Preparing to play with my new toy Minolta

Check if the camera is working well:
Check the battery compartment, and clean it replacing the battery. Then check the light meter readings (manual mode easier as you can adjust both shutter speed and aperture and see the changes in the viewfinder), and compare the readings with another camera or light meter (should be within 1/2 f-stop). Then check the aperture-priority and automatic modes, that they also adjust to changes in the light/scene.

What is Center-weighted average metering?
In this system, the meter concentrates between 60 to 80 percent of the sensitivity towards the central part of the viewfinder. The balance is then "feathered" out towards the edges. Some cameras will allow the user to adjust the weight/balance of the central portion to the peripheral one. One advantage of this method is that it is less influenced by small areas that vary greatly in brightness at the edges of the viewfinder; as many subjects are in the central part of the frame, consistent results can be obtained.

What is Aperture Priority (A)?
aperture priority mode automatically sets the corresponding shutter speed when you program the aperture. Aperture priority is useful when taking portraits, close-ups, and landscape shots. For creative effects, you can set exposure plus or minus 2EV in half-stop increments.

How to do Multi Exposure?
1) Without pressing the rewind release, turn the rewind crank until you
feel some resistance. This takes up slack in the casette.

2) Press the rewind release.

3) With your finger on the rewind crank to keep it from moving, stroke the
film advance lever as normal.

This will keep the double exposure pretty much in register - if you don't
take up slack and hold the crank it still works but the frames may no
longer overlap as well. Don't forget to decrease exposure for each shot,
since the two exposures will add. For a simple double exposure, try -1
stop exposure compensation.

Back-light:
When I have back lighting I frequently tilt the camera down, press the exposure lock and then tilt up and shoot.

Very bright object:
If I am shooting a very bright subject I will use the exposure compensation dial to increase exposure.