Minolta A3

Minolta A3 front.

Minolta A3 top.

The Minolta A3 was a fixed-lens rangefinder camera made by Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō in 1959, featuring:

Chiyoko Rokkor-TE 45mm / f2.8 lens, coupled to rangefinder, with 5 elements in 3 groups and 8 aperture blades.
Optiper-Citizen MVL shutter with speeds B, 1sec to 1/500sec, M/F/X flash sync and with self-timer.

The A3 lacked parallax correction for its brightline finder, unlike its predecessor the A-2 and its successor the A5

Minolta A-2 and successor A3.

The A3 was the first modern styled rangefinder camera marketed by Minolta^[1], retained styling cues from the earlier Minolta SKY prototype and stylistically lead the way to the 1960's Minolta AL and HiMatic series rangefinders.

Links

Minolta A3 at www.collection-appareils.fr

Notes

↑ While it could be argued that the Minolta Autowide, Super A and V2 were modern looking, the difference is that the A3 lacked the front lensmount plate of all the earlier Minolta rangefinders, save the SKY, and helped pioneer the more-modern 'boxy' flat-topped body, like the SKY.

[1] While it could be argued that the Minolta Autowide, Super A and V2 were modern looking, the difference is that the A3 lacked the front lensmount plate of all the earlier Minolta rangefinders, save the SKY, and helped pioneer the more-modern 'boxy' flat-topped body, like the SKY.

[1]