I got a Minolta SRT 101 (and my first telephoto lens)

[silverscape]

<p>I can't believe how lucky I am. Yesterday, I went to a swap meet (or "flea market" as they call it in some places). I decided I'd look around, just to see if by chance I might find an interesting camera. The market was HUGE, and I didn't even get a chance to see everything. At first, I was getting disappointed because I wasn't finding much. I did find a few cameras, but most of them were in really bad condition...cloudy lenses, dented filter threads, and even a few where the shutter didn't even work. But I decided to keep looking...and patience paid off. WOW...did it ever pay off!<br /><br /><br />I came across a Minolta SRT 101...including an original accessory case (it actually says 'Minolta SRT 101' on it), WITH an extra lens! And I got everything for $40! I checked everything I could think of on the camera...the lens looked in excellent condtion, the shutter worked and seemed to fire very smooth on all speeds, the film advance and rewind release worked great and the film compartment looked perfect. So of course, I had to have it. I happened to look at the case and noticed another lens. Then the guy offered to sell everything for $40, so I bought it. I knew I would never in a million years find a deal that good.<br /><br /><br />Cosemetically, the camera is a little bit rough. There are a few marks and dings here and there. But it's nothing too bad, and it still looks really good. It looks like the camera got a lot of use over the years, but it was not abused. Mechanically, as far as I can tell, everything works great. The camera had an original Minolta 58mm lens. The other one is a Vivitar 135mm (telephoto?) lens, and it looks like it's in excellent condition too. And the good news is that both lenses fit on my Minolta SR-1 camera too! So now I have two working Minolta SLR cameras!<br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/MinoltaSRT101small.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="534" /> <br /><br />This is so awesome. I can't believe how lucky I am. If I tried to buy this on eBay, I would have gotten my butt handed to me in a bidding war. I got so lucky, and I think I was in just the right place at just the right time.<br /><br /><br />I looked online, and I downloaded the instruction manual for it. I think figured out how the light meter works. I bought a new 625 battery for the meter. The voltage is a little different than the original battery that the camera took (PX625 I think), but I found a 625A battery in it, and apparently that's what the previous owner was using. So I figured that it should work ok if that's what they were using before. I turned the switch onto the "Battery Check" mode and everything seemed to work. Then I went outside and tested it, and it seemed like it was responding like it should.<br /><br />I do have a question though. I really want to try taking some pictures with the telephoto lens...especially birds. (I can never get close enough without them freaking out and flying away). But if I were to use the "Sunny 16 Rule" is there any difference between the exposure with a normal lens and a telephoto lens? The normal lens is 58mm, 1.4. The telephoto lens is 135mm, 2.8.</p>

[patrick j dempsey]

<p>Well the bad news is, you got the wrong battery. For some reason, that I really don't understand and which probably has something more to do with marketing than responsible naming, an alkaline 625 battery is not the same voltage as a mercury 625 battery. Alkaline batteries also do not act like mercury batteries and do not work well in camera meters at all. If you shoot a roll with this battery, the exposures will probably all be off.</p>

<p>The good news is that the battery you actually need is a 675 ZINC AIR battery. They cost about 80 cents a peice... typically in an 8 pack for 6 bucks. </p>

<p>To answer the lens question, this is something people commonly get confused about but it's really very simple. f/2.8 is f/2.8 no matter what the focal length of the lens is. Basically, the only times f/2.8 is not f/2.8 is when you use an extension tube, a teleconverter, or a filter. Tubes, converters and filters are all usually rated for exposure compensation, but if you are using the in-camera meter, none of that matters anyway.</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>I had a 135mm f/2.8 Vivitar on another brand of camera, and it is actually a pretty sharp lens. Color is another thing, but if you shoot B&W it will be great. My dad bought the Minolta SRT101 and loved it. It's a nice looking camera too, and I don't remember many f/1.4's around at the time.</p>

[silverscape]

<p>Patrick, as I said...<br /><br /><em>"...The voltage is a little different than the original battery that the camera took"<br /></em><br />The 625 battery supplies 1.5 volts, whereas the original battery for the light meter supplied 1.35 volts. But apparently, that very small voltage difference didn't seem to make much of a difference in this camera. (The light meter isn't coupled to the shutter speed or aperture at all...it just gives a suggestion for the exposure). The shutter speed and F-stops it was recommending were actually pretty close to what I would have used if I were just using "Sunny 16." I set the ISO (or ASA) at 200, and I was testing it in the afternoon on kind of a hazy and partly cloudy day. It looked to be showing a recommended shutter speed of 1/125 and the F-stop at f/11. To me, that looked right. I also checked that with my hand-held Weston light meter and it was showing the same thing. I know the Weston meter is reliable, because I've used it several times with good results. (Including with Ektar 100 film, and you have probably heard that film is not very forgiving with exposure).<br /><br />But I'll look up that other battery you mentioned. And I'll check the meter again in different conditions and with different ISO settings. And thanks for explaining about the lenses. I'll post pictures when I have a chance.</p>

<p> </p>

[silverscape]

<p>....Also, I've been reading that the meter can be adjusted so that it will work with the 1.5 volt batteries. Since apparently the previous owner already was using a 1.5 volt alkaline bettery, maybe it was working? Maybe they had the meter adjusted?</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>You made a very good acquisition. This is one of Minolta's very finest 35mm SLR cameras, and very well built. If you can find some other Minolta (or the better of the 3rd party) lenses for it, it is the basis of an excellent classic system. The founder of a local camera club (1961) has used it for most of his career and has produced very fine Salon exhibition images up to 16 x 20 with it (he is one of our province's most gifted amateur photographers, having exhibited at Rochester (Eastman centre) New York, Canada and France). This has required of him excellent film exposure and darkroom abilities, but it shows what can be done with this camera and good lenses. I haven't talked with him lately, but I know that he has continued using it, mainly for black and white photography, despite many other cameras he has tried since and which have replaced the 101 on the market. Happy shooting!</p>

[richard_oleson]

<p>The problem with adjusting for the 625A battery is not so much that it's 1.5 volts, but that it varies ... it can be anywhere from 1.5 down to 1.2, it may even drop below 1.0 volts before it gives up. Along the way, it goes through a stage where it's around 1.35 and gives correct exposures. You can adjust the camera for 1.5 volts, but it's hard to adjust it for a moving target.</p>

<p>First thing I'd do is use the camera as it is, checking it occasionally against the Sunny 16 rule to see that it's in the ballpark. When it drifts toward overexposure, the easiest fix is to drop in a 675 Zinc/Air cell. If you want to use a 1.5v Silver cell instead, the easy way to do that is to buy a CRIS voltage-correcting adapter - it costs about $30, which is probably less than it would cost to get your camera recalibrated for the higher voltage, and it's quicker and doesn't involve tinkering inside your camera. There is a discussion of some (maybe all) of the alternatives here (be sure to check the links at the bottom):</p>

<p><a href="http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-111.html">http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-111.html</a></p>

[john_robison3]

<p>Your into a good system there Chris. And the meter is coupled to the shutter speed and aperture, it just doesn't control them, I think thats what you meant by saying the meter is not coupled. On any older camera, even one in good cosemetic condition, check the foam light seals. Pay close attention to the foam seals at the door hinge, if they are gummy or crumbly get a Jon Goodman kit (id. interslice on ebay) and repalce the seals on the whole camera. There are just scads of Minolta MC/MD mount lenses out there, both Minolta Rokkor (and Celtic) and third party lenses. Any lens marked MC or MC/MD will meter couple to the 101. Getting close enough to a bird to get a reasonable image size is hard. About the only way I could do it was to set up a feeder off the back sliding glass door, leave the door open about a foot, and prefocus on the feeder....and wait. You will likely need something longer than the 135. A cheap and sometimes viable option is a Vivitar or Soligor 2X converter that will turn your 135 f2.8 into a 270mm f 5.6. With a combo like this the CW is to stop down 2 stops to clean up the image a bit. That will put you at f11, OK with ISO400 in good light, camera on a tripod with cable release. Your going to have a lot of fun with this camera, congrats on a great deal.</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Chris,<br>

Congratulations! That sounds like one of my flea market finds...I found my SRT-102 with lens for $40 as well, but then I had to also buy the remaining SRT-102 and the SRT-201. These are wonderful cameras and it's what I've been using more than anything else ever since I bought them (my poor DSLR doesn't even get used as a light meter for these). Mine work beautifully with a Wein Cell 625 battery and exposure has looked excellent. I'm using print film though, so maybe I'd notice a difference with slides. You did well finding the camera with the 58/1.4 and the Vivitar lens, not to mention the case. You're going to really enjoy this camera! I've been really surprised by how much I absolutely love mine and by how much I prefer to use it over all of my others. Part of the reason is because the 'CLC' exposure system works really well. I was amazed at not having to dial in +1.5 exposure compensation when shooting on bright sunny, snowy days but still getting perfect exposure. Amazing! Plus, the more you look at the camera and handle it, the more beautiful it seems to become. I've since acquired a Rokkor 50/1.7 and a Rokkor 50-135/3.5 for mine along with the 28/2.8 that came with the first body. I'm seriously addicted to these cameras. Enjoy your SRT-101 and post pics! Here's a simple shot showing how well the camera exposes in bright, difficult lighting...</p><div></div>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Chris, I don't know zap about Minolta but I'm a big fan of Vivitar lenses and the standard 135mm f/2.8 is a good one. The two Viv's that are especially desirable in the 135mm are the f/2.3 and the f/2.8 CF (close focus). This last one focuses down to half life size, with no tubes needed! It's a portrait lens, a macro lens and a short telephoto all wrapped into one. One of my favs. Good luck with yours and your new Minolta rig.<br>

Nice shot, Andy!</p>

[andylynn]

<p>I've got some SRTs here and they're an excellent camera. It's what I grew up using. If the meter works, excellent, because meter calibration can be an issue on these old ones but that can be adjusted. See <a href="http://www.willegal.net/photo/photo-first_page.htm">this page</a> and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20050419172433/home.pcisys.net/~rlsnpjs/minolta/minolta.html">this page</a> if you have any tuneup issues.</p>

<p>That 58mm Rokkor is a really good lens. Flares a bit compared to new lenses but it's a great image with beautiful bokeh so just block off the sun with your 18% gray card :)</p>

<p>One other thing that I love about the Minolta manual focus system is that it's considered dead and obsolete by most people, so lenses go on Ebay at $0.99 and recive no bids. I've got this excellent Vivitar Series 1 (1st gen) 70-210 f3.5 Macro that can get 2 inches from the subject that was $0.99 (and came with another lens but I don't like that one). If I wanted something like that for my Nikon it would be over $1000.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>I have heard that Minoltas are somewhat easier to recalibrate than some, but I've never gotten into one. If I were planning to use the camera long term, I think I'd try to recalibrate it for silver-oxide cells, which are only a bit higher in voltage than alkalines, but consistent enough to hold an adjustment and last a long time. All my old Nikons are set for silver-oxides, and it is much more convenient to have cells that last.</p>

<p>If the camera already has a battery in it, you might want to check the exposure readings, because it's possible it was already readjusted, or that the meter simply isn't that far off anyway. A single cell meter may be close enough that you can just offset the ISO by a stop or so to compensate.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>That actually does work reasonably well. I've shot film on an SRT that was miscalibrated by 2 stops. I used 200 film but set the dial to 50 and it came out fine. The SRT meter is pretty simple but it's got some early form of matrix metering for high contrast compensation that works reasonably well; still, it's easy to just point it at something dark and something bright, guess, and meter somewhere between the up and down swings of the needle. I'll recalibrate that meter some time but for now I just put a bit of drafting tape on the bottom of the camera and wrote "2 stops" on it to remind myself.</p>

<p>BTW I just use 675 hearing aid batteries and cut a ring of mat board to keep it in place, and my health insurance card gets me 20% on the already cheap CVS brand batteries so it's not a big deal.</p>

[the celt 2]

<p>Simply put, one of the best 35 slrs ever made. IMHO. I've used them for over 30+ years, and never been dissapointed. There are a lot of great lenses out there for them. Have fun, and enjoy.</p>

[jack_welsh]

<p>Chris, great find! If you can, get a 2X or 3X teleconverter. It would be an inexpensive way to double or triple the focal length of your lenses. Some of the old cameras have been converted for the new batteries. Any good camera store will show which Zinc battery will work in the old mercury battery cameras. One thing I like about the 101 is the mirror lockup feature.</p>

[sw12dz]

<p>Excellent find, Chris! Go out and have fun with it and don't forget to post some pics.</p>

[roseberry guitars]

<p>Nice going Chris. You will be happy with your SRT for sure. I've used them since the early 1970's. Awesome glass for these guys. My favorite is the 202 but I also have the 201 and the 102. All pretty much the same with very sight variations or options. I think the 101, 102 and 201 are the bestbuilt but they are all excellent.</p>

<p>I've never had a problem using the newer 625 batteries as the volt difference is very small. I mostly shoot color or B/W print film for which there is plenty of latitude to cover any discrepancies. However, slide film has not shown any issues with the meter either. But like others above have mentioned, you do have to check the modern 1.5v 625 batteries more often.</p>

<p>I did have the meter tweeked for the 1.5 volt battery the last time I had my 202 serviced. To tell you the truth the meter reads exactly the same as my 102 and 201 which have not been adjusted so read what you will into that. My tech said that Minolta was aware of the different volt batteries available and so designed the system to be able to accomidate it. What that means, I'm not sure, but as I said I've never found it an issue.</p>

<p>There are a bunch of shots taken with my SRT's in my PNET page if you care to look.</p>

<p>Have fun with your new camera and post us some photos.</p>

[silverscape]

<p>Thanks for the replies, everyone! The sun is out today, and it looks like a great day for pictures. I'm just waiting a little while for better light, since I want to shoot with color film. (It's right in the middle of the day here in California). <br /><br />I have one other quick question. I remember reading somewhere that if you're hand holding a camera, the slowest shutter speed you should use is a "reciprocal of the focal length." So, I if take pictures with the 135mm telephoto lens, and I'm handholding the camera, then I should keep the shutter speed at around at least 1/200, right? I'm sure there's a practical limit to that, since if you use a very slow shutter speed, you're going to get blurry pictures no matter what kind of lens you have. And when I use a shutter speed down around 1/60, I prefer to use a tripod anyway. But if I use the 135mm lens, would 1/200 maybe be the limit for hand holding the camera? (It's pretty heavy!) </p>

 

[patrick_stack]

<p>Chris-<br>

Patrick-<br>

Andy-<br>

Jack-</p>

<p>I've owned a number of cameras, plus my Hasselblad metered prism finder, that required the PX625 battery. As you are already aware, the PX was rated at 1.35V, the Alkaline replacement rated at 1.5V. Most equipment is affected by the difference, some are not, they don't recognize the change in output, they just require voltage. My SRT 101's, OM-1n's, metered finder, etc, were all affected, strangely enough my XA's were not.</p>

<p>I had the SRT light meters recalibrated, the OM-1 camera mod's were to install diodes that stepped down the voltage, all resulting in OK performance, but not perfectly consistent at all settings across the scale. All of these mod's were a bit pricey and not perfect, so I tried the battery adaptor from C.R.I.S. that permits the installation of a 1.5V alkaline cell, stepping the voltage down exactly .15V to 1.35V. It fits the battery compartment perfectly, and the camera or meter then works as intended, across the scale.</p>

<p>The metered finder was not able to be recalibrated, so that is what drove the application of the adaptor. When checked for calibration the finder was right on after installing the adaptor, and checking the battery output in the adaptor confirmed that it was precisely 1.35V, a very useful product indeed.</p>

<p>I truly have no affiliation with this company by the way, I'm just passing along my very positive results with the use of their product. I've been using them for upwards of twenty years now, with zero failures.</p>

<p>I thought about using the air/zinc type, but as an elderly hearing aid user I find those batteries leave behind a film, from the discharge they place into the battery compartment, hence the term "air/zinc." The batteries are air activated, and I find frequent cleaning of the battery area is required, otherwise the film left behind is quite corrosive and does damage to the electrical contacts. I suspect it's the same with cameras or any other object, so I'm not willing to chance using them.</p>

<p>The company is still producing the units, I use the MR-9 for everything that requires the adaptor. Granted at US $32.99 it costs the same, or more, than the purchase price of many of our camera initial acquisitions, but it does offer unmodified use of the camera onboard meter, as it was designed. A recalibration would be a cost added to the initial price anyway, and I think of this as a better alternative to any modification.</p>

<p>If anyone is interested in this approach, here is their info:<br>

CRIS Camera Services<br>

Chandler, Arizona<br>

(480) 940 - 1103</p>

<p>This is just a "for what it's worth" suggestion, the product works well for me, you may find it worth considering, or not.</p>

<p>Happiness is a fresh roll of film, good shooting to all of you.</p>

<p>Patrick</p>

[andylynn]

<p>I see what you mean, it's good that with the adapters you don't have to mess around with these other complications, but since with these older Minoltas most of the time when you buy one used you end up recalibrating the meter anyway wouldn't it make more sense to commit to some other voltage and calibrate it for that, rather than buying an adapter that as you say costs more than the camera did?</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Patrick, thanks for the CRIS info; it may well be worth looking into.</p>

[red_buckner]

<p>Chris, the 101 has a great metering system and the CRIS adapter certainly does the job. Here's a shot taken with the 101 with the CRIS aboard. The lens, BTW, was the 135mm 3.5 Rokkor MD, which you can pick up for peanuts about anywhere. </p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[red_buckner]

<p>And one more. This scene had very tricky light. There was crucial detail in the shadows, but the glaring highlights could easily have forced the camera into underexposing the darker areas. I needed a spot meter to work out the right setting, but didn't have one with me. So i relied on the CLC meter of the SRT 101. As you see, the meter hit the exposure on the button:</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[jack_welsh]

<p>Chris, you're right about the slowest shutter speed for the lens while handholding. It's a good "general rule of thumb". You might try 1/125th of a second. But, 1/250th would be "on the safety side".</p>

[Rob_the_waste]

<p>Chris, this is an idea I've used with my Chinon CS. It is also designed for a mercury battery. I used an alkaline battery and set the ASA dial for one speed slower than the film being used (ASA set at 100 for 200 speed film). Up until now, I've gotten away with it. Recently however, I picked up a pair of hearing aid batteries for a buck at a dollar store. The diameter was a bit small, so I tore a narrow strip of duct tape off of a roll and ran it around the outside of the battery until the diameter was enough to sit straight. It works too. and is consistent with the meter on my Nikkormat.</p>