Minolta Freedom Escort QD

INCLUDED ITEMS: 

• Minolta Freedom Escort QD 35mm film camera
• Minolta strap
• CR123A battery
• Roll of Kodak Colorplus 200 (may vary due to availability)

CONDITION:  Pre-owned. Film tested and fully working. Good condition, with normal signs of use. Nine photos from the test roll (taken with Kodak Super Gold 400) can be viewed in the images.

MORE ABOUT THIS CAMERA:  The Freedom Escort was released by Minolta into the American market in 1991. It was also sold as the Minolta Pico to Japan, and as the Minolta Riva Mini to the rest of the world. Supposedly it was designed in collaboration with Panasonic and Leica, and it was made in Japan. Whilst it is a relatively simple camera, it boasts an impressive 34mm f/3.5 glass lens which can take a stunningly crisp photo for such an unassuming little point and shoot. The colours in its photos are typically quite natural in tone, a common theme across much of the Minolta range and bolstered on this camera by a built-in UV filter on the lens cover. The Freedom Escort automatically reads the DX codes on films between 50 ISO and 3200 ISO, which covers basically all of the popular 35mm film stocks. And it has a shutter speed range of 1/350 to 1/5, which will cover most lighting situations. It is powered by one CR123A battery, which are fairly affordable and accessible from most stores that sell batteries. Other features include a self-timer, red-eye reduction, focus lock, and a tripod socket. Overall however the design is quite minimal and therefore very simple to use. We don't have a lot of criticism towards this camera, although one thing they could have added is a lens shield to protect the lens when the camera isn't being used. It would have also been nice if Minolta had produced a zoom version of this camera too. But overall we really like the Freedom Escort. We enjoy a lot of the mid-premium f/3.5 point and shoots that were produced throughout the 90's, but this is a bit of a favourite due to the photo results we've had from it.

YEAR RELEASED:  1991
LENS:  Glass lens (4 elements in 3 groups)
FOCAL LENGTH:  34mm fixed-focus
APERTURE:  f/3.5
SHUTTER SPEED:  1/350 sec - 1/5 sec
AUTOFOCUS:  Infrared autofocus system
FOCUS LOCK:  Yes
INFINITY FOCUS MODE:  No
MACRO MODE:  No
CLOSEST FOCUS DISTANCE:  0.6m
DX READING:  50 ISO - 3200 ISO
LCD PANEL:  Yes
FILM CHECK WINDOW:  Yes
FLASH:  Auto with red-eye reduction (plus auto without red-eye, flash-on with red-eye, flash-on without red-eye, and flash-off modes)
RED EYE REDUCTION:  Yes
FLASH RELOAD TIME:  3.5 sec
SELF-TIMER:  Yes
FILM ADVANCE/REWIND:  Auto advance / auto rewind (and forced rewind button)
TRIPOD SOCKET:  Yes
POWER SOURCE:  1x CR123A battery

SHIPPING & RETURNS:  Free shipping (Express) on orders over $199. Twelve month warranty on all cameras. Visit Shipping & Returns for more info.