The Sub Club

CURRENT STATUS OF MINOLTA CASSETTES AND FILM

Despite what you might hear or read, Minolta film and cassettes are no longer available -- new. They were discontinued by Minolta a few of years ago and Minolta will no longer process the film. This does NOT mean that you have an obsolete camera! But if you have dreams of stopping in at the corner store and buying Minolta cassettes loaded with film and dropping them off at the same place for processing, you are in for a big disappointment.

But if your camera works, it can still be used. You have several options regarding film and processing. Which you choose depends on your situation. First you need a cassette, then you need film, and finally you need to get the film processed (and perhaps prints made).

First, it's still possible to find Minolta cassettes at some of the larger camera shops, swap meets, Shutterbug, the SWAPMEET, etc. Unfortunately, the prices tend to be high (I've seen them as high as $25 each!) and the film selection is nil (they are usually empty, but will sometimes have Kodak Plus-X in them). Remember, you just need one cassette to use your camera, so don't get greedy.

In your search, you might run across individuals and companies that sell -- what they claim are -- new Minolta cassettes. Check out the NEWSTAND for more information on these deceptive practices.

If you do find an empty (or full) cassette, you will at some point want to reload it with film. The reloading is fairly easy, but you'll need to buy 16mm film, which is not so easy. But we have all the details for you. Check out buying film 16mm at the FILM COUNTER. You can get all the details on reloading Minolta cassettes in the DARKROOM.

The bigger problem occurs when you want to get processing and printing . If you want to handle the processing yourself, check out the DARKROOM. If you don't want to do the processing yourself, there are still plenty of places that can develop the film for you. Since 110 film is the same width as Minolta cassette film (both are exactly 16mm wide) any place that handles 110 processing -- and there are lots of them -- can handle the Minolta film processing, though they may not realize it. For more information about this aspect of the process, check out 16mm film processing options at the FILM COUNTER.

But remember, when you have someone else do the film processing, you usually lose the Minolta cassette and you will need to get a replacement. Think back to how hard it was to get the cassettes that you just used. Since they aren't being made anymore, you are contributing to the demise of your own camera.

Fortunately, the Minolta cassettes are very easy to reload yourself. But YOU have to do the processing, or at least unload the cassette after you have taken the pictures and give the protected film to someone else who will process it. Believe me, it's just as easy to process the film yourself (and the results will be better).

With very little effort, your Minolta camera will give you great results for years to come.

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