Minolta SRT 101/20

by Karen Nakamura

Overview and Personal Comments

The Minolta SR series began with their first one, the SR-1 in 1959. It introduced the popular MC interchangeable bayonet mount for Minolta lenses. A half decade later, Minolta released the SR-T 101. Like those of its time, it features an all-metal body, metal lens mount, smooth shutter action, and a solidity that the plastic SLRs of the 1980s and onwards have never achieved. The cameras of the 1960s and 1970s have a better chance of working in 2050 than those made in the 1980s (see my anecdote regarding the Maxxum 7000 vs. Spotmatic below). Amazingly, you can still buy new MD mount lenses at camera stores. The only camera system with better longetivity (1959-2002) is Nikon and even that system is showing its cracks. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

In the right hands, the SRT-101 is capable of taking absolutely fantastic photographs. Famed photojournalist W. Eugene Smith used the SRT-101 to take his famous Minamata photographs, including his iconic Tomoko bathing with her mother, which I consider to be the best documentary photograph ever. Remember, it's not the camera, it's the photographer.

SRTs make perfect student cameras. They have all the features that I require in my own courses:

• Full manual mode
• Centerweighted TTL metering
• Dept of field preview
• True Mirror lockup <== a lever on the side locks up the mirror, you can let it down again if you need to recompose without tripping the shutter

The metering was actually advanced for the day. It uses what Minolta calls their CLC method that combines both spot and center-weighted metering. Consider it the precursor of matrix metering. The original manual in PDF format is available from Minolta.

The SRT uses a 1.35v PX625 mercury batteries. In my experience, one PX625 lasts about 3 years since all it's powering is the metering circuitry. The meter turns on when you rotate the switch on the bottom of the camera to "ON." There are no interlocks, the metering circuitry is constantly on. To avoid running down the battery, turn the meter "OFF" or put the lens cap on (this effectively turns the meter off) when you're not using the camera. Turning the switch to "BATTERY CHECK" activates the battery check function. Tom Kane wrote in with this information about how the B.C. check works:

Regarding the battery check: "1. Turn the battery switch on the base of the camera to the 'B.C.' position. 2. If the indicator needle points to the battery check mark as shown in the picture, the battery can be regarded as functioning properly." The referenced picture shows the needle lined up with a square along the right edge of the viewfinder, about 1/4-1/3 up from the bottom triangle. Hope this helps! "

SRT-201

The difference between the 101 and 201 is that the 201 added flash sync capabilities to the accessory shoe, making it a "hot shoe." That's it. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

The camera body is in excellent condition with no visible dings or scrapes. The shutter works accurately across the full range and the meter tests well against my Canon EOS 3. The camera comes with the excellent MC Rokkor-X PG 50mm f1/.4 lens. The lens is in excellent-minus condition. The lens body is clean with only one wear mark. The lens front element has two small cleaning scratches that are only visible in oblique light and will not affect performance. Dust falling on the lens is more glaring than these micro-scratches. The camera oddly comes with top half of the everready case, but not the bottom half.

Technical Details

About Minolta

Minolta began making cameras in 1928 as the "Nichi-doku Shashinki Shokai" (Japanese-German Camera Factory) and in 1937 was renamed Chiyoda Kogaku Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha or Chiyoko for short. One man was the heart of the company, Kazuo Tashima. He ran the company from 1928 to 1972. Before the war, Chiyoko made medium and large format cameras and began making 35mm cameras after the war. They started using the Minolta brand in 1937. In the post-War period, they made a series of Leica clones, the Minolta 35 rangefinder.

In 1962, Chiyoko changed its name to Minolta. They are famous for the first SLR with fully coupled metering, the SR-7 and the first model with built-in motor drive (SR-M). They also produced the first camera with integral autofocus, the Minolta Maxxum 7000 (aka Alpha 7000) in 1985. I remember when in 1986, my dad brought home his shiny new Minolta 7000 and handed me down his old Pentax Spotmatic SPII (which still have). Ironically, the Pentax still sees more use than the Alpha because of its ability to run fully manually.

In any case, Minolta continues to make great 35mm SLRs as well as an increasing array of interesting digital cameras. In 2003, Minolta announced a merger with Konica, Japan's oldest camera manufacturer. Hopefully the merged company (Konolta? Monica?) will have enough financial resources to continue to produce high-end film-based SLRs and rangefinders.

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