Model 16 QT

Minolta quickly came out with the Model 16 QT in 1972, just two years after the introduction of what was, at that time, their flagship subminiature product, the MG-S. The Model 16 QT was produced for just two years before manufacture ended in 1974. Why?

The Model QT might not have been produced that quickly at all if it hadn't been for the veritable tidal wave of cheap, increasingly smaller 35mm cameras that were flooding the market from Japan, coupled with the immense threat represented by the recent introduction of Kodak's 110 Instamatic film cartridge and the cameras that were made for it. The simple fact is, coming so soon after the release of the premier MG-S, Minolta saw a threat to the sales of their top of the line camera because it simply could not have been competitive in terms of price. The QT was something of a last ditch effort to quickly produce an inexpensive alternative to the 110 Instamatics, by producing what is essentially a very stripped down MG-S (notice the similarity in body styling). In that sense, the QT was a success in being very inexpensive, but too late to really be successfully competitive. Minolta pulled out of the subminiature camera business permanently after that.

It is surprising the amount of quality and flexibility that remains in what was basically designed to be a low end camera, but the QT turns out to be an excellent shooter possessing some highly desirable features. The camera utilizes more high impact plastic in its construction, so it is noticeably lighter than the MG-S. The lens tops out at F/3.5, but actually stops down all the way to F/22, the only Minolta subminiature camera to do so. There are only two shutter speeds, 1/30^th and 1/250^th of a second, and no built in, sliding close up lens (although the built in, sliding lens cover remains). However, for the first time, the photographer is able to focus the lens on this Minolta, via a sliding, four position button on the underside of the camera that lets you quickly select 4, 7, 12 or 30 foot to Infinity positions, with a click stop at the 12 foot position for snap shots. On some QT's these focus positions are marked with pictograms of a large head (4 feet), head and shoulders (7 feet), full body (12 feet) and a mountain (30 feet to Infinity). Another variation of the QT (which I prefer) forgoes the pictograms in favour of numerical markings indicating the distance in feet and metres. Most importantly, the ability to focus the lens at Infinity means the user ends up with sharper distance photographs regardless of the aperture selected; in the MG-S it was possible to have less sharp photos at Infinity if the camera selected a wide open aperture, such as F/2.8. Another desired feature is the fact that the shutter and apertures are mechanical, meaning the camera will still function when the battery dies, as all it powers is the fast, accurate and reliable CdS exposure metre. In addition, since the QT shares the basic body style of the MG-S, a number of accessories made for the MG-S will also fit on the QT, including filtres, flash guns and the hot shoe adapter, but note that the copy stand accessory will not work with the QT.

Operating the QT is fairly straight forward, as film is loaded and unloaded in a manner identical with that of the MG-S, as well as setting the film speed rating in an identical fashion. The procedure for mounting and dismounting the flash gun, strobe adapter, wrist strap, filtres and close up lenses, as well as advancing the film via the large thumb wheel is also identical to the MG-S camera. The only major differences are in setting the shutter speed and aperture. The shutter speed is selected simply by moving a lever on the top deck to the marking for either 30 or 250, depending on which shutter speed is desired. The aperture selection wheel is also on the top deck, to the left and near the front of the camera, along with a silver coloured push button. With the camera at your eye, push down and hold the silver button, while turning the aperture wheel with the same finger (the button and the wheel are right next to each other and can be easily manipulated with the same finger). In the viewfinder, two red LED's will display either the letters "O" or "K" when you press the aperture button down. As you rotate the aperture, both letters will light up together when the proper F/stop for good exposure has been selected. This is a very simple, and extremely fast method of setting proper exposure. Slide the focus bar on the underside of the camera to the appropriate distance marking, and depress the shutter button on the right end of the top deck to take the photograph. When not using the camera, slide the built in lens cover over the lens to protect the lens and power off the meter, thereby conserving battery power.

The camera was made to use a single PX-30 size battery, which is no longer available. Two PX-825 batteries, or a single lithium CR-2450, three volt battery can be substituted quite safely, however, small coins or a metal shim will need to be used to take up the slack space and ensure reliable battery contact.

Like the MG-S, the QT was available in either black or silver finishes.

Minolta 16QT DOF Scale			Focus Lever Set At:
F/Stop		33 Feet	11 1/2 Feet			6 1/2 Feet		4 Feet
3.5	15' 4 5/8" - Inf			8' 2 5/6" - 18' 11 1/2"	5' 4 5/8" - 8' 5 1/6"		3' 5 3/4" - 4' 6 3/8"
5.6	11' 8 1/6" - Inf			7' 5/8" - 31' 2 3/8"	4' 10 1/4" - 10' 2 3/8"		3' 3 1/8" - 4' 11 5/6"
8	9' 1 5/6" - Inf			6' 5/6" - Infinity	4' 4 3/8" - 13' 4 5/8"		3 1/2" - 5' 7 3/8"
11	7' 2 5/8" - Inf			5' 1 5/6" - Infinity	3' 10 1/2" - 22' 1/2"		2' 9 5/8" - 6' 8 3/8"
16	5' 4 1/6" - Inf			4' 1 5/8" - Infinity	3' 3 3/8" - Infinity		2' 5 3/4" - 9' 10 1/2"
22	4' 1 1/8" - Inf			3' 4 1/6" - Infinity	2' 9 1/4" - Infinity		2' 2 1/6" - 23' 4 3/8"

Thanks to Gerald McMullon, who kindly supplied the Minolta QT Depth of Field chart reproduced below, in metres, for the metrically inclined:

F/stop	10m	3.5m	2m	1.2m
F 3.5	4.69m - infinity	2.51m - 5.78m	1.64m - 2.57m	1.06m - 1.38m
F 5.6	3.56m - infinity	2.15m - 9.51m	1.48m - 3.11m	0.99m - 1.52m
F 8	2.79m - infinity	1/85 - infinity	1.33m - 4.08m	0.93m - 1.71m
F 11	2.2m - infinity	1.57m - infinity	1.18m - 6.72m	0.85m - 2.04m
F 16	1.63m - infinity	1.26m - infinity	1m - infinity	0.76m - 3.01m
F 22	1.25m - infinity	1.02m - infinity	0.84m - infinity	0.67m - 7.12m

Model 16 II	Model 16 II Accessories	Model 16 II Brochure
Model 16 MG-S	Model MG-S and QT Accessories	Model QT
Minolta 16mm Film	Minolta Resources	Minolta vs. Minox
A Minolta Gallery

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