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
Thought of GoPro so much, when its Agfa who have already created action camera before. To think, this camera was the first digital SLR camera to be used in a stop motion animation production. Wow...
ReplyDeleteI have one of these cameras and would like to sell it. Any idea what it's worth??
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