Minolta has been an instrumental company in the photo industry. Everyone knows them best for their partnership with Sony, but they tend to forget that the company has been around since 1928. Over the years, they have introduced some exceptional cameras and lenses, but this analog model continues to be loved even today: The Minolta P’s aka Riva. Have a look.
A quick look on eBay, you’ll notice that Minolta P still selling for under $100. While this seems reasonable, what makes the model exciting is that this a point-and-shoot, which offers panoramic images. Introduced in 1991, the camera offers 3:2 aspect ratio, as well as 2.7:1 on film.
The camera is small weighs 185 grams, and measures 116 x 62 x 34mm. As Camera Wiki states its specifications:
- 24 mm f4.5 lens, manually operated lens barrier
- Shutter speeds: 1/4 to 1/200 sec
- Built-in flash, range (at ISO 100): 0.9-2.7 m
- DX decoding of film speed
- Motor wind and rewind
- Timer with warning light
- Power: CR123 lithium battery
The camera also had a unique viewfinder. The Minolta P’s viewfinder takes the average height of a compact camera viewfinder and adds the width required to frame a panoramic. What results is a viewfinder that feels actually fairly huge, at least by compact camera standards. Some can even compare it to the Hasselblad X-Pan viewfinder. As a simple point and shoot, you get a closer experience at just half the price.
A panoramic camera is interesting in today’s day and age, especially for those who want to get cinematic frames. The 2.7:1 aspect ratio is close to CinemaScope format (2.35:1), which gives your images a unique touch and feel. This is pretty great for film photographers who want a different aspect ratio for their project. Landscape and architecture photographers, for instance, will like this camera. Gen Z photographers who want to ditch digital will also enjoy the grandeur of panoramic film. Moreover, today, it costs so less, which is ideal if you want to experiment with the camera.
There is also the ability to challenge yourself by using just panoramic format for your day to day photography. When paired with color films like Kodak Portra or Fujifilm Superia, or black-and-white like Ilford Delta, the images will not be easy to replicate.
The only other panoramic camera that costs less than an XPan is Reto Pan, which also shoots 2.7:1, and is about $35. The difference is that Minolta did it first and they still are loved by people today. On Reddit’s r/Minolta page, a user also shared the final results from the camera, and they look stunning in every way. Similarly, on r/analog, someone used the same camera for street photography and the results are stunning.
Having not to worry about any technicality is truly liberating. The Minolta camera is far from perfect, but with its design, build, and lens, you get a decent companion that only pushes you to shoot well.