The name of the camera implies the Hi-Matic G (an older similar camera) -- but with a flash. And it many ways it is just that. It's a small, black, plastic camera -- very light and pocketable. There is a pop-up flash built in on the front. Film advance is by a serrated wheel set in the back -- not the normal advance lever. A hand strap is on the right side. Filter threads are 46mm.
The lens is a Minolta 38mm (f4.0), but it is not marked ROKKOR. Tthe lack of the Rokkor name dates it to the1980s. This is unlike the lens in other contemporary Hi-Matics, AF and S(various versions), which featured a 38mm f2.8 lens. Three apertures are available -- wide open (f4.0) and then approximately f8.0 and f16.0 -- each using weather icons. These are Waterhouse stops, that is, holes in a switchable plate that is inserted in the light path. The perfectly circular aperture is ideal. Focusing is by scale, from head-and-shoulders (about 1m) to infinity using four icons. The leaf shutter offers one speed, apparently about 1/100 second.
There is a built in CDS meter, but there are only two speed settings -- ISO
100/21° and 400/27°. The meter does not set the aperture,
as one might assume. It simply indicates if the current aperture setting
is correct. There is an under-exposure warning, but none for over-exposure.
Given this simple exposure system, it was obviously meant to be used
by unknowledgeable people using print film, and allowing the film latitude
to take care of any problems. The camera operates electronically with 2AA
batteries, which power the flash and meter. It also can be used without batteries
in a limited way, keeping in mind the particulars given above.
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