Minolta TC-1... Why so expensive?

[tojeem]

Presenting the Minolta TC-1...

...For a mere $750.

Does anyone know why this camera is so expensive? Has anybody used it? It seems to go for between $600-800 (US) on eBay. I could get a Leica body for that much!

To paraphrase Dylan Moran: It is a magical camera? Does it produce some sort of dizzying high?

 

[kbg32]

Kind of rare. I've never seen one in the flesh.

 

[jsrockit]

Semi-rare and actually very good. However, does anyone repair them anymore? Certain boutique P&S cameras are no longer repairable (Leica CM, certain aspects of th Nikon Ti), so I would not spend significant cash on them unless you are willing to take the chance.

 

[sevo]

If you can find one, you could just buy the LTM version of the G-Rokkor 28mm f3.5 lens (same lens as in the TC-1) 😉

Oh wait, they're more expensive than the TC-1 and you don't even get a body to put it on 😱

... and it has a iris aperture, while the TC-1 IIRC had perfectly round Waterhouse/revolver stops.

 

[Jamie123]

There's one for sale around where I live (not the US) for the equivalent of $500. Still too expensive for me and I already have a Klasse W which I got for $150 😀

 

[Matthew Runkel]

It was expensive new and it is also expensive used. Why is the Contax T3 so expensive?

 

[Paddy C]

All of the posh point-n-shoots were rather expensive new. I remember picking up a Contax T3 in 2002 prior to a trip and the store price here in Canada was about $1,200. I trading in gear and got a good deal. Actually didn't part with any cash.

So, expensive new, not made anymore, cult status = still pretty expensive.

Oh yes, from what I've seen (and in the case of the Contax used) they all great photographic tools.

 

[awilder]

The build quality, superb optics and features are all top rate on par with the Contax T3 or Nikon 28Ti. They pulled out all stops when they built this camera. Only drawback is the slow speed of f/3.5 and the company is defunct.

 

[fotobiblios]

Bit like the Fujifilm Tiara with similar size, shape and 28mm f3.5 (also hard to find, but not so pricey).

No relation? (sometimes Fuji, like Cosina, manufactured for others)/

just wondering

 

[Archlich]

It has titanium shell (over a plastic frame), custom ISO, bunches of manual override and SPOT metering. The Tiara looks like a TC-1 ripped of every of these except the shutter button.

The craftmanship of the TC-1 is exceptional. The lens vignettes a lot, is sharp (all lenses this slow do), with a unique character (well all lenses do) which I quite enjoy.

The TC-1 is a nice, delicate camera to toy with. Sold mine, prefer the GR1v which has a more rugged (though cheaper built) finish to bang around with.

 

[Maiku]

The black body TC-1s go for between 80,000 and 12,000 yen in Japan! In US dollars that is about 1,000 to 1450! Ouch!

 

[maitani]

the TC-1 is a really unique camera for the following reasons imo, it has lots of unique features in this class of cameras, i can basically almost replace a fully fledget srl with 28 lens, in real 'always with you' size. a lens which rivals a good leica lens.

size comarable to a cigarette box (it really is that small...), you wonder where the film fits when seeing from outside, a nikon 35ti is HUGE side by side

excellent full titanium build

iso override

top information display (illuminated, great at night...)

spot metering dedicated button on the back

fully rounded aperture blades (the camera has actually no aperture-blades, but fully perfectly rounded masks/stencils...) bokeh is fantastic,

geometric correction is excellent for the size

minolta said the inherited G-rokkor it's one of the sharpest lenses they ever created (and rokkors aren't exactly famous for being shabby lenses

built in diopter adjustment, yes they fit it somewhere..

a really good viewfinder (considering the cameras size...nowhere near a contax T2 though....)

usable manual focus

aperture control in the front with a lever

nice user interface with the jog (left/right) on the front,

i prefer it even over the GR1V which i sold

the pinnacle of minitaturization of the filmdays imo

imo the best compact 35 ever made

 

[btgc]

It clearly misses hotshoe to be complete.

 

[muf]

It's expensive because it's the best. Simple.

 

[maitani]

just wanted to give this thread a bump, i received back another 2 rolls today, 37 out of 36 keepers, such a great lens

 

[Vobluda]

Show some photos please.

just wanted to give this thread a bump, i received back another 2 rolls today, 37 out of 36 keepers, such a great lens

 

[Gary Sandhu]

Superb camera-- if only it was quieter!

 

[flip]

Been using this camera as my daily carry for months now. The size just screams, "bring me." A few thoughts after several rolls.

1] I originally found the focussing a bit odd - I had some blurred shots. When I realized just how particular it was about focussing on that slot in the very center, I started to get consistent on-target shots (assuming I respect the minimum focus).

2] Due to the lens maximum aperture of 3.5, I tend to load 400-800 film. The flash option for balancing with the background gives great results, but really slows things down, which is why I'm now pushing the film to 800. The full flash is a beast. I'd say that 1.5m is about the right distance to get the best results. At 1m, I have some shots that just wash faces in white. While the general rule for the camera is to use aperture of 3.5 for flash, I have shot with it smaller for close shots with some success. You have to be steady.

I should note that I have not experimented sufficiently with the spot focus and it might improve this situation. On the upside, the camera is so compact that "shadow-mullets" are a thing of the past. 😉

3] While this camera has replaced my Hexar AF for this style of casual shooting (due to size and flash), I agree with the above. It is noisy when deploying and when focussing the lens, which makes the kind of utterly candid shots I could attempt with the hexar (despite its size) extremely difficult. Sometimes, subjects who are used to high ISO digicams think that the shot is taken due to the clatter and only realize their error when the flash arrives.

[Trifecta: decay, white-out, and movement]

4] Decay. The body I have has shown some tendency to release a thin film in the baffle area around the rear of the lens. I think it's the back of the baffle. On a couple of occasions, some has come loose and I have gingerly removed the offending strip from the rear after the roll is done. I imagine that once it is done shedding, this will be a done deal. I don't consider it a big problem, but it happens, as above and below:

I really like this camera much more now than when I originally purchased it. I don't like to shoot 28mm on RF, but it makes this camera suitable for snapshots, even those in which you join the picture.

These were all from my last roll of Fuji 400 @ 800 / rodinal