What’s going on here?
»My Minolta Museum« has been established to present a personal collection of Minolta SLR gear. I bought my very first camera, a Minolta XG-9, back in 1980, and I sticked to that brand ever since until I switched over to digital image taking more than 25 years later. This site is intended to be a visual showcase of my treasured cameras and lenses which still impress me due to their versatility and the fine workmanship involved.
Did/do you actually use all these cameras and stuff?
Well, no. I sold my XG-9 when the Dynax (aka Maxxum) family of autofocus cameras entered the market and I obtained a Dynax 7000i in 1989 which was my companion for many years. Later, I upgraded to the 600si classic which was my ideal of a modern camera with traditional controls. These two cameras are still in my possession and the only ones that I used myself for more than a handful of film rolls. I bought all the others on occasion for my little collection because I liked their design and their important role in the Minolta product history. Yes, I am a collector and I’m happy to be the private curator of several tiny personal museums. This is a contagious disease, however, so don’t read on if you don’t like to be tempted to buy obsolete stuff for a ridiculous amount of money… ;-)
Do you sell any of the vintage equipment shown here?
I might, but since I couldn’t stand the prospect of seing my beloved collection being ripped apart, I have decided to sell »My Minolta Museum« only in one lot, batteries and all accessories included. Offers for single items won’t be accepted or even answered. Thank you for your understanding.
Phew, that’s a highly unusual approach. How come?
I still like to see my Minolta gear around, even if it is no longer in active use and only pleasing to the eye of the melancholical collector. Furthermore, I don’t really need both the money and the shelf space. So all or nothing is what I have to sell.
OK, what are you asking for all of the stuff together?
EUR 3.750 / USD 4,500. That’s faaaaaar less than what I payed myself…
Addendum: I’m considering to split and sell the collection in two separate lots:
EUR 1.750 / USD 2,100 for the manual focus (MF) gear
(7 bodies, 18 lenses, converter, Close-Up-Rings, books & accessories)
EUR 2.000 / USD 2,400 for the auto focus (AF) stuff
(3 bodies, 8 lenses, books & accessories)
You’re kidding, aren’t you?
No.
What exactly would be included in the deal?
You’ll get everything shown in my product photographies and everything listed in the tables on the camera body pages, i.e. all accessories, manuals, original boxes and packaging material as mentioned. Most of the boxes listed are stored safely in the attic and I didn’t bother to dig for them in order to make photos. You’ll also get a surprise package consisting of a lot of items that I didn’t care to list (like a sturdy camera bag, batteries, cable releasers, system books, original leaflets and brochures etc.).
Upon scrupulous examination of your pictures, I found out that some lens caps or other smaller accessory parts are actually missing?
No, you only found out that I was not careful enough sometimes when arranging the items on the table for taking photos of them. Later on, I realized all (?) of my mistakes myself, but I was admittedly too lazy to get through all the preparation work again in order to make new pictures…
In what condition are the items?
All of my photographic gear shows very little (if any) signs of use and I’m testing all mechanical functions (film transport, shutter, aperture ring etc.) at least once a year to prevent storage damage due to lack of use. There are no scratches on glass surfaces and there is no oil on the aperture blades and no fungus on the glass lenses. Furthermore, I do not smoke and there aren’t any cats or dogs in my household… ;-)
I guess that packing & postage go extra?
Not necessarily. I will deliver personally (and at no extra cost) within Central Europe (i.e. in Germany and its adjacent countries). Overseas customers (based in America, Asia, Australia/New Zealand) are invited to propose a secure method of payment and delivery.
You are definitifely not joking?
No. Why should I?
I might be interested in obtaining your complete collection, but I still have several questions that I don’t find answered here?
Great! Just drop me a note at ralph@my-minolta-museum.info; I will reply as soon as possible and to the best of my knowledge.
With what brand and type of camera are you taking photogaphs nowadays?
Since 2006, I use Canon compact cameras (shame on me), mainly for illustrating the posts published in my personal blog. I really got tired of carrying around bulky hardware…
May I ask you some questions about other vintage Minolta gear (technical details, production date, prices etc.)?
Of course you may, but chances are that you won’t get an answer at all: I am neither a specialist nor a professional, I don’t do any researches and I won’t estimate the worth of the vintage camera collection somebody inherited from his father. Sorry to be explicit, but there are quite a few dedicated forums out there where you may post requests like these!