Minolta XE/XE-1/XE-7

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1. Overview

2. Construction and Power Supply

3. Layout

4. Features

5. Aesthetics and Handling

6. Pros and Cons

7. Buying Advice

8. Sample Photos

9. Other Resources

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A hybrid of world-class Japanese and German Engineering

Several weeks ago, I was drawn to investigate Minolta cameras after learning about the  historical collaboration between the Japanese manufacturer and Leitz, which, beginning in the early 1970s and spanning approximately two decades, birthed the XE and XD cameras as well as the Leica R3-R7 series of SLRs. Having spent about 18 months shooting the R7 quite religiously—with varying results—and a couple experimenting—pleasantly—with the radically different R8 (review to come), I was intrigued to discover what the Japanese siblings of the R3 and R4 had to offer, both technically in their own rights as picture-making tools and as lessons in the history of Leica photography. Therefore, I went ahead and purchased decent, though not mint, copies of the Minolta XE-1 (1974; badged for the European market, marked XE in Japan and XE-7 in North America) and XD (1977; badged for the Japanese market, marked XD-7 in Europe and XD-11 in North America). I do not yet own R3 and R4 bodies with which to compare them (that’s a topic for another article), so I will review them independently of the Leica cameras. This article deals exclusively with the Minolta XE.

The XE was a semi-professional, semi-automatic, 35 mm SLR camera co-developed by Minolta and Leitz. Following on the heels of the Minolta CL (1972), which was a smaller, cheaper M-mount rangefinder made by Minolta to Leica’s standards, the XE was the first SLR camera to proceed from the collaboration between the Japanese and German manufacturers. Released in 1974, it shared much of its DNA with the Leica R3, which succeeded the famously unprofitable and over-engineered, Leicaflex SL2 in 1977. The XE was available in two finishes: all-black and black-with-chrome-trim. The introductory list price was US$375—an almost impossible-to-believe US$2,400 in today’s money. I bought mine packaged with a 35 mm f/2.8 MC W.Rokkor-HG lens (shown above) for C$179 from eBay.

The XE was a spare, beautiful camera. Its substantial, boxy chassis was ruggedly built to close tolerances, mostly from metallic parts, giving a solid feeling of quality engineering in the hand. The industrial design, particularly manifested by the black-and-chrome model, was very much of its time: utilitarian, proudly proclaiming competence over comfort. The camera’s confidently understated aesthetic gave little consideration to ergonomics beyond modest rounding of the corners, and appealed to the advanced amateur photographer who was above all concerned with performance.

The XE was an electro-mechanical camera that required batteries for operation of the shutter at every manually-selected speed other than “X” (1/90 s) and “B” (bulb), as well as for stepless, aperture-priority auto-exposure (“AUTO”). A 3 V supply was required, either by way of two 1.5 V A76 (LR 44) batteries, or a single 3 V 1/3N battery. Unlike its Leica sibling, the R3, the XE lacked contacts for an external motor drive.

Reproduced below are pages 6 and 7 of the Minolta XE-1 user manual, showing the layout of the camera in detail.

The placement of dials and levers was traditional in the XE: the left-hand side of the top plate of the camera (with lens facing away from the photographer) featured a combination ASA-exposure compensation collar surrounding the film rewind crank (both having locks to prevent inadvertent movement), while the right-hand side featured the shutter speed selection dial (including B, X, and AUTO settings), a threaded shutter-release button, and plastic-tipped film-advance crank coupled with double-exposure switch. The rear face of the camera featured a viewfinder blind lever and an on-off switch, as well as a window that showed both the frame counter and film-advance confirmation. The images below show these features in detail. (Click, or tap, to enlarge.)

Shutter and flash synchronization. The XE featured a very quiet and reliable metallic, vertically-travelling, focal-plane shutter that was built by Copal and Leitz. Speeds ranged from 4 s to 1/1000 s and bulb (“B”). Synchronization modes were available for both electronic flash (X) and flash bulbs (FP), selected using a switch at the 3 o’clock position of the lens mount. The maximum sync speeds for X and FP were 1/90 s and 1/30 s, respectively.

Exposure Modes. The XE offered both aperture-priority automatic (“AUTO”) and metered manual exposure modes. (Prior to the XE, the only Minolta camera to feature the former was the professional-grade X-1—also known as the XK and XM—which debuted in 1973.) When the dial was set to “AUTO,” shutter speed was varied steplessly by the camera; otherwise, speeds could be adjusted manually in full stop increments only. Film speeds could be set in the range of ISO 12-3200. The XE did not have automatic DX decoding.

Metering. Through-the-lens metering was provided at full aperture by Minolta’s Contrast Light Compensation (CLC) system which employed two cadmium sulfide (CdS) cells that were mounted at different positions on the pentaprism. According to the user manual, these took “separate, overlapping light readings” and were “circuited so that the reading of each affect[ed] that of the other to automatically yield optimal exposure in both normal and high-contrast situations.” This system, which debuted in Minolta’s SRT series of cameras in the 1960s, was designed so that, when the camera was held in landscape orientation, the meter was not overwhelmed by the brightness of the sky to the detriment of proper exposure of the darker landscape. Effectively, the lower CdS cell was twice as sensitive as the upper to ensure even exposure of light and dark areas.

The CdS cells had long and reliable lifetimes. They were sensitivity to the same colours of light as the human eye. However, as the manual warned, they also suffered from the same “memory effect” that plagues the human eye. That is, “the time of response varied with the intensity of light falling on them. It thus took them a while to become accustomed to low light levels after exposure to bright light.” I have indeed confirmed this lag for myself: it may take a few seconds for the XE’s meter to achieve an accurate, stable reading in low light after the camera has been exposed to bright light.

In both aperture-priority automatic and metered manual modes, the XE showed the metered shutter speed for the selected aperture by way of a needle scale on the right-hand side of the viewfinder. In manual mode, the selected shutter speed was shown to the right of the selected aperture.

Focussing. The XE was a manual-focus camera. Focus was achieved by turning the barrel of the lens until the bottom and top halves of the split screen were aligned within the viewfinder. In more sophisticated, later-model cameras, like the Nikon F100, manual focus was confirmed by illumination of an in-focus indicator light in the viewfinder. The XE did not have this feature.

Viewfinder and focussing screen. The XE featured an eye-level, fixed pentaprism-type viewfinder with 94% coverage and 0.8x magnification (at 50 mm, focussed to infinity.) It had a matte-Fresnel-field focussing screen with a central, horizontally-oriented split-image focussing spot surrounded by a microprism band. Shown below is a schematic of the XE’s viewfinder, taken from page 24 of the user manual.

Lens Compatibility. The XE was designed to be fully compatible with Minolta MC lenses, which were optically excellent and available in focal lengths ranging from 7.5 mm to 1,600 mm. The camera was also compatible with the later MD line of lenses that was released alongside the Minolta XD and offered shutter- as well as aperture-priority autoexposure. The XE could be used with earlier Minolta lenses with stop-down metering.

Other Features. In no particular order:

• Depth-of-field preview

• Self-timer with 6-10 second variable delay

• Multiple exposure switch

• Threaded cable release

• Hot shoe

• PC-socket allowing both X and FP flash sync

• Tripod socket

If you are coming to the XE from a DSLR or late-model, fully electronic SLR, you may be surprised by how simple and stripped-down it is. The camera body has very few controls. There is a shutter release button for taking pictures, a depth-of-field preview button, an integrated shutter speed and ISO selection dial, self-timer control, a double-exposure switch, and a film advance lever. That’s it. These analog controls are laid out beautifully and provide very positive tactile sensations, so the camera can be used easily without the photographer having to take his eye from the viewfinder.

PROS

• Leica DNA without the Leica price tag. Less expensive than the R3 (and the similarly specified Nikon FE.)

• High build quality, durability, and reliability.

• Compatible with a large selection of excellent, relatively inexpensive Minolta MC and MD lenses

• Simple, intuitive controls with excellent layout and positive feel enabling shooting without removing the eye from the viewfinder.

• Large bright viewfinder showing selected aperture, shutter setting (“A”, “B”, or “X”) and calculated shutter speed. Easy focussing via a split-screen.

• Retro-aesthetic (if you go for that kind of thing.)

CONS in decreasing order of importance to me

• I found it difficult to get used to Minolta’s CLC system, which I found to be less reliable than good, old-fashioned centre-weighted metering.

• Lack of selected shutter speed in the viewfinder when the camera is in manual mode.

• Slow return to accurate metering during transitions from bright to low-light situations.

• Lack of shutter-priority auto-exposure and program mode.

• Lack of autofocus.

• Lack of mirror lock-up.

• Lack of motor drive.

The Minolta XE is a good alternative to the Nikon FE. It is cheaper than the Nikon camera and just as well made. MC and MD lenses can readily be had at low prices. These are generally of excellent quality as they too have inherited Leica know-how.

• The Minolta XE user manual

Other camera reviews

Since 2023, I have been working to review all of the cameras that I own and use. This is a large project because my collection contains 33 cameras spanning 6 brands. For a complete list of my cameras and the current status of the project, see Completed and Upcoming Film Camera Reviews.

This is the first in my series of Minolta camera reviews,

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