Cameras in the Cupboard #4
Minolta SRT101
This is the most recent addition to my small collection. I never owned a Minolta SRT101, but it was a direct competitor with the type of camera I did use for more than 20 years and several of my friends used them. This camera was removed from the boot of a car in an underground carpark and passed to me under the cover of darkness.
In other words, a friend gave it to me and happened to bring it along when we all went out to a show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival last Saturday night. Thanks Graham!
Minolta SRT101
Although the shutter is broken and the camera no longer works, it is in excellent condition with hardly a mark on it. It came with an owner’s manual, filters, cleaning brush and cloth, cable release and two Vivitar lenses; a 24mm and an 85-205mm zoom. The lenses look brand new. The whole lot came in a cute 1970s style camera bag. This is a very typical, and very well looked after, amateur photographer’s kit from the great golden age of 35mm film cameras. I am very pleased to add it to the collection.
Minolta made the SRT101 between 1966 and 1975. It is an-all metal construction which gives it a heavy, solid feel. The big innovation was the use of two CdS cells in the metering system. This was done to compensate for the brightness of the sky to prevent over-exposing, and to give a better average meter reading across the whole field of view.
I’ve got the same one, with a 58mm lens, but with a bung light meter. We should put our two together and get a working one out of them. They are quite heavy but there’s something nice about having a weighty SLR in your hands.