What lenses should I get for my Minolta SRT 101?

I just purchased a Minolta SRT 101 body that came with a Craig Optics

35-70 mm lens. I'm new to photography, and bought the Minolta SRT

because I gather it's a durable workhorse of a camera, and great for

beginners.

 

I'm looking to get a few more lenses for my camera, but I'm not sure

what brands or qualities to look for in a lens. I'd like to get a 2x

telephoto lens, and maybe a wide-angle lens, but I don't know where to

start! I'm looking mostly for durable but high-quality lenses that I

can learn with, and I'm probably going to buy them used to save money.

 

What is a good price for a new/used telephoto lens? Do you recommend

getting any other lenses? Should I go for MD or MC lenses? I gather

that Rokkor lenses are a good fit for Minoltas, but I haven't heard

too much about Craig optics lenses-- should I dump this lens and get

another 35-70 mm?

 

Thanks in advance for your advice, I really appreciate it! I'm also

new to the site, so I apologize in advance if my question isn't

appopriate to the forum-- I did a search to make sure somebody else

hadn't asked the same question, but didn't find any direct answers.

Other than that, I'm glad to have found this community, and excited to

start learning!

Of the 5 lenses I have for my SRT 202 my favorite by far is the Vivitar 28-105 f2.8 Series1. Most people have poor reviews of zoom lenses in general but I've had excelent results with this lens.

 

Good luck.

 

Enjoy the camera.

Angie, welcome to Minolta! You've got a great camera, but I'm not so sure about the greatness of your zoom. I've built up a large collection of manual minolta lenses off Ebay for ridiculously small prices. Good wide angles are the 35mm f1.8, the 28mm f2.8 and the 24mm f2.8(more expensive). I've also got a 20mm and 16mm but these are pricey and specialist. Telephoto, the 135 3.5 is stunning quality and value, the 200 f3.5 is also very good. I don't bother with third party zooms because the Minolta ones are a lot better and silly cheap prices. The 28-85 is very good. You won't go far wrong with mc lenses, rather bulkier but built like a tank. MD lenses are smaller but not quite so solid. I find the MC lenses sit best on the 101 as it's big and solid itself. Happy collecting.

The best lenses for Minolta SRT series are the Rokkor MD mount.

Ciao.

 

Vincenzo Maielli Bari Italy

Angie, get the following as an inexpensive initial set. If you get addicted like many of us, you can get more later. If you are in the US, look at KEH.com, buy in bargain or higher condition. Try to stay with only one filter size; I recommend 55mm.

 

MC Rokkor (X) 28mm/2.8 (55mm filter size) roughly $60-80 US (not currently available at KEH, but an MD with 49mm filter is)

MC Rokkor (X) 50mm/1.4 (55mm) roughly $25-65 ($49 at KEH in EX+ condition right now)

MC Rokkor (X) 135mm/2.8 (55) roughly $50-100 ($65 at KEH in EX+)

 

If you insist on a zoom similar in focal length to the one you have (but much better quality), get a Minolta Rokkor 35-70mm/3.5 zoom (roughly $50-80), but ask someone else whether the 'macro' or non-macro model is better.

Thanks so much for your responses, they were very helpful!

No huge qualitative differences between MC/MD aside from age and metal content. Minolta/Rokkor lenses are now so cheap it makes no sense buying off-brand optics. Go for primes.Early zooms weren't that great. I love the old MC fast primes like the MC 58/1.4--best thought of as a short portrait lens with beautiful bokeh. The MC 135/2.8 is also sweet, sharp and dirt cheap now. Wide angles beyond the 35mm are sometimes hard to find and are usually priced accordingly(e.g., 24-28mm). Try to get proper hoods for any old Rokkors for max contrast.

Hi Angie, welcome to Minolta World. THe SRT101 was my first camera and I still remember how I impressed my friends at college with the sharpness of my photos of our trips compared to theirs (they all had compact point and shoot cameras). I started with a Minolta 35-70 lens but I also had the 50mm f1.4.

Later on I got a 28mm f2.8 for $60 (a few years ago) and I am still very happy with that lens.

I would advice you to get prime lenses (not zooms) and if I were you, I'd look for the 28 mm f2.8, the 50mm f1.4 (f1.7 is cheaper and some would argue it is sharper) and a 135mm f2.8 which is a nice lens for portraits ( I like it).

But it all depends of the type of photography you practice most, is it portraits or landscapes, family parties, etc?

I would sell or give away the Craig 35-70 and would buy, at a reasonable cost:

 

Rokkor or MD 24/2.8 - sharp, excellent lens - I got one for about 120 $ but it is possible to spend less

 

Rokkor or MD 35/2.8 - sharp bargain lens - you can get it for about 50 $

 

Rokkor or MD 50/1.4 - sharp and speed lens - about 40 $

 

MD 70-210/4 - sharp excellent tele zoom - about 80 $ or less

 

No need for other lenses imho. If you like and use wideangles a lot, can add a Rokkor or MD 28/2.8 which is bargain (50-60 $).

Or, to get a compact kit for travel, get also a 28-85/3,5-5,6 which is an excellent "universal" zoom.

Avoid the duplicator (2x), even if good it reduces speed, I have one of the best (a Kenko MC7) and don't use it since years.

 

I suggest you get all prime lenses as Rokkors of the 2nd series (rubberized focus ring), they are cheaper than MDs and all have 55mm filter thread, so you just need one of each filter type for all lens series

Angie,

I suggest you get the MC Rokkor (X) 50mm/1.4 (55mm) first, and then put a few rolls through the camera to get the feel of it and to determine its reliability. If you think you will be using lens filters in the future, for about 10USD you can get a 49mm/55mm adapter ring that will pretty much give you the freedom to consider either MC or MD lenses, once you know the camera body is OK.

The 45mm f2 lens is worth having because it is so small size and dirt cheap. Good for carrying just the camera with one lens. It seems fine sharpness wise to me, but that means little.

 

You can fit your SRT in a 1150 Pelican box with the 45mm lens on it laying on its back, if you want to take it into wet dangerous places.

A 28mm. Stick with the Minolta brands. I have a 28 F/2.0 It's pricey. The 28 F/2.8 is good quality and cheap.

 

A 50mm I use a 50 F/1.4 I also use a 50 F/1.7, which almost seems sharper to me. Those are stupid cheap.

 

A 135mm I have a really old F/3.5. It's a nice sharp lens.

 

Stay away from third party zooms. I have a couple and they are junk imho.

For classic Minolta MC and MD series lenses, look at this web site : www.rokkorfiles.com and follow the links inside.

 

I never heard about "Craig optic lenses", although I was a Minolta user for many years. I started with a SRT 101b model and with a standard 55 mm Rokkor MC f/1,7 lens, rather than using a zoom.

 

The original MC and MD Rokkor series have many type of lenses, there are excellent OEM optics made for current and special photography. If you're interested by telephoto lenses (for portraits, macro-photography, landscape or nature) you should by a telephoto zoom like MD W Rokkor 70 - 200 mm f/4 made by Minolta. Some of those optics were manufactured after a Leitz licence ... so expect to pay a higher price for it.

If you're searching a trans-standard zoom, buy a Minolta MC or a MD 28 - 85 mm f/ 3,5 - 4,6 zoom lens, it is excellent for travelling photography and it has a very good value on used market.

If you're interested in wide - angle zooms, you should know that these are rather rare optics and their price is a litte bit higher, but not exorbitant. Try to find a MD W Rokkor 24 - 50 mm f/4 on used market or, if you can't afford it, buy fix wide angle lenses that are always superior to zooms : I personnally use a MD Rokkor 35 mm f/2,8 (it gives me a little bit of Henry Cartier Bresson style) and a astonishing MD W Rokkor 28 mm f/2,8. You can't miss those lenses if you want to practice urbain, inside-walls or news coverage photography.

 

Generally, do not buy cheap zooms made by companies like Celtic, Kiron, Albinar, Cosina etc. just because you're trying to save some money. They have a poor optic quality and you will not be able to resell them later.