Konica Minolta Zoom 80C Date - 13501052

The Zoom 80c is a fun and capable point & shoot that was released in 2004 which was pretty late in the film camera game. It was a mid-level point & shoot retailing for €209 upon release (which is about €269 in today's terms). Its zoom lens offers a handy 35-80mm range, a little more versatile than some of the similar models like the Minolta Zoom 60. Perhaps the best thing about this camera is its quite fast top shutter speed of 1/500 seconds, which is ideal for helping avoid blurry results, especially when you're using the zoom.

The aperture range is f/6.0 to f/12 - which we like as it prevents any aperture wider than f/6.0 coming into play, meaning the background doesn't ever become too out-of-focus. However, if you are into that 'bokeh' (i.e. out-of-focus background) look, then this won't be the camera for you, and you should perhaps seek something that goes to f/2.8 or wider.

There's also some other handy features including focus-lock (where you can half press the shutter to focus on the subject and then move the frame before fully pressing and taking the shot), infinity-focus mode (great for ensuring landscapes are in focus), self-timer, red-eye reduction, DX-reading (100-400ISO), a tripod socket, and a relatively fast flash-reload time of 7 seconds. The flash is great too - and we wish we had some sample photos taken at night to show you - but Minolta's point and shoot cameras were renowned for having a great flash with excellent colour composition on photos taken at night with flash. Overall a classy performer with some handy functions that will absolutely do the job and provide some charming memories.

YEAR RELEASED:  2004
LENS:  Konica Minolta lens (5 lens elements in 5 groups, 1 aspherical)
FOCAL LENGTH:  35mm - 80mm
APERTURE:  f/6.0 -  f/12.0
SHUTTER SPEED:  1/500 sec - 1/2 sec
AUTOFOCUS:  Active autofocus system
FOCUS LOCK:  Yes
INFINITY FOCUS MODE:  Yes
MACRO MODE:  No
CLOSEST FOCUS DISTANCE:  0.9m
DX READING:  2 Zone DX code (ISO 100/400)
LCD PANEL:  Yes
FILM CHECK WINDOW:  Yes
FLASH:  Auto (with fill-flash, flash cancel, landscape/night view, and slow shutter sync modes)
RED EYE REDUCTION:  Yes
FLASH RELOAD TIME:  7 sec
SELF-TIMER:  Yes
FILM ADVANCE/REWIND:  Auto advance / auto rewind (and forced rewind button)
TRIPOD SOCKET:  Yes
POWER SOURCE:  1x CR2 battery