Minolta Disc-5

The First Japanese Disc Camera

Disc cameras are relatively the same shape and size, but in the case of the Minolta Disc-5, it is one of the thinnest and most pocketable models. Quality is a the forefront with this camera, sporting a very solid feeling in the hand. There were two variations of the Disc-5 camera, the model shown here, and an all black version known as the Minolta K; sold at none other than K-Mart. All of the Minolta disc cameras were packaged with an acrylic display case as well, really trying to add a feeling of value being these cameras were not cheap. In an April 1983 edition of Popular Photography, the All-New Minolta Disc-5 was selling for 96.50 USD or around 275 dollars today.

You are unable to look through the viewfinder until you slide the cover on the front of the camera viewing lens down. Once down, the quick sound of the flash charging will tell you the camera is ready for operation. The taking lens cover is now also open and you are able to compose and take a picture. Looking through the viewfinder you have framing lines with parallax correction marks and distance indications on the bottom of the frame. By default, the symbol will be of a mountain. This is the all purpose shooting mode, from a distance of four feet to infinity. Underneath the taking lens of the camera, there is a slider to put a closeup filter in front of the lens, which will be represented by the symbol of a person in the viewfinder. The focus distance will then change to between 16 inches and four feet. Another thing to note here is once you slide the lens/window cover closed, the focus will move back to the all purpose setting.

Taking a picture is done with the large textured button on the face of the camera. Be sure not to cover the meter or flash on the left side of the viewfinder. The button is toward the bottom of the camera, so that should not necessarily be a problem. To open the back of the camera, pull up on a metal arm on the top left hand side. The back door should swing down and you can insert a disc. Close the door and make sure the arm moves without too much resistance and is seated properly. This action not only locks the door but moves a mechanism to open the shielding on the Disc film cartridge, making it ready for exposure. Strangely enough, this means you are able to take a disc out halfway through shooting. Once properly inserted the camera should automatically wind to the first exposure and you will be able to see a number one in the round window, with the film’s information to the right of that.

Disc cameras were always light on features, and that was intentional from its inception. The film was designed to be only one speed, an ISO of about 200, with the latitude to be over and under exposed around one to two stops. The original Kodak Disc cameras had two exposure settings, and most if not all other cameras followed suit. The Minolta Disc-5 carries on this tradition of shooting at 1/100th of a second at f/2.8 with flash or 1/200th of a second at f/6 in ambient light. When the close-up filter is engaged, the camera will be shooting at 1/200th at f/6 with the flash once again no matter the lighting conditions.

That is all for this version of the Minolta Disc-5, except for one thing… the batteries. Yes, the batteries on most disc film cameras tend to be of the soldered in place and hidden away variety. They are lithium CR123A batteries, rated with a life of 5 years with average use. You will find a lot of Disc cameras still have a charge, but their motors will be very slow and electronically unreliable. I would replace them if you are able, but please be advised that it is not easy and somewhat dangerous if you are not carefully working with electronic flashes.

THE SPECS AND FEATURES

Shutter Speeds - 1/100th with flash or 1/200th

Aperture - f/2.8 or f/6

Meter Type - Cds

Shutter - electronic

ASA - Disc film was only one speed, around 200 ISO

Lens - 4 element glass lens

Flash Option - built in flash

Batteries - Built in 2 X CR123A soldered in place

Film Type - Disc film type

Other Features - built in hand strap, 2 distance indication in viewfinder

The Experience

How did I find myself down this strange path and why Disc film? Like most of the world, I had no intention of ever really shooting this film. I’ve seen the results online and was less than impressed. The film was also not easy to come by and was going for more than I would want to spend for an experiment. This was until a listing online was suggested to me for a basic Disc camera with film for a giveaway price. I quickly bought the camera, eventually went out shooting with it, developed the pictures, and was henceforth on a mission to see if I could produce passable images with such and small format.

I found myself looking at other Disc camera models and gravitated toward the Minolta cameras. These seemed built well and had decent specifications, so I jumped at the chance and bought one. However, the journey would have stopped soon after if I did not find a deal on a fair bit of disc film. This propelled the journey of documenting Disc film, learning the ins and outs, and really being able to experiment with the format.

I waited to find a complete example of a Minolta Disc camera and found one for a ‘get this out of my house’ price. Once the camera arrived I was surprised at the solid build quality and the fact that it still had a charge! Although the camera was functional, I wanted to take the camera apart and replace the batteries with fresh ones. I will advise anyone who attempts this to please be careful. I have experience discharging, repairing, and replacing components on flash PCBs. It is dangerous and can harm you if you are not careful. I disassembled the camera making sure to follow the traces the best I could making sure to not shock myself. I cut out the old batteries and rigged up some new ones for a quick test.

The shooting was a breeze and everything was working as intended. I found a forum post on how people have developed Disc film, using a 120 developing reel and slightly cupping it inside the grooves. That was the easy part, the hard part was getting a decent scan from the Disc. I tried a million different ways from just placing it on the scanner to just cutting out the film and placing it on the glass. The best method was making a mask out of paper so the film would scan without issues on a flatbed scanner. This worked with passible results, but I wanted to give this film the best possible chance.

I looked at a few examples of holders people sold online to scan Disc film and resolved to make my own. On my holder I designed to scan either one frame (just the picture) or one frame with the surrounding border; a few variations had to be made to adjust the bed height and whatnot. It was still incredibly fiddly to scan and the holder still needs some adjustment, but in the end I had a holder that I could produce pretty decent scans from. Slightly blurred and reasonable images, but let me sway you a bit more as to why I’m in awe at the results. As sizes of film go 35mm film is on average 24mm x 36mm, APS film is 16.7mm x 30mm, 110 film is 13mm x 17mm, Minox film is 8mm x 11mm, and Disc film is slightly smaller at an astounding 8mm x 10mm. I’ve had trouble with 110 film in the past, and I’m generally surprised that I was able to get any detail at all. It must really come down to the camera’s lens when shooting Disc film.

I ended up working on the camera one more time, after not feeling too confident with the replacement batteries I rigged up. The combination of the metal case and how close all of the components made me feel uneasy, so I finally bought a battery tack welder. I made a battery pack and dropped it in without any problems, making sure to protect all of the exposed contacts.

This project took a lot longer than I initially planned. I learned to tack weld batteries, figured out how to develop Disc film, printed a holder for my scanner, and had a great time doing it all. I’m looking at other higher end Disc cameras to write about in the future and working on some other Disc related projects. This opened my eyes to the fact that you really can get a decent image from disc film. Not showroom quality, but something worth showing coming from expired film. I can only imagine what the results of a finer grain film would be like today. There is potential there and I can only hope someone starts making Disc film again. Either way, if for some reason you're looking for a great Disc camera, I would highly recommend the solidly built construction and all glass lens design of the Minolta Disc-5 or Disc-7.