How to use the Minolta XE-1
Minolta XE-1 with MC Tele Rokkor-X 200mm f3.5
Inserting, advancing and removing the film
Loading the camera
To load the film, open the camera back by lifting the
rewind knob on the left side of the top plate (standing behind the camera).
If you are not sure about whether there is a film inside the body or not,
test it by looking to the safe load signal or rewinding the film - if the
rewind crank rotates without resistance, there is no film. If it rotates
some turns then stops or does not move at all, or if the safe load signal
(red bar above the exposure counter, only in XE-1) is visible, the camera
is loaded. Then rewind the film before opening the
back.
Always
handle the film in dim light, at least shadowing the camera from direct
sunlight with your body. Don't forget to set the
correct ASA speed by pushing the lock button and simultaneously turning
the ASA ring around the rewind knob until the right value is located next
to the white dot in the pentaprism cover of the camera. The ASA speed of
the film is printed on top of the film box and usually on the cartridge
itself, too. This camera was made years before anybody had heard about
such a thing as DX-coding - you must always make sure yourself that the
ASA value set is correct.
Turn the camera on from the main switch (in the pictures below the switch is set OFF). Place the film cartridge in the film chamber, the projecting central part downwards and film leader to the right. Push the rewind crank knob over the camera in to lock the film cartridge in its place. Pull the film leader out until it can be placed to one of the slits in the take-up spool. The film tip may not come through the slits. Make sure the sprockets fit well to the film cuts. Tighten the film by using the film advance lever slowly, until the film tightens well - when it stays flat, close the back cover, and move the film advance lever to the right as far as it goes. Tighten the film by turning the rewind crank until you feel the resistance. Cock the shutter and release it, advancing the film with film advance lever until the film counter shows number 1. Then you are ready to take the first picture. You can also use the memo holder in the camera back cover to store the end of the film box, to remind you what kind of film you have loaded.
Observing the film advance
While
advancing the film, you can make sure it is advancing properly by observing
either the Safe Load Signal above the film counter, or the rewind knob.
If the red bar appears in the Safe Load Signal and travels slowly from
left to right when you take to the photos, the film is advancing properly.
The rewind crank should also rotate every time you advance the film, if
you tightened the film by rewinding the "slack" from the cartridge, as
told above. The frame counter may advance although the film does not advance
at all - don't count on it. The camera in the picture did not have the
film loaded, so the bar does not appear in the picture.
If the film does not appear to advance properly, rewind it to the cartridge until you hear it freeing from the take-up spool. Stop the rewinding immediately to avoid pulling the film leader inside the cartridge - then you have to open the cartridge in tootal darkness or ask your photo dealer to open it. Open the camera back and reload the film.
To advance the film after taking a picture move the advance lever from the resting position (it has about 30 degrees free move) fully to the right at once, until it stops moving - never force it. The shutter is cocked at the same time.
Removing the film
To remove the film, push the film advance release button in the bottom of the camera in, turn the rewind crank out from the rewind knob and rewind the film to the cartridge by turning the crank to the direction indicated by a small arrow marked in the crank until you hear the film leader freeing from the take-up spool. If you want to leave it protruding from the cartridge, stop rewinding immediately. If you want to pull it fully to the cartridge, make some additional turns. Open the back door by lifting the rewind knob and pull the film cartridge out.
Removing a cartridge mid-roll
If you have to remove the film before it has been fully exposed, make a note of how many pictures has been taken, then follow the procedure above but make sure you don't pull the film leader into the cartridge. When you then want to put the film back, load it like a new roll, but use a lens cap and set the lens manually to its smallest aperture value and shutter speed manually to 1/1000. Then advance the film cocking the shutter until you reach the same exposure count you had taken to the film before removing it. Then make at least one extra exposure with above settings, to avoid overlapping frames. Then you can make normal exposures for the rest of the roll.
Installing and checking the batteries
The XE bodies use the same kind of batteries than all other manual focusing Minoltas except the SR and SR-T -bodies, two stacked 1,5 v alkaline cells like Everready S-76 or equivalent. The batteries power the shutter, metering cells and auto exposure electronics. They are located in the bottom of the camera. Because this camera doesn't have any kind of touch switch or other way to cut off the power when not in active use, all the power is on all the time the main switch is ON. Therefore take some extra care not to leave it ON when the camera is not in use - two days in the camera bag with power on is enough to drain the batteries.
To
check the batteries turn the battery check lever in the left end of the
body (when you are looking the camera from back). If the LED glows steady,
the batteries are OK. If it does not light at all, lits unsteady or fades
slowly, install new batteries.
To install the batteries, open the battery cover on the bottom of the camera by using a coin and removing the battery holder together with the batteries. Take the old batteries out from the holder and install the new ones, checking that they are installed in right position - it is described inside the holder. Put the holder back and tighten it with the coin .
Even though this camera has a safety mechanical shutter speed of 1/90 sec for the emergency use, I would advice to keep a pair of fresh batteries always available. The main switch, although well placed and easy to use, is too easy to forget ON - especially if you are also using newer bodies with automatic power cutoff. Remember not to discard the old batteries to the nature but to return them to the camera shop to be destroyed properly - they are toxic, as all alkaline cells.
If battery power is insufficient while the shutter release button is pressed, the mirror will swing up, but shutter will not fire, and the mirror stays up preventing viewing. To release the mirror, switch the shutter speed dial to mechanical speeds (X=1/90 sec or B) or replace the batteries. In either case, use the multiple-exposure lever to recock the shutter without wasting a frame of film. The mirror will also reset automatically after film has been advanced in the usual way and the shutter released once.
Setting the exposure
You can set the correct exposure by trusting the cameras automatic exposure system, use it but make an exposure correction based on your experience or other information, or set the exposure values manually either by the advice of the cameras TTL metering system or using another light meter or totally disregarding them and making your own decision.The camera exposure metering system is described in detail elsewhere. To make proper exposures you must take care of some details. First, make sure that the ASA value is set correct according to the film you are using. Second, set the exposure correction ring (around the ASA speed setting ring) to zero, unless you want to make corrections to the readings of the camera meter. In this picture it is set to +1 1/2 EV - that is, one and half stop overexposure. Third, turn the camera's main switch ON. If you haven't used the camera for a longer time or the batteries are old, check their condition as described above.
The XE's meter is based on CdS cell. They are slower in reacting to the changes in light than the silicon cells used in modern cameras. Therefore the meter might need a second or two to settle to the correct level if the lightning changes rapidly, like when pointing the camera quickly from bright sunlight to deep shadows. You see it from the meter needle - when it stops moving, the metering is done.
Choosing automatic or manual exposure control
To use the camera in aperture priority AE, set the shutter speed dial so that the letter A faces the white dot beside the viewfinder housing. It locks. To use the camera in manual mode, push the little tab at the side of the shutter speed dial to release the lock and set the desired shutter speed facing the same dot. Never set the dial between two values - it has click stops in each value marked, don't leave it between them.
Automatic exposure
Set
the shutter speed dial to A position as told above. Turn the main switch
ON. Looking through the viewfinder you can see the shutter speed scale
and a match needle on the right and - in XE-1 - set aperture value and
an A letter reminding you that the camera is set in automatic exposure
mode on the top. The picture below shows the viewfinder of the XE-1, set
at automatic exposure and aperture set at f8 (like in the little picture
at left) - the needle shows that the camera will use shutter speed of 1/125.
To set the desired aperture value, just turn the aperture ring until the
desired value appears in the top of the viewfinder. If you are using the
XE-5, you have to check the aperture value by looking from the lens. The
match needle shows the shutter speed the camera is going to use at the
set aperture. If you want to use a higher shutter speed, open up the aperture
until the match needle is on the desired shutter speed. If you want to
use a longer shutter speed, set a smaller aperture value, respectively.
The XE-1 viewfinder
A = Aperture priority AE is chosen
(with manual exposure, the set shutter speed would be shown here
The moving needle at right shows the shutter speed the camera has chosen
(in this case 1/125 sec) when set to aperture priority AE,
and the shutter speed camera recommends if manual exposure is chosen.
The
exposure correction can be set steplessly from -2 to +2 EV using a ring
around the ASA speed scale In the picture it is set to +1,5 EV - one and
half stop overexposure. Actually the user changes the ASA speed the camera
is using. Therefore there are limits when you can use this setting - in
extremely slow ASA speeds you cannot set overexposing correction and in
extremely high ASA speeds you cannot make underexposing correction. Between
50 and 800 ASA you can use the whole correction area; in 25 ASA you can
set max. +1 EV correction and in ASA 12 you can only set underexposing
(up to -2 EV) correction. Similarly, when using 1600 ASA you can set max.
-1 EV underexposure and if you are using 32200 ASA film, you can only set
overexposing correction up to +2 EV, not at all underexposing. There is
no warning about exposure correction in the viewfinder, so don't forget
it on!
Exposure correction should be used when the subject and background are in very different lightning, or the scene is unusually bright or dark. Most common situations needing extra light are snowy landscapes and pictures with large portion of sky - set the exposure compensation to +1 or +2. Situations requiring negative correction are rare - an example could be a very dark scene with small, spotlighted subject. Read any photo literature for more information.
Metered manual exposure
Set
the shutter speed dial to any of the electronical shutter speeds - any
number value on the dial, from white 1000 (=1/1000 sec.) to yellow 4 (=
4 sec.). Don't set the dial to A (=automatic exposure) or mechanical shutter
speeds (X=1/90, x-sync, or B=Bulb). The set shutter speed is now shown
in the top of the viewfinder, where the A was shown in automatic exposure
mode. The set aperture is shown similarly to automatic mode. The match
needle at right shows now the shutter speed the camera would use, if it
were set at automatic mode- that is, the speed the meter thinks is right
for the selected aperture value. You can use it as a guide, or use any
combination of aperture and shutter speed you think is right.
Through the lens metering at full aperture
With MC and MD lenses, the exposure is determined through-the-lens at full aperture to make the viewing and focusing easier. At the moment the photographer releases the shutter, the aperture closes down to set aperture, mirror swings up and shutter opens to the period determined either by the cameras automatic exposure or the photographer himself. Therefore the cameras exposure system must know which aperture is set to be used. This information is delivered via the MC pin, located in the lens aperture ring. It is located so that when the lens is attached and set at full aperture, it just slightly pushes the opposite lever (called MC tab in the pictures below) in the body, above the bayonet mount, off from its resting position. The information of how many steps (= how many EVs) down from this full aperture position the lens is set to be used is delivered from the lens to the camera body. The electronics of the camera then set the shutter speed as many steps longer than required by the meter reading through the full aperture.
This system is genious in that the body does not need to know any exact values of the lens used at the moment. It just counts how many EVs in terms of shutter speed must be added to the value given by meter through the full aperture, and makes the adjustment automatically and steplessly. Simple and easy. Adding any kind of extension between the lens and body - extension tubes, tele converters or whatever - does not require any corrections as far as the position of the MC pin (=set aperture) in the lens is delivered to the MC tab in the body, and the aperture is working automatically. The system also works perfectly with such devices that have neither automatic aperture nor the MC coupling pin, like the reflex (mirror) lenses or non-automatic bellows and extension tubes. The light is metered at the stopped-down aperture, and because the MC lever of the body stays in the off-position the camera makes no addition to the shutter speed - resulting correct exposure.
With any other than MC or MD lenses you have to use stopped-down metering. In most cases there is neither meter coupling nor automatic diaphgram - like using fully manual extension devicess, old lenses or reflex lenses. The only kind of system needing some additional care is using any device or lens which has the automatic aperture system but does not have a MC tab to tell the set aperture to the body. There are mainly two such situations: Using old Auto Rokkor lenses or Auto Bellows 1. In both cases, the lens is kept at full aperture until the shutter is released, so the metering is done at full aperture instead of stopped-down aperture. In Auto Rokkor lenses there is no MC tab to give the information of the set aperture to the body, and Auto Bellows 1 does not deliver the information of the tab position to the body. The XE does not make any final check - i.e. last reading after the lens has closed down but before the mirror swings up - like the XD or X700 does. As a result, thhe lens must be stopped down manually before setting the exposure and releasing the shutter. This is done by releasing the DOF button, in the left bottom corner of the lens mount (looked behind the camera), from its in-position. A spring pushes it out, and the lens is stopped down to the set aperture. The light must be metered now. First, let the CdS cell settle down - it has a memory (common to all CdS meters) when moved from brighter light to darker, and therefore it takes some seconds to have correct readings. In manual exposure, set the shutter speed according to the needle reading. In automatic exposure, when the moving of the needle has settled you can release the shutter. In both cases, unlike in the SR-T series, the lens must be left stopped down before releasing the shutter to get proper exposure.
The Auto Bellows 3 has different kind of system. In it, the lens is also kept at full aperture and there is no connection with the MC tab of the lens and body. But the shutter release is done with a special kind of mechanical cable release that connects to the lens mount of the bellows unit. It first closes the lens down to the set aperture, and then operates the shutter of the camera via another cable release, from the opposite side of the lens mount to the camera cable release socket. I don't have experience over this system intended to the use with XD bodies with final check capability, and I suspect that the XE's automatic exposure is too slow to react in this case. So I would recommend you to use manual exposure and make the reading by stopping down the lens (using the DOF preview button in the bellows or in the lens, if available) without cables releases attached. Then set the correct shutter speed, connect the cable releases and shoot away. If the lightning conditions are not changing rapidly, this should give correct exposure. But if you are using your XE a lot with bellows, a non-automatic bellows unit or Auto Bellows 1 are better adapted to it.
The
XE-1 is equipped with built-in eyepiece shutter. It is useful in situations
when the viewfinder is not covered by the eye of the photographer, and
the light from there could therefore affect the metering. There is mainly
one situation when this is possible: When the camera is set on tripod at
automatic exposure and shutter released without watching through the viewfinder.
If the exposure is done manually, the viewfinder shutter is not needed.
To close the viewfinder, turn the switch (located beside the eyepiece)
until the curtains are shut, and open it when the exposure is done. The
picture shows the shutter closed.
Focusing
Focusing is done by turning the focusing ring of the lens. The right focusing can be determined through the viewfinder by three means. In addition to these, the focusing can be done by scale-estimating method, metering the distance from the film plane (it is marked to the top plate of the camera) using some metering device, or by estimating and setting the right distance to the distance scale of the lens.
The lens has several markings engraved to help focusing and DOF estimation. When the image in the viewfinder looks sharp, you can estimate the distance to the subject by looking at the distance scale. The distance is read from the index mark - in the picture above, the lens is focused at 4 meters.
Normally the focusing is done by looking through the viewfinder. The XE uses full aperture metering to provide a bright viewfinder and short depth of field, which makes the accurate focusing easy. The central part of the viewfinder has two areas designed to help focusing. The centre spot has a split image field. The focus is correct, when the straight lines in the subject continue through the area without cuts. You just turn the lens focusing ring until the lines match. Around this there is a micro-prism field. It makes the image blurred if the focus is not correct - again, just turn the focusing ring until the image appears clear and sharp.
Both of these devices work best with lenses having maximum aperture larger than 5.6. With slower lenses or using extension tubes or bellows, the viewfinder gets darker and the central focusing aids might "black out". If they do, try to place your eye right into the centre of the viewfinder - it usually helps a little - or focus using the matte field around the central focusing devices. The focus is correct when it appears sharpest on this area.
If you are using infrared film, the correct focusing point differs from the one with visible light. You should first focus normally. Read the distance to the subject from the distance scale on the lens, and turn the focusing ring until the point that originally matched the index mark matches the IR focusing mark, marked red right to the index mark.
Depth of field means the area in front of and behind of the subject that reproduces with sufficient sharpness in the final picture. The smaller the aperture used, the greater the depth of field. DOF is also effected by the lens-to-subject distance and focal length of the lens, i.e. the magnification. Both getting closer to the subject with the same lens or using a longer lens without moving decreases the DOF - using a shorter lens from a given spot increases the DOF compared to a picture shot with a longer lens from the same spot, as well as moving backwards from the subject without changing the focal length of the lens in use.
You can check the DOF by pressing the DOF button, on the lower left side of the lens mount when looking from the back of the camera - the same button you use to make a stop-doown metering. Push it slightly and the spring will eject it out (right picture). The viewfinder will darken, but now it is possible to estimate which parts of the screen are going to reproduce sharp enough. To enlarge the DOF, set a smaller aperture value - this darkens the viewfinder even further - and to make it narrower, set a larger aperture value. To set the camera back to full aperture viewing, press the DOF button back in (left picture)
When releasing the DOF button you at the same time set the XE to stopped-down metering, and when pushing it back in you set the camera back to normal full aperture metering.
You can also read the DOF from the DOF scale, engraved to the lens both sides of the index mark. For example, in the lens above, the focus is set to 4 meters. Because the aperture is set into 16, you can read the near- and far limits of DOF from the distance scale at the respective markings - that is, those with 16 marked below them. At the photo above, the near limit of the DOF is little bit over 3 meters and far limit is little bit over 5 meters. That means that all subjects between these limits appear to be sharp in the final picture.
The DOF is a subject of debate itself - it is more or less a question of tolerances. There is much information about it elsewhere in the WWW - try for example AltaVista with "depth of field" or DOF.
Inserting and removing the lens
To insert a lens, aligning the red dot in the lens to the red dot (lens mounting index) above the lens mount in the camera body, set the lens in the mount carefully without forcing it and turn it clockwise until it clicks and locks to its place. To remove it, push the lens release button on the upper left side of the lens mount, when you are lloking the camera from the back, and turn the lens counter clockwise to align the red dots. Then pull the lens out.
Remember always to place the rear cap of the lens when it is not in the use, and the body cap when there is no lens attached.
Making multiple exposures
The
XE-1 can easily make multiple exposures. There is no limit how many exposures
you can make to one frame. The XE-5 can not make multiple exposures. The
picture shows the multi-exposure lever set at multiple exposures. Neither
the film nor the frame counter will advance when film advance lever is
moved with this lever set to the position seen here. It will reset automatically
to normal setting after the shutter is cocked. The red dot is there to
remind you that you have chosen to make multiple exposures.
To make multiple exposures to one frame, take the first exposure normally, but remember to correct the exposure according to number of exposures you are going to make and the circumstances. Then, before advancing the film, turn the multiple exposure lever, located in front of the film advance lever, clockwise until it stops. Then turn the film advance lever as usually. The shutter will cock, but the film and the exposure counter will not advance. Release the shutter as normally. You can repeat this procedure as many times as you want.
If you decide not to make multiple exposures after you have already set this lever to multiple exposure but have not cocked the shutter, you can simply move the lever back to its normal position to cancel the multiple exposure. But if you already have cocked the shutter, there is no way to cancel. To avoid wasting a frame or making an accidental second exposure over an already exposed frame, you have to set the lens to its minimum f-stop, choose 1/1000 as shutter speed (these two to minimize the time the frame will be exposed) and cover the lens with lens cap before releasing the shutter. The shutter will fire but the frame will not receive light so no damage will happen. The next picture can be taken normally.
Self timer
The
XE-1 is equipped with mechanical self timer. It is operated by a lever
in the camera body, beside the lens mount. To use it, first advance the
film like usual, and cock the self timer by turning the lever as far as
you want or it moves - never force it. The longer move, the longer delay,
maximum is about 10 seconds. If the small tab, located opposite to the
lever itself, is turned to the first white mark, the delay will be approximately
6 seconds (like the situation in the picture). The second white index mark
corresponds 10 seconds delay. The delay can be set anywhere between them.
Set the camera on the tripod or some else firm support, frame, focus and
set the exposure as usual. If you use the automatic exposure, don't forget
to close the viewfinder shutter. When you are ready, release the self timer
from it's own release button, not from the standard shutter release button.
The self timer release button is located behind the self timer lever, to
the front panel of the camera - it becomes visible only when the self timer
lever is moved off its resting position. It is a very tiny metal button.
Push it slightly, until you hear the whirring of the self timer and the
lever starts moving upwards. Then hurry to the picture ;-).
The self timer lever appears to be a weak part of the XE - I have read of several broken ones. It is made of hard plastic, and breaks easily if pushed or otherwise coiled towards or outwards from the camera's front panel. A spare part might be hard to find, so be careful. Because the camera is rather heavy - especially with heavy lenses - and has no kind of grip available, it is too easy to hold the camera such a way that your fingers hold the self timer lever. Don't do this - be aware of the weakness, so you avoid the problem.
Flash photography
The XE-1 has not much special in flash photography. It has a hot shoe and a pc-terminal on the left side of the lens mount, with a lever to choose between X and FP sync. To use a shoe-mount electronic flash, place it in the shoe, make sure the sync lever is in X position and turn both camera and flash on. Set the shutter speed to X (1/90) or longer speed (left picture), and aperture value according to the distance and flash quid number or auto setting. When the flash is fully loaded, you can take the picture. To use an electronic flash without shoe contact, turn the sync lever to X position and connect the flash cord to the PC terminal - then proceed as above. To use flashbulbs, set the lever to FP position (right picture), connect the cord and proceed as above, but you can use any shutter speed you like - or the automatic exposure.
XE - series cameras do not have TTL flash, therefore the PX-series flashes should not be used, except the top model PX 360. It has its own metering cell and can therefore be used as a standard non-dedicated auto flash. The other PX flashes can be used only as fully manual flashes. All the other Minolta flashes can be used, as well as most third-party flashes. Be careful with the oldest electronical flashes - they might damage the electronics of the XE, if their voltage is too high. Because the electronics of an XE cannot usually be repaired, I would avoid using any flash I'm not sure about.
XE does not support the Minolta X-series flash system which sets the x-sync speed automatically - it must always be set manually to X or any longer shutter speed. Otherwise the X-series flashes work well with the XE. Remember also that the X-sync speed is 1/90, so it is not possible to use it with electronically controlled speeds, although the 1/60 should work as well. The X-sync speed is controlled mechanically, so you can use flash also without batteries.
In XE-5 there is no FP sync available, otherwise it is similar to XE-1.
More about Minolta XE
| My Minolta XE main page | |
| Main features | The main features of XE-1 |
| Technical details | The XE-1 technical data |
| User's comments | E-mailed comments from current and former Minolta users |
My other pages
| Home | My home page. |
| My photos | My photo pages |
| Subjective lens evaluations | of some Minolta's lenses |
| Close-up | About Minolta and close-up photography. |
| Tele lenses | of 300mm length of longer for manual focusing Minolta |
| Links | Yes, links. |