How to clone Minolta RD-175 cards

First you have to install a freeware Windows Program called "Easeus Todo Backup".

You may get it with this direct link or here or here (72Mb file).

or find it at their website

http://www.easeus.com/

You don't need to install the "Professional" version. The free version is enough.

After install, restart your computer.

Download this RD-175 card image. Alternative links here and here (59Mb file).

I made it from a 160MB PCMCIA card formatted with the RD-175 camera.

Connect a CF (CompactFlash) card to your computer directly or through a usb card adapter.

This card must have a capacity of 160MB or more.

Open the Easeus program.

Click the on the tab "Recovery".

Select "Disk and partition recovery".

Click "Browse". Find the card image that you downloaded (rd175.PDB) and select it.

Click "Next".

Select the box "Disk3" and click  "Next".

Select the CF Card you connected to the computer.

VERY IMPORTANT#1: you MUST select the CF card, otherwise you will erase your hard drive or other disk in your computer.

VERY IMPORTANT#2: click the box "Sector by sector recovery" below. Otherwise the card won't work on your RD-175.

Click "Next" 2 times and "Proceed".

Click "OK".

Now wait for about one or two minutes depending on the speed of your computer and card.

Click "Finish".

Exit the program.

Eject the CF card.

Insert your CF card into a "CF to PCMCIA or PCCard adapter".

And your camera should be working!...

This card image contains a sample raw photo and a tiff converted photo that you may delete.

I tried this with Windows XP, Windows 7 computers and Windows 7 running on an Apple Macbook Pro.

I tried with success several CF cards and an IBM microdrive, with sizes ranging from 256MB to 4Gb.

It also worked with all CF to PCMCIA card adapters.

At the right of this image is the original PCMCIA 160Mb card.

These two pictures were taken with a Minolta RD-175, a Sigma 10-20mm EX Zoom and a Sony Alpha HVL-F56AM Flash.

Remember that the card image is only 160MB.

If you copy it into a 4GB card, the space available will be only 160MB in one partition. The rest of the card will be empty.

The space will be enough to take about 138 pictures.

If you have any doubts, leave a comment.

(Soon in the next posts: Kodak DCS 460, a milestone in the history of digital cameras;  Nikon Coolpix 100;  Nikon D1; the Foveon X3 sensor; and more...)

Minolta RD-175 (aka Agfa ActionCam) - 1995

Minolta RD-175 (aka Agfa ActionCam) - 1995

The Minolta RD-175 was an insane and unique camera. At a time when large sensors were very expensive, Minolta designed a camera with 3 small sensors.

The image was divided by a prism into 3 beams, each for one sensor.

Instead of the expected Red, Blue and Green sensors like in video cameras, Minolta chose one Blue/Red and two Green sensors. The Blue/Red sensor used a microscopic filter. The explanation? The sensors would have more sensitivity to green light, allowing the camera to have 800 ISO, a very high value in 1995. The only competition was the Kodak DCS 420 CIR and the 460 CIR, with ISO range of 200-800. But the Kodak cameras had a problem: high chromatic noise. The Minolta RD-175 was the SLR digital camera with less noise at the time.

But as the light is divided into 3 beams, the maximum aperture is 6.7 with any lens. This would be the equivalent of an aperture of approximately 2.4 at ISO 100.

The camera was based on the Minolta 500Si.

The hardware was designed by Minolta, while the firmware and software were made by Agfa. The camera was commercialized under the two brands.

Each of the three sensors has a resolution of 768x394 (380000 pixels). The size of each sensor is 18x12mm. The crop factor is 2x, so a 50mm lens is the equivalent of 100mm on 35mm film. The image is interpolated to a final resolution of 1.8 Megapixels.

Later we will talk about the main problems of this camera: the odd SCSI interface, the proprietary format of the PCMCIA cards and the software. I will try to teach how to use this camera with today's computers and hardware.

The initial price of the camera was $10000. The price at the competition (Kodak) was about 20% higher.

The complexity of the hardware led to a low long-term reliability. I had to purchase three of these cameras (2 Minoltas and one Agfa) to have a functioning one.

The software and drivers are hard to find nowadays, as Minolta site closed long ago.
So here it is:

Manuals:
Agfa ActionCam User Manual
Software:
Minolta RD-175 Software Manual
Minolta RD-175 Drivers and Software (Rd17520e.exe)
Agfa ActionCam Twain Drivers

Some interesting links:
http://www.nikonweb.com/actioncam/
http://www.nikonweb.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6
http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Minolta_RD-175
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/onebody/rd-175


Old (and not so old) Reviews:
http://www.sds.com/mug/rd175.html
http://www.epi-centre.com/reports/9605cs.html
http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/cameras/digital-cameras/digital-slrs/konica-minolta/PRD_99084_3127crx.aspx