Minolta Uniomat II (c. 1961–1963)

Name: Minolta Uniomat II
Brand: Minolta

The Minolta Uniomat II is a 35mm rangefinder camera, believed to have been made between about 1961 and 1963. It belongs to the Uniomat series that Chiyoda (which became Minolta in 1962) launched around 1960. The series is built around a coupled match-needle selenium meter. The odd thing about the Uniomat II is its control layout: there are no aperture or shutter speed markings of any sort on the camera. There are no conventional dials. The photographer sets exposure by aligning a needle in the viewfinder, and the light cell picks the combination. As one seller put it, "I think the unique feature of this camera is the fact that there are no aperture or shutter speed markings of any sort."

Past that quirk, it's a plain, solidly built camera. The lens is a Minolta Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 (four elements). The shutter is a Citizen Optiper Uni leaf type with speeds from 1/8 to 1/1000 second plus Bulb. The body is metal with a silver finish, and it has rangefinder focusing, flash synchronization, and an ISO range of 6-1600. The exposure meter and shutter are powered by three LR44 batteries. One owner noted that "The A-E flash guide markings are just about visible on the left side of the lens," which suggests the flash guide numbers are printed around the lens barrel. Dimensions are approximately 137 × 84 × 73 mm.

The record on this model is thin. No original retail price, weight, or detailed period press coverage has surfaced in the sources available. What exists comes mostly from contemporary dealers and collectors. One seller listing a working example described it as "a simple rangefinder camera with a few oddities," and a Flickr owner who serviced one noted it "made a great subject to test out the Uniomat on after its little TLC session." Used examples turn up with some regularity. One European dealer listed a body at €99, and a Russian classifieds ad offered one at 2,500 rubles (plus 300 for delivery). As with any selenium-metered camera from this era, the meter cell may have degraded with age, so check it before buying.

Known specifications: