured under license by Elite Brands Inc in

1404-650: The biggest pharmacy trader in Tokyo at that time. In 1878, Rokusaburō succeeded to his family and renamed Rokuemon VI (Rokudaime Rokuemon). He gave the original shop to his younger brother and launched a new shop, Konishi Honten (Konishi Main Shop) in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. In 1882, Konishi launched a project to produce photography related materials in Japan: those products were imported at that time. In 1902, Konishi began to sell

1456-574: The company's connection to astronomical optics. John Glenn took a Minolta Hi-Matic rangefinder 35 mm camera aboard the spacecraft Friendship 7 in 1962, and in 1968, Apollo 8 orbited the Moon with a Minolta Space Meter aboard. In the late 1950s and 1960s, Minolta competed in the medium-format roll film camera market with the Autocord series of TLR (twin-lens reflex) cameras. In 1958, Minolta introduced its SR-2 single lens reflex (SLR) 35mm camera which

1508-642: The first Japanese-made twin-lens reflex camera , the Minoltaflex, based on the German Rolleiflex. In 1947, the Minolta-35 was introduced. It is based on the Leica rangefinder camera concept with the 39mm screw lens-mount. It uses the standard 35mm film in cassettes. The standard lens is the Super Rokkor 1:2.8 50mm. In 1950, Minolta developed a planetarium projector , the first-ever made in Japan, beginning

1560-586: The first commercially successful autofocus SLRs the world had seen. Minolta's marketing agency of record, The Manhattan-based William Esty Company branded the Minolta Maxxum, which was named by Creative Director George Morin. The round Minolta logo was developed by Art Director Herbert Clark with internationally renowned designer Saul Bass. The Minolta Freedom line of autofocus compacts were also branded at The William Esty Company, and named by Senior Copywriter Niels Peter Olsen. The Minolta Freedom line also included

1612-476: The gray market. Although some buyers from the USA and Europe each associated either the Rokkor-X or the non-X-ed Rokkor designation with a higher quality, respectively, both types of lenses were built to exactly the same specifications and quality standards in the factory. They differed only in their name plate. In the 1980s and 1990s, Minolta used a similar scheme for A-mount lenses, which were labelled Maxxum AF in

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1664-430: The lens relayed aperture information to the camera body, and the motor for autofocus was contained within the camera body. An LCD showed aperture, shutter speed, and frame count, while an infrared beam counted sprocket holes when advancing the film from frame to frame (this prevents the use of infrared film). The 7000 had TTL phase-detection focusing and metering, autoexposure, and predictive autofocus. All Maxxum cameras use

1716-405: The most popular of the new Maxxums, introduced the innovation of arrow buttons for setting aperture and shutter speed , rather than a shutter speed dial on the body and an aperture ring on the lens. That way, the only control necessary on the lens is the manual focus ring (plus the zoom ring in the case of zoom lenses). The Maxxum 7000 had two 8-bit CPUs and six integrated circuits. A circuit on

1768-417: The name to symbolize the high quality in optics. The first lens to carry the Rokkor designation was a 200mm f / 4.5 lens that came with the hand-holdable aerial camera Chiyoda SK-100 in 1940. After the Rokkor name was dropped and no longer engraved in new lenses after 1980/1981, the Rokkor name resurfaced two times. As was revealed not before 2006, the Rokkor name was still used internally for prototypes of

1820-488: The number of elements; for example, a Rokkor-QF was a six element lens with four groups. Super Rokkor, Boen Rokkor, Fish-Eye Rokkor, VFC Rokkor, Shift CA Rokkor, Varisoft Rokkor, Bellows Micro Rokkor, Micro Rokkor, Bellows Macro Rokkor, Macro Rokkor, Tele Rokkor, RF Rokkor, Zoom Rokkor, Rokkor-TC, Rokkor-TD, TV Zoom Rokkor. Chiyoda K%C5%8Dgaku Seik%C5%8D In 2003, Minolta merged with Konica to form Konica Minolta . On 19 January 2006, Konica Minolta announced that it

1872-458: The old Rokkor brand. There are now even totally unrelated pseudo-brands named Rokunar and Rokinon trying to capitalize on the power of Minolta's brand. For some while in the 1960s and 1970s SR-mount SLR lenses manufactured for the North American market were engraved with Rokkor-X rather than just Rokkor (as was used in the rest of the world) in order to improve trackability and dry out

1924-480: The photo business, Sony took over the CCD alert until the warranty repair service was terminated in 2010). Minolta later innovated in this line by being the first manufacturer to integrate a mechanical antishake system (Minolta's antishake is based inside the camera body as opposed to the camera lens, common with Canon EF and Nikon AF lenses). In January 2002, Minolta again created a new category of camera, introducing

1976-516: The rear of the camera. Though well received by the photographic press, the 7 and 9 did not sell to expectations or achieve any significant breakthrough with their intended customer base, who had largely gravitated to the Canon or Nikon brands. All of these cameras were eventually discontinued in favor of the less-expensive Maxxum 50 and 70, which were sold under the Minolta name until 2006, when Konica Minolta ceased production of all film cameras. Minolta had

2028-456: The recognized quality of Konica film ensured general presence on market. Originally Konica film and paper was sold under the brand name of " Sakura " meaning Cherry Blossom in English. In the mid-1980s, Konica launched its SR range of film, then SR-V (1987), SR-G (1989), Super SR (1991), Super XG (1993), VX and finally "Centuria" in 1999. The first series of Konica single-lens reflex cameras used

2080-504: The same automation system (the user could also set the exposure manually on these cameras). Other camera makers eventually adopted auto-exposure as well, but Konica was the first. When Konishiroku got the new name Konica in 1987, the company employed about 4,935 people. In the 1990s Konica signed its first major contract with Los Angeles County providing leasing of copiers to the Los Angeles Superior Court . This resulted in

2132-722: The “plasticky” X-570, X-700, or later black versions of the X-370 (known as the X-7A) to photographers who place a premium on build quality. As Minolta's autofocus Maxxums were proving successful, Minolta invested fewer resources in its manual focus line as time progressed. Minolta entered the highly competitive 35mm compact camera market in the 1980s and transitioned from older rangefinder designs to "point-and-shoot" (P&S) electronic autofocus/autowind cameras. Minolta, like other major manufacturers faced with low-cost competition from elsewhere in Asia, found it difficult to build quality P&S cameras at

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2184-574: Was a Japanese manufacturer of, among other products, film , film cameras , camera accessories, photographic and photo-processing equipment, photocopiers , fax machines and laser printers , founded in 1873. The company merged with Japanese peer Minolta in 2003, with the new company named Konica Minolta . The company traces its history back to 1873 (pre-dating Kodak in the photography business) when pharmacist Rokusaburo Sugiura began selling photographic materials at his shop in Konishiya Rokubē,

2236-782: Was assumed by Sony, who announced the first Konica Minolta-based Sony SLR — the Alpha A100  — on June 5, 2006. Sony continued the manufacture of DSLRs using Minolta technology until 2010 when the company phased out DSLRs for its SLT system but retained the Minolta A-mount.  1st generation  |  2nd generation  |  3rd generation  |  4th generation  |  5th generation  |  6th generation  supports SSM lenses and D function (ADI) See also: Minolta A-mount system [REDACTED] Media related to Minolta at Wikimedia Commons Konica Konica ( コニカ , Konika )

2288-535: Was believed that Konica Minolta and Sony would market their DSLR line to the masses (much like the joint marketing and development of Pentax and Samsung K10/GX10 DSLRs). On 19 January 2006, KM announced that all DSLR production would continue under Sony's management; DSLR camera assets were transferred to Sony during the Konica Minolta withdrawal phase until March 31, 2006, where technical support for these cameras (primarily Konica Minolta's other digital cameras)

2340-573: Was called Konica Minolta Ltd. Until Konica Minolta announced their withdrawal plan in 2006, they made Maxxum/Dynax digital and film-based cameras (retaining the different names in the different markets), improving the design while maintaining the basic concepts. The Maxxum 4 is a low-priced 35 mm SLR with an A-type bayonet mount, built-in flash, autoexposure, predictive autofocus, electronically controlled vertical-traverse focal plane shutter, and through-the-lens (TTL) phase-detection focusing and metering. In advertising literature, Minolta claimed that

2392-635: Was equipped with a bayonet mount and instant return mirror. In 1966 Minolta introduced the SR-T line which included TTL metering. Although well-made and widely regarded as some of the most innovative SLR cameras of their time, Minolta cameras were not as robust as competing Nikon models. Minolta SR/SRT design used sleeve bushings instead of bearings on its focal plane spindles and had greater tolerances between working parts. This occasionally caused problems in very cold weather or with extremely high levels of use. Minolta SLRs also lacked important professional features such as

2444-607: Was incorporated into the Minolta TC-1 135 film compact camera. To celebrate Minolta's 70th anniversary in 1998, the same optics were also used in the Minolta TC-1 Limited as well as in a Leica thread-mount version of the lens in a limited production run of 2000 units for the Japanese market only. When the brand was still used by Minolta, there were also printed Minolta magazines named "ROKKOR" in Austria and Japan. The brand

2496-590: Was leaving the camera and photo business, and that it would sell a portion of its SLR camera business to Sony as part of its move to pull completely out of the business of selling cameras and photographic film. Relying heavily on imported German technology, Nichi-Doku turned out their first product, a bellows camera called the Nifcarette , in March 1929. By 1937, the company reorganized as Chiyoda Kogaku Seikō, K.K. (Chiyoda Optics and Fine Engineering, Ltd.) and built

2548-601: Was so well respected among photographers that some customers asked for "Rokkor cameras" and questioned the origin of the lenses when the first Minolta lenses without the Rokkor designation hit the market between 1977 and 1980. Many continued to call at least the manual-focus Minolta SR-mount lenses "Rokkors" long after the name was dropped. Even decades later, when Sony took over the A-mount auto-focus SLR system from Konica Minolta in 2006, for which no Rokkor lenses were ever produced, there were (unsuccessful) petitions to reintroduce

2600-444: Was taken from the abbreviation of their names, Konishi Roku emon. Konishiroku released their "Konica I" type camera in 1948, after which they would name their own company in 1987. Since 1949 Konica produced a Medium format -camera Pearl . From 1964 until 1975 Konica manufactured Medium format Omega-cameras, which used Konica's Hexanon-lenses; they were named Koni-Omega for the global market. Two models were named Konica Press for

2652-416: Was the inventor of the modern integrated AF SLR, it took Konica Minolta a long time to enter the digital SLR market, a delay that may have proved fatal. Konica Minolta was the last of the large camera manufacturers to launch a digital SLR camera ( Maxxum/Dynax 5D and 7D) using the 35 mm AF mount. During July 2005, KM and Sony negotiated on a joint development of a new line of DSLR cameras, where it

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2704-468: Was transferred to Sony , currently known as the Sony Alpha line. Dai Nippon (DNP) purchased Konica's Odawara factory site and continues to produce paper under its own brand, while Seapac acquired the Konica chemical factory. Konica was a major producer of 35mm film and related products, including film development processors and printing technology. While never equal to giants like Kodak or Fujifilm ,

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