The Minolta Hi-Matic 7s is for those who wanted to embrace the future while the rest of the world was still squinting at selenium meters.
Thanks to its CLC system, it was ahead of the curve at a time when tube radios were still standard household gear. This thing is built like a tank—solid enough to have helped ram the ball into the net at Wembley ’66—yet sophisticated enough that its CdS cell didn’t miss a beat under the shade of an Italian beach umbrella.
It’s a masterclass in Japanese engineering from the year hemlines rose, the Beatles’ hair grew out, and light meters officially joined the battery age.