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Minolta Hi-Matic 9
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 12:09 am    Post subject: Minolta Hi-Matic 9 Reply with quote
The Minolta Hi-Matic 9 is one of the most desirable "prosumer" rangefinder cameras of the mid-1960s. It is by no means a small camera - its size is comparable to a Minolta SR-T singe lens reflex camera, and its weight is about 740g. It has a fully automatic program mode (P), and a manual mode (M).



P mode: If both the aperture ring and the shutter speed ring are set to "automatic", the camera is in its program mode which starts at f1.7 and 1/15s and goes up to f22 and 1/125s.

M mode: In manual mode, all apertures (f1.7 ... f22) can be combined with any of the shutter speeds (1s ... 1/500s).

A mode: Technically it's posssible to set the shutter to "A" (=automatic) while setting the aperture manually. However, I'm not sure whether the camera is actually supporting such an aperture priority mode. The user manual doesn't mention it, and Josef / Rita Scheibel in their book "Minoltas Kamera Technik" don't mention it.

S mode: Again - you can set the Aperture ring to "A" (=automatic) and choosing manually any of the shutter speeds. However I doubt that this will result in reliable results. I'll have to test those modes with a original mercury battery.

The viewfinder is rather large. It is free from distortion (something you can't take for granted), the parallax is corrected (the fram lines move, not the image), and the rangefinder spot in te center of te image is easily visibly. Focusing and framing should be rather straightforward. The Hi-Matic 9 has a built-in hot shoe (remember - in 1966 most top class SLRs didn't have a built-in shoe, let alone a "hot" one). And it has a PC flash connector for larger flashguns as well!

The shutter is a Seiko FLA which can be found in many other cameras as well (e. g. Olympus 35 SP). There's a mechanical self-timer (which runs extremely slow in my cameras), and a separate flash mode. ISO settings start at ISO 25 and got to a fairly modest ISO 800. Both the shutter and the aperture mechanism have five blades each. There's a film counter, of course, but also a "film load window" which clearly shows whether the camera is loaded with film.

Focusing goes down to 0.9 m / 3 ft, and focusing is rather smooth. Not as smooth as with the Rokkor MC-X lenses, but not bad.

The lens, a Rokkor 1.7/45mm, is probably quite good - at least it's reputation is excellent.

I'm looking forward to shooting a few rolls of film Wink

S


PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had Hi-Matic 7 but the light meter system kind of drove me nuts. Smile

(I think I do have a light meter neurosis)


PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 9:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
kansalliskala wrote:
... the light meter system kind of drove me nuts. Smile

(I think I do have a light meter neurosis)


Why? I haven't checked the lighht meter system yet since those mercury batteries are pretty scarce (I still have two or three of them ...). I'd probably use the HiMatic 9 in manual mode anyway ...

S


PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here are the HiMatic 7, HiMatic 9 and HiMatic 7s side by side Wink



I'ts a pretty nice trio; surprisingly all the shutters are still working.

S


PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
stevemark wrote:
kansalliskala wrote:
... the light meter system kind of drove me nuts. Smile

(I think I do have a light meter neurosis)


Why? I haven't checked the lighht meter system yet since those mercury batteries are pretty scarce (I still have two or three of them ...). I'd probably use the HiMatic 9 in manual mode anyway ...

S


Well, the 7s light meter gives you just EV-value and you have to lower the camera and put it into this small square opening. It is kind of useful but not very practical. If the subject is not immobile you don't get the picture.

Didn't remember that any more but looked at manual and recalled that off-switch is pretty difficult too.


PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 11:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kansalliskala wrote:

Well, the 7s light meter gives you just EV-value and you have to lower the camera and put it into this small square opening. It is kind of useful but not very practical.

Ah OK, I understand. When using negative film (and especially with C-41 material) it's probably not necesssary to measure every single image.

kansalliskala wrote:

If the subject is not immobile you don't get the picture.

Usually it's sufficient to check the light at the beginning of a series.

kansalliskala wrote:
Didn't remember that any more but looked at manual and recalled that off-switch is pretty difficult too.

I didn't find that one in the Hi-Matic 9 manual - how does it work? Most contemporary cameras didn't have an "off" switch anyway - the light cell current was sufficiently low when the lens was covered with the lens cap (that's why the light metering cell of the Hi-Matic series is situated right on the front ring of the lens barrel: It will be covered by the lens cap).

S


PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
kansalliskala wrote:
Didn't remember that any more but looked at manual and recalled that off-switch is pretty difficult too.

I didn't find that one in the Hi-Matic 9 manual - how does it work? Most contemporary cameras didn't have an "off" switch anyway - the light cell current was sufficiently low when the lens was covered with the lens cap (that's why the light metering cell of the Hi-Matic series is situated right on the front ring of the lens barrel: It will be covered by the lens cap).

S[/quote]

I don't know about 9 but 7s off switch is the same as asa selection switch. You just turn it to "off"-position. And remember next time if you had 100 or 200 asa in the camera. Smile


PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


looks the same (picture kameratori.fi)


PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2021 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
kansalliskala wrote:

I don't know about 9 but 7s off switch is the same as asa selection switch. You just turn it to "off"-position. And remember next time if you had 100 or 200 asa in the camera. Smile


Ah yes - I should have seen that myself !! Thanks Wink


PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
No off switch- the camera relies on the CDS resistance in the dark to limit battery usage. Just put the lens cap on has the same effect as closing the CDS eye.

The camera has Programmed Mode and Manual mode. It does not have Shutter preferred and Aperture preferred modes.

The meter works in Manual Mode, uses the EV system as an uncoupled meter. Other cameras such as the Canonet Ql17 do not meter at all in manual mode.

The Minolta AL-E has manual mode and shutter-preferred Auto mode. The AL-E has a 40mm F1.8 lens and is a bit larger than a Canonet QL17l and QL17 GIII.


PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 12:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote






I bought my first Hi Matic 9 in 1969. recently did a CLA on it, ended up with two more for $25 each- bought to get the Box, case, and lens cap. Both those needed work- all working now. The AL-E was not working, wire to battery compartment had corroded and broken. Fixed now.


PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 7:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
fiftyonepointsix wrote:
No off switch- the camera relies on the CDS resistance in the dark to limit battery usage. Just put the lens cap on has the same effect as closing the CDS eye.


Lens cap and rangefinder are a combination I tend to avoid for obvious reasons. Smile

Some sort of casing or pouch is much better choice not getting black frames,


PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The meter needle is visible through the viewfinder, and is in the Red when the cap is on.

I was 11 years old when I bought this camera, could figure that out. I also figured out how to use the EV settings in manual mode to use the meter system.

In my mid-60s now, CLA'd the camera bought in 1969. It will most likely outlast me.

Flood clean shutter, pop the top, clean viewfinder, and fix wind lever not returning to correct position.
https://cameraderie.org/threads/minolta-himatic-9-flood-cleaning-shutter-and-cleaning-viewfinder-also-applies-to-the-7-7s-and-11.50150/

Minolta AL-E,

https://cameraderie.org/threads/minolta-al-e-removing-top-cover-to-clean-the-viewfinder.50172/


PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 6:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
fiftyonepointsix wrote:
I was 11 years old when I bought this camera, could figure that out. I also figured out how to use the EV settings in manual mode to use the meter system.


I was 54 when I got mine. When I was 11 I had my brother's Agfa Silette and I got used to a center-needle system.

Nice CLA.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 7:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
fiftyonepointsix wrote:
I was 11 years old when I bought this camera,....


This was my camera when I was 11 (I replaced it later with a Minolta Autopak 460Tx):

http://www.artdecocameras.com/cameras/zeiss-ikon/baby-box/


PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
tb_a wrote:
fiftyonepointsix wrote:
I was 11 years old when I bought this camera,....


This was my camera when I was 11 (I replaced it later with a Minolta Autopak 460Tx):

http://www.artdecocameras.com/cameras/zeiss-ikon/baby-box/


I used this when I was about 10 (it was my mother's).

https://www.brownie-camera.com/72.shtml


PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had a Brownie Holiday when I was 6 my Grandma gave it to me, Kodak Instamatic 150 with the clockwork motor when 8.
The Hi-Matic 9 was my first 35mm camera. A whole Summer of mowing Lawns to buy it.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2021 6:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
fiftyonepointsix wrote:
A whole Summer of mowing Lawns to buy it.


was the mower motorized?


PostPosted: Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kansalliskala wrote:
fiftyonepointsix wrote:
A whole Summer of mowing Lawns to buy it.


was the mower motorized?


Yes- we owned a Gasoline Push Mower. A step up from a manual rotary mower, which I used when I was 8.
Mowing lawns was about $1~$2 for average sized yards. Things have changed in 50 years.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 11, 2021 6:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
fiftyonepointsix wrote:
A step up from a manual rotary mower, which I used when I was 8.


Me too, I hated that thing. Mad

Nowdays parents would be arrested if they did that.
Also I chopped wood with an axe weekly when I was 10, still have some scars.


PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The push-reel manual mower was faster for me, and cut cleaner.
Back in the late 60's, power mower blade technology was still in it's infancy, and pretty weak.
Never made enough to buy anything of consequential value cutting grass.
Snow was where the real money was at...

-D.S.


PostPosted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
fiftyonepointsix wrote:

...
Flood clean shutter, pop the top, clean viewfinder, and fix wind lever not returning to correct position.
https://cameraderie.org/threads/minolta-himatic-9-flood-cleaning-shutter-and-cleaning-viewfinder-also-applies-to-the-7-7s-and-11.50150/


Thanks a lot - very helpful!

S


PostPosted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here is OFF position of ASA seeing of Himatic 7S.



This lens Rokkor-PF 45mmF/1.8 shot its used to be its body: The lens has a nice hood at the back.



Last edited by koji on Thu Mar 18, 2021 3:19 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 6:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
koji wrote:
Here is OFF position of ASA seeing of Himatic 7S.



Shocked

You took the "off-position" bit too literally. Very Happy

I have to ask if you used some kind of dremel or just ripped the thing with your hands.
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