Minolta's lightest APS SLR — V-mount interchangeable lenses, PASM modes, splash-resistant 315g body.
The Minolta Vectis S-100 was the smaller and simpler of Minolta's two APS-format autofocus SLRs, sold alongside the flagship Vectis S-1 in the late 1990s and made in Minolta's Malaysian plant. Like the S-1 it takes the interchangeable Minolta V-mount lenses developed for the APS system, a mount later shared with the RD 3000 digital SLR, and it was the lightest APS interchangeable-lens SLR at 315g.
It offers the same PASM exposure modes and subject programs as the S-1 but with a simpler two-segment meter, no spot option, and a shutter running 30s to 1/1000s with 1/90s flash sync. Autofocus is TTL phase-detection with a central sensor, switchable to manual focus; the built-in flash (guide number 17 at ISO 200) doubles as AF assist. The splash-resistant body uses a mirror finder instead of a pentaprism and runs on two CR2 cells.
It suits anyone wanting the Vectis SLR experience in the lightest package, and its weather-resistant shell with the compact 22-80mm zoom made an easy travel kit. Against the S-1 it trades a coarser meter, slower top speed and slightly reduced finder coverage.
APS film production ended in 2011, so the S-100 shoots only expired cartridges; many bodies now sell cheaply, sometimes as donors for V lenses that can be adapted to Sony E-mount. Verify it powers up on CR2 cells, the motorised film door and wind work, the flash pops and charges, and the LCD is intact, because both the body and its electronically controlled lenses are inert without power.