Minolta Vectis 20 (ix-date)

The Minolta Vectis 20 ix-date is part of a line of point-and-shoot film cameras that used a unique, albeit discontinued and somewhat proprietary format called APS. It takes pictures by recording the photographic information, including the time and date, into a small magnetic coating that surrounds the film while unwound from the cartridge. An innovation similar to that of a floppy disk.

Despite this innovation, the APS format didn't last very long, as not only did you need specialized lab equipment to process the images, but APS cameras were also quickly being replaced by true digital cameras, soon leading to the whole line of these cameras being knocked off the shelves.

On that note, the Minolta Vectis 20 had a few features that defined it as one of many links between analog film cameras and digital photo cameras.

It uses a small lever for Wide angle to Telephoto zoom, a 3-stop switch to format photos in either 'classic', 'High Definition', or 'panoramic'(this was part of the APS) sizes, and a small digital UI so you can change settings for flash, red-eye reduction, and self timer.

There is also a button to set the time and date, another smaller button to manually rewind the film cartridge(it automatically rewinds the cassette, but it can be rewound for processing), and a built-in flash that pops up when the camera is turned on.

• Lens:
  • Zoom: 2x, 30 - 60mm
  • Aperture: f/4.0 - 7.8
  • Top magnification: 1/5.7x
• Focus: Active auto infrared
  • Range: 1.8ft - infinity for C & H, 2.1ft - infinity for P
• Exposure: automatically programmed
  • optical double exposure prevention built-in
• Metering: Center-weighted
  • Range: at ISO 200
    • Wide: EV6.0 - EV16
    • Tele: EV7.8 - EV16
• Speed Range:
  • Shutter: 1/4 to 1/250 sec.
  • Film: ISO 100 - 800
• Film Transport: drop-in load
  • frame countdown w/ auto rewind* (*manual rewind mid-roll is possible)
• Self-Timer: 10 seconds
• Flash: fixed, built-in electronic matic type, retractable
  • Modes: 5 separate functions
    • Autoflash: for low-light pictures
    • Flashfill: manual process of light adjustment after picture is taken
    • Flashcancel: flash is turned off
    • Landscape: for distant shots beyond the flash's reach
    • Night Portrait: auto-adjusts exposure and flash for night photos
• Red-Eye Reduction: done through lamp by lens
• Viewfinder: Real image zoom type* (*photos taken through viewfinder)
• IX*: Magnetic (*Information exchange)
  • Aspect Ratio Print: externally selected C*, H*, and P* (refer to 4th paragraph)
  • Data imprint: Time and date
    • Formats: MM/DD/YY, DD/MM/YY
  • PQI* Data: all photographic data (*Print Quality Improvement)
    • The above 2 IX data points (aspect ratio, time and date)
    • film orientation, flash fire mode, red-eye reduction, valued scene brightness, magnification, and artificial lighting
• Power: one CR2 battery
  • Voltage: 3 volts
  • Substance: Lithium
  • Power indication: 2 stages (refer to manual page 2 or 4)
• Dimensions: (WxHxD) 4.5 x 2.3 x 1.5 inches
• Weight*: 6 ounces (*without battery)

Blog post on the Minolta Vectis 20 (Camera Go Camera)

PhotographyReview's post (review and detailed specs)

Minolta Vectis 20 on Instagram (the_vintage_collective)