MINOLTA AUTOPAK 550
1969

Serial Nr.401755
Minolta Code 0402

Characteristics and functions
The Minolta Autopak 550 presented in 1969 is the update of the Minolta Autopak
500.
The device has a square-shaped body, made entirely of plastic and uses 126-typecassette films (12 or 20 exposures) that provide 28.5x28.5mm. format images. The
shutter button is located along the front edge of the upper side and is formed by aparallelepiped in striped black plastic. The slider for unlocking the film compartment
door is located along the right side, above the rectangular ring for inserting the wrist
strap for transporting the Autopak 550.
The charging lever, in metal, works in a slot located on the far right, at the top of therear side. Side occupied almost entirely by the large door of the film compartment

whose transparent window allows you to view the type of film introduced and observe
the “frame counter” which is given by the printing of the numbers on the outer side of
the black paper that covers the film. It is good to remember that after taking the last
useful shot, the film must be advanced until the black paper completely covers thefilm, which has all settled on the right-hand side, receiving, of the cassette loader. For
this purpose, on the transparent part you can read: “Wind film to stop”. Between thewinding lever and the viewfinder we find the inscriptions “Minolta Camera Co, LTD”
“Japan” and the serial number engraved in a silver space.
The lens, Rokkor 38mm f/2.8 with 4 elements in 3 groups, is positioned in thecantilevered part of the nose. The minimum shooting distance is 1 meter.
The CDS exposure meter is located immediately above the lens in a small circular
black plastic frame.
The adjustment of the sensitivity of the film used is automatic: the camera reads theASA values directly from the film loader, by means of a mechanical selector
compatible with reference marks placed on the loader.
The flash socket located to the left of the upper side allows you to use the new cubic
flashes that provide 4 consecutive flashes and are enslaved by the use of batteries.
The Galilean-type viewfinder located to the left of the lens has a bright frame withparallax correction. Along the left side of the frame are the symbols (mountains,groups, half-length) for adjusting the shooting distance. A sliding signal is coupled tothe distance knob, on the latter there are the three symbols (mountains, groups, bust)silk-screened in black on a silver field. This knob is positioned along the left side of
the Autopack 550. A rectangular field is highlighted along the bright frame of theviewfinder with the lightning symbol in the center: this indicates the lightning
coverage that is between 1 and 5 meters.
A red light positioned on the underside of the viewfinder indicates if the flash isneeded. The signal is turned on by pressing the shutter button 1/4 of its stroke.
The camera has two fixed shutter speeds: 1/90s for shots in ambient light, 1/40s forshots with flash light in the presence of insufficient ambient light. If the ambient lightis sufficient for a correct exposure, the flash-cube does not shoot even if mounted on
the camera, the time remains at 1/90s and the aperture is controlled by the exposure
meter. The time is switched to 1/40s only if the flash is actually needed.
With the flash inserted and the time set to 1/40s (insufficient ambient light) thediaphragm is controlled by the focus knob with the "Flashmatic" mechanism
according to the Guide Number principle, always within the minimum and maximum
possible distance with flash.
On the underside there is the large door to access the battery compartment. A cursor
that slides from the "Close" to the "Open" position allows you to unlock the door itself,
which must be lifted from the side where an arrow and the words "Lift Here" are silkscreened. Three batteries are required: to operate the flash 2 PX 825 and for theexposure meter 1 PX 625.
The weight of the camera is 330g excluding batteries.
Dimensions: length 118mm; width 71 depth 57mm.