The Creative Expansion Card system was introduced by Minolta in 1988 for use with 7000i series of 35mm film SLR cameras, and was used in several subsequent series of Minolta SLR camera. The Minolta 700si was the last camera to use the Creative Expansion Card system, and subsequent models incorporated some of the functions into the camera itself by means of the Program modes. Each card extended the camera functionality and allowed to produce different effects. 

Compatibility: 5000i 7000i 8000i 5xi 7xi 9xi 700si

The Portrait Card uses a special exposure program to maintain the best aperture and shutter speed for hand-held portraits. The card automatically maintains the largest aperture possible to limit depth of field and make your subject stand out from the background, balancing it against a shutter speed which will prevent blur from camera shake or subject movement. The Portrait Card is very effective when you use a large caliber telephoto lens.

Compatibility: 7000i 8000i 7xi 9xi 700si

The Highlight/Shadow Control Card allows you to reproduce highlight and shadow tones more naturally. Used with the camera’s spot metering system, it automatically increased exposure 2.3 stops for highlights and decreases exposure 2.7 stops for shadows.

Compatibility: 7000i 8000i

This Fantasy Effect Card automatically moves the focus point during the exposure so as to create a mixture of two different effects. One gives the scene a soft focus with softening of the details and outlines, the other is instead a zoom effect that serves to add impact and strength to the scene.