Minolta's unmetered 6x6 TLR — fixed-lens Autocord, leaf shutter, waist-level finder, 1965.
The Minolta Autocord RG is a fixed-lens medium-format twin-lens reflex from Minolta, a mid-1960s member of the Autocord range. It was an unmetered variant of the later Autocord bodies, part of the family that earned a solid reputation among 6x6 TLRs for its taking lens and handling.
It is a twin-lens reflex shooting 6x6cm square frames on 120 roll film, twelve per roll. The lens is fixed, with a separate taking lens exposing the film and a viewing lens feeding the mirror and ground-glass screen. Focusing is by the Autocord's under-lens lever, the leaf shutter is mounted in the lens standard, and composition is through a waist-level finder used from above.
The Autocord RG offers an affordable route into 6x6 without a built-in meter, suiting portraits, landscape, travel and general work for photographers happy to use a hand-held meter. Losing the meter removes a common failure point on old bodies. As a fixed-lens TLR it offers no lens changes, and the laterally reversed viewing image takes practice as on all TLRs.
When buying a used Autocord RG, inspect the taking and viewing lenses for haze, fungus and separation, and test the under-lens focusing lever, which can stiffen or break on these bodies. Fire the leaf shutter across its speeds and check the aperture blades. Confirm the film-wind and counter operate, and inspect the ground glass for brightness. Without a meter there is no cell to fail, but confirm the shutter's slow speeds are still accurate.