Minolta AL-E arrived

[daniel~]

Minolta AL-E, 40／1.8 Rokkor QF


Ever tried a Minolta AL-E before? It seems kind of rare, as mine is only the 2nd one seen throughout a year's "baywatch". I aquired it based on my good impression with the AL-S, which is a real beauty itself.

There're interesting design details, such as the shutter lock, in addition to the fast 40/1.8 Rokkor lens. While the camera could work without battery, it does power up instantly with a Varta 625U (substitute) alkaline battery. I could see aperture read-out pointing when in A mode, but no idea about its accuracy. I'm gonna test shooting tomorrow... hope it works as good as it looks!

 

[feenej]

Very cool.

 

[andrealed]

How about the size? I had a Minoltina AL-S, is the Minolta AL-E bigger?
ciao
Andrea

 

[Terrence]

WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's NICE!!! you triggered my GAS!

 

[daniel~]

AL-S vs AL-E

WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's NICE!!! you triggered my GAS!

Oh yeah? here come TWO very nice RF cameras from the 1960s!

Minolta AL-E is a little bit taller than Minoltina AL-S. Otherwise very similar in size & shape.

You may say that AL-E is basicly a AL-S with Cds metering, but there're quite a few other changes to be found.
For example the unique mode dial on the front, nice aperture readout on top panel, and alas, a more limited shutter speed range of 1/8-1/500 sec...

It'd be fun to compare them side by side in detail, but now I am focusing on the AL-E. My Minoltina AL-S came non-working from the beginning, a pity really.

 

[daniel~]

My first "LV" 😛 sounds fashionable huh...
Seriously, I'm still not sure what the V mode is for. Perhaps it means self-timer? but I can use self-timer in the auto mode (red dot), too, since there's a clockwork V timer on the lens barrel that works independently.
What I've noticed is that, when in V mode, the shutter release would stay depressed even after the shot taken. To release it back to position, I'd have to dial back to the red dot.
As for L, the shutter will be locked in this mode.

 

[lex]

i am envious, when i was looking for a new little RF i wanted an AL-E but i ended up getting an AL-S because it was all i could find.

 

[daniel~]

lex, "minoltina AL-S(x2)"... so you know well how nice the AL-S is. It has one of the most elegant design I've seen among these Japanese rangefinders. Sooner or later I'll have to get an AL-S that actually works.

How come AL-E seems so rare nowadays, I wonder. Maybe it was never made in large quantities as AL-S had been?

By the way, I couldn't find Bulb setting anywhere on AL-E... have to conclude there is none, so the shutter speed only goes down to 1/8 sec...

 

[lex]

longish story, but the first al-s i got was a sticky shutter and my repair experiment (i cleaned the beamsplitter doh!). i spent a few days taking it apart and re-assembling. the meter was dead on that one two. i got a good deal on a second one (fully functional except for the sticky shutter) and it is the one i now use. i want to eventually fix the first one and rig the two for stereo photography.

i rarely use bulb so it would not be a problem and 1/8th is about my hand-held limit... i also like the ttl meter for filters on the al-e...

how do you find the rokkor 40/1.8? i have yet to scan some negs with a high res scanner to see what it can really do...

 

[verybiased]

I have a Minolta Al-F which I adore. If only its lens was a bit faster (it stops down to 2.7) then i wouild need no other camera. Its light and portable but supremely built. It makes the canonet ql-17 feel like a toy and yashica electro feel shoddily made (except for the electro-gl). I love it and i hope you enjoy your AL-E.

 

[daniel~]

lex, I found and enjoyed reading your thread about the AL-S experience. 🙂 Great pics, too.
I'm writing a webpage with pics from my AL-E. Will post again soon.


verybiased, thanks for sharing. To me the AL-F looks like a hybrid of Minolta hi-matic(7S / 9) & AL.
The typography is very similar to AL-E, but the front looks quite different.

 

[Paul C. Perkins MD]

Thanks for this thread. I like the newer camera - but as a teenager in the mid-late 1960's - I REALLY liked the AL-S. It has triggered a deferred gratification GAS attack!

 

[FallisPhoto]

Haven't been able to find an AL-E yet, but here is my AL-F:



As Verybiased says, "if only it had a faster lens."

 

[daniel~]

Does AL-F show meter readout inside the viewfinder? It's a pity AL-E doesn't.

AL-F seems a solid camera too, though the slowest shutter speed of 1/30 seems rather limited. Its specifications actually remind me of the popular Konica C35. I am curious about the link between the two, if any...

 

[verybiased]

The Al-F is a shutter priority only camera and displays the set apeture inside the viewfinder. Its your typical needle setup.

 

[daniel~]

update

update

OK here's the page I write about my AL-E, with some photo samples:
>> Minolta AL-E

I'm glad the pics came out alright. The foam were like half gone, and sticky, but the test results don't seem much affected. Anyway, later I've had the foam replaced.

 

[btgc]

Daniel, your site is lovely ! And nice Minoltas, too, wish they get some use from you.

 

[zuikologist]

Very nice website and good results from this camera.

 

[daniel~]

btgc, and zuikologist, thanks!

Pitxu, how I wish it got a Bulb setting... anyway, after a few tries, I'm convinced the V means self timer mode.
However, something tricky there:
I have found that, although the clockwork self-timer seems to work independently, the self-timer mode works "properly" only when the dial is set to "V".
If I leave the dial in normal(red dot) mode, and set the clockwork lever, then press the shutter button, it will still delay and then trip the shutter, but shoot only at f/16(its smallest aperture), no matter what the built-in meter suggests. Not sure if it is just my camera, though.