A Problematic P’s
Gold Minolta Ps from Japan
I first heard about the Minolta P’s on the smash hit podcast I Dream of Cameras and decided I would like to dabble in some panoramic photo taking. The Minolta P’s, which is also know as the Minolta Riva Panorama and Minolta Freedom Vista, is a 35mm point and shoot camera produced in 1991. It comes in a variety of fun colours such a red, green and gold and has a 24mm f4.5 lens. It has a 1/4-1/200 shutter speed, built in flash and a self timer. It can take DX coded film between 100 and 400 ISO but will default to 100 ISO in the case of non coded film. The selling point of the Minolta P’s is its ability to produce ‘panoramic’ images through masking part of the film and therefore exposing less of the 35mm negative. This differs from true panoramic cameras such as the Hasselblad Xpan or the Widelux and is what makes it a more budget friendly option. Another big plus of the Minolta P’s is the panoramic viewfinder which is wide and bright and a joy to use. It also comes with a sliding lens cover and a quartz date back which takes a separate battery.
Back of the Minolta P’s with the Panoramic viewfinder and Quartz Date Back
My camera came from Japan and was sold as being in mint working condition with a clear lens. All I had to do was buy a CR123 battery and load up some film. I recently loaded it with some Lomo 100 Earl Grey black and white film, not the ideal choice of film for the time of year given the lack of light but it was all I had to hand. I shot happily all day around the Titanic Quarter in Belfast and enjoyed framing images in the panoramic viewfinder. It wasn’t until I had shot almost the entire roll that I found a problem with my camera. While trying to clean a smudge from the lens, I held it to the light and was horrified to discover severe spiderweb fungus in the lens. I can see that the dreaded spiderwebs are coating not just the front lens of the five glass elements but also the lens behind.
Spiderweb-like fungus in the lens of my Minolta P’s.
Nothing Fun about Fungus
Lens fungus is a combination of dust and moisture which has found its way into the lens element and usually appears as web-like spots or patches on the lens. If the spores germinate, the fungus can spread beyond the initial fungal area. It feeds off organic material such as fingerprints on the lens and also on some material used during manufacturing of the lens such as adhesives, wood or paint. The fungus can etch away the lens coating and decrease the performance of the lens, causing images to appear hazy or fuzzy. Fungus thrives in dark and in humid environments of more than 70% relative humidity with little or no airflow.
Fungus spores can be all around us in the environment so it is difficult to completely eradicate the risk of an infestation in your camera gear. There are measures we can take to mitigate the risk as best we can, such as using a humidity controlled dry cabinet, however these can be cost prohibitive. You can protect your cameras and lenses by ensuring that they are kept in a warm dry area with light, adequate ventilation and between 30-60% relative humidity. Development of fungus can also be hindered by UV light so use your gear out in the sun once in a while. Always dry your cameras and lens before storing them away if they have gotten wet and it’s good practice to store them with a desiccant such as silica packets. For lenses it is best to keep them free from dust and organic material such as fingerprints.
I have recently moved my own camera collection from a wooden storage cabinet to an entirely glass cabinet in order to try and minimise the risk of any mould or fungus. Ireland can be extremely damp with high humidity and I was starting to notice a mould issue in the wooden cabinet despite using desiccants. I also avoid purchasing any cameras that have obvious signs of fungus in the lens, though of course it can be difficult to 100% avoid this as shown by my Minolta P’s.
Cleaning fungus can often require the lens to be completely disassembled and is beyond the scope of this post. This lens fungus cleaning article by Richard Haw is useful if that is something you would like to undertake. Otherwise it is a good idea to send the equipment for professional servicing.
Results from the P’s
Given how bad the infestation is in the lens of my Minolta P’s, I was not hopeful for the quality of the images. I have seen some remarkably crisp and clear images online produced by the camera and I do feel that the quality of my own images has indeed been degraded by the fungus given their hazy appearance. It’s best not to judge the Minolta P’s on the images below because of this issue. Searching online for images taken with the Minolta P’s can give a much better example of what this little camera is capable of. My experience is a reminder to be vigilant about checking any acquisitions immediately upon purchase to ensure that they are as advertised. A lesson learnt for me.
Despite my disappointment at the image quality, I do love the panoramic effect of the images and enjoyed the ease of shooting with it. The Minolta P’s is a fun pocketable camera and I would be keen to try it again if I can find one with a clean lens. The possibilities of panoramic style images are interesting and shooting with the Minolta P’s reminded me of shooting with the Olympus Pen EE2 half frame camera, it makes you think a little more creatively. It’s not terribly serious, but it is a lot of fun and a cheap a way to give panoramic shooting a try without the price tag of an XPan.