Makers · Japan
Minolta
Founded 1928 · left photography 2003
Kazuo Tashima founded the Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten (Japan-Germany Camera Shop) in Osaka in 1928, to build cameras with German expertise. The Minolta name appeared on its cameras from 1933.
Minolta’s 1985 Maxxum 7000 (Alpha 7000 in Japan) was the first SLR system built around autofocus, with the motor in the body. It made SLRs that most people could focus without thinking. In 2003 it merged with Konica.