Icon Publications now has a 316-page book available with all the editions of Photoworld in one volume. Printed on 130gsm silk paper with a 250gsm gloss laminated soft cover, this compilation of news, tecnique and images covers an important period as the Sony Alpha system bridged the gap between Minolta’s legacy and the modern Sony mirrorless E-mount system.
From the first 24 megapixel full-frame DSLR A900 to the first APS-C mirrorless NEX system and the birth of the short-lived ‘DSLT’ translucent mirror hybrids, this superb full colour A4 compendium puts the final 12 issues of Photoclubalpha’s quarterly magazine into a bookshelf-friendly read to keep.
- Equipment reviews
- Expert Minolta/Sony users featured
- Galleries featuring owners’ best shots
- News and events from the three-year period
- Reports from Sony launches
- Practical tips and technique
Many standing pages, advertisements and offers have been removed to keep the pagination, cost and posting weight down. Photoclubalpha is the name adopted by The Minolta Club of Great Britain after Sony absorbed the camera brand in 2006.
You can order now from Mixam UK for £32 plus postage.
What was the Minolta Club?
When Minolta established a UK presence in the 1960s through their distributor Japanese Cameras Ltd, it pioneered a direct-to-consumer relationship by combining warranty registration cards with a periodical magazine and a programme of events, courses and training. The Minolta Club of Great Britain had a small membership with a quarterly A5 black and white newsletter called Minolta Photoworld.
In 1980, Minolta Camera Co. of Osaka set up a direct subsidiary Minolta (UK) Limited. David and Shirley Kilpatrick had a meeting with Rick Kutani when attending photokina ’80 in Köln, and agreed to take on running the club and magazine, which had already expanded to A4 with some colour. The membership expanded rapidly and members opted for Minolta Image as the new name for an improved publication.
Dick Bryant, the editor of Minolta Mirror the prestige annual from Japan, helped greatly. For 25 years – from 1981 to 2006 when Sony took over the brand – Minolta Image was published quarterly. After Sony’s 2006 take-over the club was formally closed, but with a still active community David and Shirley’s company, Icon Publications Ltd, decided to keep it active without using the Minolta name or any link to Sony. It became Photoclubalpha, with the magazine changing back to its 1979 name.
Through the Club’s events many amateur and student photographers found a professional career path and training, with exposure in Minolta Image magazine and for the select few, featured work in Minolta Mirror.
In 2011 without any support from Sony membership had dropped back to 1979 level and Photoworld transformed into Cameracraft.
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