Minolta's 1994 budget AF compact — 28mm f/5.6 wide-angle, infrared AF, red-eye flash, runs on AAs.
The Minolta AF101R was a budget autofocus 35mm compact launched in 1994, sold in black and silver, with the R in the name standing for the red-eye-reduction lamp beside its flash. Minolta also sold a fixed-focus version of the same body and lens as the F 20R, and a date-back variant of the AF101R exists.
The lens is a 28mm f/5.6 wide-angle with active infrared autofocus from 1.2m to infinity, paired with a single 1/125s shutter speed. The built-in flash offers auto, forced-on and off modes with a 1.2-3m range and a ready lamp; film speed is set by DX code for ISO 100-400 films, with non-DX film exposed at ISO 100. Loading, advance and rewind are motorised, power comes from two AA alkaline cells, and the body weighs 175g.
With a fixed shutter speed and slow wide-angle lens it is a daylight-and-flash camera: outdoors in decent light the 28mm view gives deep focus and a distinctive wide perspective that has won it a small following among street shooters, while indoors it needs its flash almost every time. Running on common AA batteries rather than lithium cells makes it a cheap, low-stress film camera to keep in a pocket.
The AF101R will not fire without battery power, so test it with fresh AAs: listen for motor wind on loading, check the flash-ready lamp charges within a few seconds, and confirm the frame counter advances. Check the battery compartment for alkaline corrosion, a common fault on AA compacts, and make sure the red-eye lamp and self-loading mechanism work; there is no manual ISO override for pushed film.