This camera actually won the 1982 EISA Awards in 1982 for it's facilities and general handing and remained available new unto 2000 which is an indication of it's popularity.
Introduced in 1981, it was the top manual focus Minolta body introducing Program AE as well as Aperture Priority and Metered Manual plus the first Minolta to have Through The Lens metered flash that makes life easier for flash and macro photography.
It had a dedicated data back for recording information and interchangeable focusing screens.
