The Minolta XG-M

Minolta XG-M with 45mm f/2 Rokkor-X

Over the years, I have acquired, used, and sold quite a few Minolta SLR cameras.  Once Minolta evolved into the late 1970s -1980s era of electronically-controlled SLR bodies, their cameras became a tad smaller, more capable, and of course, easier to use.  I’ve always thought of the SRT series as basic, competent, and reliable SLR bodies, and I’ve covered them previously on RCB.  My first experience with a Minolta SLR was around 2001, when I was gifted a Minolta X-700.  At one time, I had a full range of accessories for macro-photography and flash units for that camera, all given to me by a friend.  The camera was a delight to use, and the Minolta lenses were certainly top-notch.  It seems implausible that I would sell all my Minolta gear, but at some point I did that, as I grew more invested in the Nikon system.  I’ve never had to buy an X-700, as I have been gifted several over the last 20 years. They come and they go. I was given another one early this year, and it came fully serviced, so it ought to have a pretty long life.

However, this post is not about the X-700.  

Minolta XG-9 - the last of this body style

The Minolta XG series started in 1977 with the introduction of the XG-7. Like most other Minolta SLRs, it featured a horizontally-traveling cloth focal plane shutter.  The XD and XE series (1974-84), developed in collaboration with Leitz, featured a metal, vertically-traveling focal plane shutter and metal body. However, the XG series and X-number series have horizontal cloth shutters, which probably kept the cost down to some extent. You can find the most information on many of the Minolta SR, SRT, XE, XD, XE, and X-number cameras on the excellent Rokkor Files site. 

Top view of the XG-M (from the manual)

The Minolta XG-M was the best of the XG series, introduced in 1981.  It replaced the XG-9, and the big improvement was the ability to use the metering in manual mode, as well as a motor drive.  It was only sold in the chrome version, and in almost all aspects is nearly identical to the X-700 that appeared later in 1981, which was only sold in black.

Front and side views

The camera’s features:

• Electronic horizontally-traveling cloth focal plane shutter with step-less speeds in A mode, selectable speeds from B to 1/1000 sec + 1/60 flash sync in manual mode.
• Power supplied by 2 LR-44 1.5V type cells
• Full-aperture center-weighted metering
• Aperture Priority and Manual exposure mode
• Exposure Compensation +/- 2 stops in 1/2 stop increments
• Film ISO range of 25-1600
• Self-timer, electronic with LED indicator, ca. 10 sec delay
• PC Sync port as well as hot-shoe over the prism with additional pin for X-series flash units
• On/Off switch on shutter speed dial
• Depth of field Preview button
• electromagnetic shutter release on shutter speed dial + remote shutter release near the lens mount
• Ability to use the Motor-Drive 1 and Autowinder G accessories
• Film reminder on rear door
• Viewfinder with 93% coverage. Shutter speed, aperture, and manual mode indicated in viewfinder.
• Weight- just over 18 ounces without the lens.  

The viewfinder shows all you need to know

This camera has all you need to take quality images, especially when paired with the MC and MD Rokkor Minolta lenses.  I’ve owned several XG-M bodies since 2013, and my latest XG-M was given to me by a contact that purchases my zines.  It’s in great condition, and I’ve used it for a few rolls this year.  Over the years, I’ve taken quite a few good images with XG-M cameras, and I enjoy using these them. The split-prism at the center of the viewfinder is an excellent focusing aid, and the ergonomics of the body are excellent.  A tiny grip on the right side is nice, and of course, it could be more pronounced, but still, it handles well. All of the controls are precise, and the winding lever’s stroke is short. The shutter sound is not going to alert anyone. On top of that, it’s a responsive camera that just feels good in the hands to shoot with.

the back and bottom views of the XG-M

Here, I show my XG-M with the 58mm f/1.2 MC Rokkor-PG lens, which is a loaner from my friend Bill Pivetta.  This is a stunning lens that is heavy, yet renders the subjects beautifully with a very pleasing bokeh. 

However, the lens that I highly recommend for every-day use is the 45mm f/2 MD Rokkor-X.  It’s wonderfully sharp and almost a pancake lens, as it extends about an inch from the front of the prism housing.  

Minolta XG-M with the Minolta Auto 280 PX flash

You can use any flash unit that can work with a standard single pin hot-shoe, or a dedicated Minolta flash.  A dedicated flash contains another contact that activates the shutter speed to 1/60 sec for flash  synchronization, and causes the flash ready LED to show in the viewfinder. 

Minolta XG-1 with 50/1.7 MD lens

The only caveat I have regarding the X-series cameras, is that a bad capacitor will cripple the camera.  I’ve seen it happen in the XG-9, the XG-M, the X-570, and the X700.  There are online instructions on how to replace the capacitors, but if you are not the sort of person that knows how to work with a soldering iron and some disassembly of the camera body, then a repair shop would be needed.    However, the majority of XG-series cameras that I’ve seen still work fine.

A few examples from the XG-M:

Minolta XG-M, Eastman 5231, May 2025

Minolta XG-M, Eastman 5231, may 2025

Minolta XG-M, Fomapan 200, May 2025

Minolta XG-M, FPP ISO 6 Blue Sensitive, July 2025

Minolta XG-M, Ferrania P-30, 2018

Minolta XG-M, Eastman 5222, 2018

While I’m primarily a Nikon user, if I were to lose all my manual Nikons for some reason, I’d be happy with the Minolta universe. There are a lot of excellent lenses and accessories to satisfy most situations that a photographer will encounter.  The major area of deficiency would be in the range of shutter speeds that typically stop at 1/1000 sec., lower-speed flash sync, and a battery is required to use the camera. Long bulb exposures could potentially drain the battery.  However, these limitations will not be a problem for the majority of users. 

Minolta XG-M, Kodak Gold 200, 2018

Minolta XG-M, Panatomic-X, 2015

Minolta XG-M, Efke 25, 2015

Current used prices on eBay range from $40 to $120, for a body with a lens.  They are fairly abundant on the used market, but make sure to get one that has been tested or at least sold as working!

Minolta XG-M, Arista 100, 2015

 

A Developing Story

Film from the Arizona trip

Over the past few months, I have shot quite a bit of film.  Thirty-seven rolls on my October Arizona trip, and another 13 rolls during my November Ohio-Virginia trip.  That’s 50 rolls, and really raises my count for the year. Of course, the chickens come home to roost, which means that I have had to do a lot of film developing. The black and white film always gets done first - and while I tend to shoot a lot of different b&w films, there are some that I use more than others. Using only one b&w film does make the developing end simpler, but no, I am not that type. Therefore, the b&w developing takes longer since I have to work out the developer and time for each different emulsion.  The Massive Development Chart is what I use as a reference, as well as my developing notebook - which I’ve been keeping for almost 25 years. Lately, I have been using a lot of D-76, followed by Black White and Green, D-96, and HC110.  

On my recent trips I did shoot a lot of color film, even in medium format.  I used my Pentax 6x7 quite often during the Arizona trip, and I think the addition of a 3D printed right hand grip really makes the camera easier to hand hold.  I confess that I have not used the Pentax 6x7 very often over the past few years, and the Arizona trip was the most use it’s had in a long while. Most of the color shot on that trip was with my 35mm K-mount bodies, the Vivitar V3800 and the Pentax KX, and then the Pentax 17. As I was getting ready to leave for Ohio in mid-November,  I sent in the E-6 films to Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, KS, and the 120 C-41 to Reformed Film Lab in Florida.  The developed film returned shortly after I got home from the November trip. 

I developed the 35mm color film at home using the FPP Color kit for ECN-2 and C-41 films.  I use a sous-vide in a 5 gallon tote to keep the chemistry at 42°C.  I have 7 Jobo tanks that take 2 rolls of 35mm, so what I do is this: 

Number each tank and record what rolls are in each. Work from Tank 1 -7, hanging the film to dry in the same order.  Since everything gets the same development, it doesn’t matter what rolls are together, except that I do keep ECN-2 films separate from C-41, since I don’t want remjet particles polluting the non-remjet in the same tank.

For a developing session like this, I mix a fresh batch of developer.  The kits are said to be able to develop up to 25 rolls, but after 18-20 rolls, I mix up a fresh batch. At $20 for a kit, it’s still a HUGE savings over sending the film out for development. 

In looking over the lists of what I shot, here is the breakdown from the two trips:

Here’s the actual number of rolls:

1 Amber T800

2 Eastman 250D 

3 Fomapan 200

1 Fomapan 400

1 FPP Derevpan 100

1 FPP Retrochrome 400

1 FPP Svema FN64

1 FPP Xray

4 Fuji Acros 100

2 Fuji Color 200

1 Harman Phoenix 200 II

1 Ilfocolor 400

4 Kentmere 200

7 Kentmere 400

2 Kodacolor 100

1 Kodacolor 200

1 Kodak Color Plus 200

1 Kodak Ektar 100

3 Kodak Gold 200

1 Kodak Max 400

1 Kodak Tmax 100

2 Kodak Tmax 400

1 Kodak Tri-X

1 Lomo Color 100

1 Lomo Color 92

2 Lomochrome Purple

2 Lomochrome Turquoise

3 Rollei Retro 400S

The Lomochrome films were used in a Holga and my Rollei 35TE.  The Holga gave me some wonderfully wacky images, and the sharp lens on the Rollei definitely gave me some nice images, and with those color shifts from the Lomochrome - very surreal imagery.  Most of the 35mm films were shot in K-mount bodies - Vivitar V2000 for the b&w, and Vivitar V3800 and Pentax KX for color.  My Leica M2 shot a roll of b&w and two in color, my Pentax 17 1 b&w and 1 color, and my Pentax 6x7 for 120, with a few b&w rolls in my Lomo LCA 120, and of course, the Holga.

Now that I’m done scanning all of the negatives, the editing and deciding which ones are the “keepers” come next.  B&W definitely requires less editing. With color films, there’s typically a lot more that needs to be done until I have something that I am satisfied with.  Spotting, adjustments to the color and so on, takes more time. In the end, I’ll have several hundred images on film that I will have to evaluate.  Still, film gives me something that seems “organic” and despite the work that’s required, I enjoy the process.  I have plenty of digital images from those trips, too, and while they require much less work, I don’t have the same feeling about most of them.  There is something about seeing an image on a piece of thin acetate that has a tangible bit of reality about it.  

Here are a few examples from the film I shot.  I’ll go into more detail in the captions.

On the Lewis and Clark Trail in Missouri.  Vivitar V3800, Ilfocolor 400. Oct. 12.

Coolidge, KS. What appears to be an old bank building. Vivitar V2000, Kentmere 400

Offerle, KS.  10/13/25.  Vivitar V3800, Kodak Max 400

Grants, NM, Route 66. 10/15/25. Vivitar V3800, Fujicolor 200.

Just past the Arizona Welcome Center, I-40. Oct. 15.  V2000, Kentmere 400, red filter

The oft-photographed GANO abandoned grain elevator near Kinsley, KS. Oct. 13, Pentax 6x7, Kentmere 400

Saguaro National Park, 10/18/25. Holga, Lomochrome Purple

Pima Air and Space Museum, 10/18/25. FPP X-Ray film, V2000, 85b filter

Lowell ghost town, S of Bisbee, AZ.  Pentax KX, FPP Retrochrome 400. A perfect film for this vintage scene.  10/17/25.

Chiricahua National Monument, Rollei Retro 400S, V2000, red filter.  10/19/25.

Bisbee, AZ.  Lomochrome Turquoise, Rollei 35 TE.  10/17/25.

Pipe Organ formation, Chiricahua Nat. Mon., Lomo Color '92, Pentax 6x7. 10/19/25

Shell and Chevy. Lowell ghost town. Pentax KX, Kodak Gold 200

I still have a ton of editing to do on these hundreds of images, and I'll be sharing more on my Flickr pages (mfophotos).

Grants, NM, Route 66.  Pentax 17, Kentmere 200.

A Tale of Three Westons

Despite this being a photography blog, this post is NOT about any member of the Weston family of photographers. No Edward, Cole, or Brett.  It does however, deal with three towns named Weston in three states.  I suppose that I could go and look for towns named Adams, Evans, Mann, Miller, Stieglitz, or Steichen.  But, hey, I like Weston, okay? According to the USGS Geographic Names Server, there are 31 populated places in the US with the name Weston!  I guess that means I have 28 more states to visit.

Weston, MICHIGAN.  Located just across from Ohio in Lenawee County, Weston Michigan has a population of less than 200. Fairfield Township was founded in 1844, and Weston is an unincorporated community with the township that was originally called Oakford. I could not out why is was named Weston.  The area is largely agricultural, and back in 2014, took this photo of the Weston Post Office.  It's not much of a town, and there are a lot of small towns like this in Michigan and Ohio.

Konica FS-1

Konica FS-1

If your town has a bar and a post office, that's at least something!

Weston, OHIO.  Located within Wood County, Weston has a population around 1,500.  It was founded in 1853, and was originally called Taylortown. Another early variant name was New Westfield. The present name is from Weston Township. A post office called New Westfield was established in 1856, and the name was changed to Weston in 1863. The village was incorporated in 1873.  It sits in an agricultural area about 10 miles W of Bowling Green. It has a large Public Library which serves several other communities with that part of Wood Co.  That part of Ohio is absolutely the flattest place I have been.

Lomo LCA 120, cropped. Kodak Tri-X

I decided to visit Weston while in Bowling Green for a meetup with fellow Film Photography Project menbers on the podcast.  Like I said, I like the name, and headed over there in the morning of Nov. 14.  The main street isn't very long, and most of the businesses and municipal resources are located there.  Surprisingly, the Post Office did not have the name of the town on the front, but it did have the Zip Code.

Leica M2, Fomapan 400 for all of these

Railroads tie many of these small agricultural towns together.  Grain elevators are a common sight.

Weston, WEST VIRGINIA.  The seat of Lewis County, Weston was incorporated in 1846.  In 1818, it was founded as Preston, which was then changed to Fleshersville (ugh!) and changed to Weston in 1819.  The current population is about 4,000.  It's probably most famous for being the site of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, which closed in 1994. It is the largest hand-cut stone building in North America.  Weston is also home to the Museum of American Glass in West Virginia.  

Nikon F75, Fuji color 200

I stopped in Weston in 2024 while driving back home from Pittsburgh. It lies right off US 19, and in my brief stop there, I photographed a few buildings, including the lovely 1930s-built Post Office.  The heyday of Weston was from about 1930 to 1970.  Like many small towns, it has lost population, and is less than half of what it was at its peak. This is not a one-light town. It has beautiful masonry buildings in the main part of the town, and the county courthouse is a brick Italianate design of very modest size.  

Nikon F75, Fuji color 200 

Nikon F75, Fuji color 200 

Nikon F75, Fuji color 200 

There is obviously a lot more to Weston, WV than what I show here.  I think the Lunatic Asylum has tours, which ought to be interesting.

I suppose that if I were about 50, I'd visit every place named Weston and come up with a book. Alas, like so many things, one cannot do everything.  

What Weston have you been to?  I'd love to know.