| Camera Name: | Minolta 9000 |
| Exposure: | Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority and manual exposure; center-weighted and spot metering |
| Dimensions: | 53×92×139 mm |
The Minolta 9000 AF is a professional Single-lens reflex autofocus camera, introduced by Minolta in August 1985.[1] It was both Minolta's and the world's first professional autofocus SLR. It was called Minolta Maxxum 9000 in the US and Minolta α-9000 in Japan.
As the first professional autofocus SLR system ever made, the Minolta 9000 AF sports a number of unique features showing the transition from electro-mechanical cameras to the next generation of fully electronic cameras. For instance, it is the only autofocus system ever made with a manual film transport rather than automatic electronic winding.
In the early 1980s, Minolta was developing several ranges of autofocus SLR cameras, with the Minolta 7000 aimed at the advanced amateur market, and the Minolta 9000 aimed at the professional market. Development on the Minolta 9000 was completed before that of the Minolta 7000, but for marketing purposes, the 9000 was held back and the 7000 was launched first in February 1985. For this reason, the 7000 is often considered to be the first ever autofocus-capable SLR[2]
In any case, the Minolta 9000 AF was the first professional SLR system featuring a wide range of autofocus-capable accessories, with the New York Times calling it "The first 35-millimeter automatic-focusing camera built for professional use" and "revolutionary",[3] and Leif Ericksenn, editor-in-chief of Photo Methods magazine calling it "one of the most astonishing cameras of the decade".
At the time of its introduction, the Minolta 9000 retailed for $684 (circa $1580 in 2017).
The body of the Minolta 9000 is a robust all-metal construction, with the pentaprism being the only component not to be completely encased in metal. The shutter was capable of the then-extremely short exposure time of 1/4000 seconds, as well as of 1/250 second synchronisation.
The exposure meter provided the user with the usual range of automatic exposure modes: automatic, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual mode. As metering modes, it was capable of centre-weighted integral metering and spot metering; spot metering could be further refined with light and shadow corrections, which used an exposure memory to correct exposure by up to 2.3 EV. Furthermore, an optional back "program back super 90" (PBS-90) provided multi-spot measurements, with optional automatic weighting by average (AVERAGE), mean (CENTER), highlight (HIGHLIGHT) and shadow (SHADOW), as well as user-definable program curves.[4] The backs also provided automatic bracketing.
The autofocus allowed not only quick focusing on static subjects, but also continuous focus.
The Minolta 9000 also accepted a variety of focusing screens, a lockable button for depth of field preview, lighting of the viewfinder and a built-in eyepiece to protect the eye of the photographer from lateral light.
The Minolta 9000 was compatible with Minolta AF accessories, including a full range of lenses in Minolta A-mount, flash units, and various other accessories such as a 5-frame/second motor winder,[5] a 100-exposure magazine and several backs. One of these, available only in Japan, was a 0.38 mega-pixel digital sensor, called the "Still Video Back" (SB-90 / SB-90S), which recorded images on Video Floppies.