Minolta SRT 100b SLR with MD1 Rokkor 50mm f1.7 Lens Silver

General

Near mint Minolta SRT 100b (serial 8304351) paired with a beautiful MD1 Rokkor  50mm f1.7 lens (Serial 2483144) dating from June, 1975.

Camera and lens have been completely serviced (see Servicing Restoration Pictures) and  tested with our professional quality test equipment to ensure camera and lens are working perfectly.
The camera has been serviced to a very high standard which includes replacement of all internal seals, relubrication of its shutter mechanism and tuning and calibration of its shutter and meter to bring the camera to original factory specification.

Camera body is very clean and close to mint showing only a few light wear marks and has the appearance of a camera that has not shot much film and had been very carefully stored. Lens has a minor few chips to the filter ring paint finish. After an extensive service of both camera and lens it handles extremely well with a clear and bright viewfinder and will shoot accurately and reliably.

Supplied with a good quality after-market lens cap.

Please Note: The SRT series were originally designed to use a 1.3v Mercury Battery. These are no longer available due to environmental restrictions on the use of Mercury. We recommend using a 675 Zinc-Air battery as a replacement which are cheap and plentiful – you will require an adaptor for these. Read our guide here on powering vintage cameras for full information.

About
The SR-T100b was the second budget version of the SRT series.  The SRT series launched in April 1966 with the SRT-101  and was in production for many years finally retiring at the end of the 1970s.  This one dates from June, 1975 and is probably one of the first SRT 100b as the model launched around 1975.

The SRT101 was revolutionary it day for being the first camera will full aperture through the lens metering . The SRT101 actually incorporated the world’s first matrix metering system, called the ‘Contrast Light Compensator’ system by Minolta. The system used two separate metering cells, situated at different parts of the pentaprism. These cells measured the light falling on different parts of the viewfinder screen, and provide a reading that takes into account the contrast in a scene. As a result, the camera has the capacity to significantly reduce underexposure of shadows or other dark areas in a photo, by minimising the effect of particularly bright areas which are brighter than the real average of the scene.

The  SR-T101 was to become one of the most popular cameras of its era and led to a range of models including the budget SRT-100b which lacks the self timer and shutter sped display in the viewfinder. Some people prefer the simplicity of 100b models for their less cluttered viewfinder display.

The major specifications of the SRT100b are;

• Single lens reflex camera with through-the-lens CLC (Contrast Light Compensator) meter coupled to shutter and film speed.
• Meter sensitivity EV 3 to EV 17 at ASA 100.
• Film speeds supported ASA 6-6400
• Fully mechanical cloth focal plane shutter with speeds from 1-1/1000 sec plus B
• Shutter speeds 1-1/60 sec with electronic flash
• Oversized quick return mirror for no image cut-off even with supertelephoto lenses
• Exposure control needle visible in viewfinder
• Flash synchronisation (X and FP)
• Automatic reset film counter
• Accessory shoe

Restoration

This camera originally had a nasty squeal on advancing film caused by dried out lubrication and the internal seals were failing which is very common with SRT models. Leather was in a poor shape with ingrained dirt and the battery chamber was suffering corrosion issues. Meter zero point was not correct and the metering was out of calibration. The camera also showed poor shutter times of over 2 stops error.

This camera has had a complete CLA carried out.

• All internal foams and seals replaced
• New light seals and mirror bumpers
• Battery chamber and wire replaced
• Shutter cleaning and lubrication
• Deep clean throughout
• Shutter and meter calibrated to factory specification
• Supplied lens has also been fully serviced with fresh lubricants, cleaned and collimated with our professional collimator.

See pictures of this camera and lens during complete servicing.

Test pics are thumbnails please click for high definition version.

Please be aware that the cameras and lenses for sale can be up to 50 years old.  They have been serviced and/or checked and are always as good as they can be made, but please don’t expect them to be flawless as if they were made yesterday.

All lenses of this age exhibit some small particles of dust and coatings are not up to modern standards. Cameras will exhibit some wear signs and likewise may have small dust specks in their viewfinders or focus screens.  These do not affect the picture in any way.

ANY problems or issues will be described in the main text which you are advised to read carefully.If you are unfamiliar with film cameras we suggest you do some online research and read the manuals which are freely available from online resources.

We are enthusiastic film fans and spend our time hunting cameras and lenses that have been or are being unloved. We then spend hours to bring them back to fully working and clean condition, ready for a new lease of life with you  We always change the film seals, give the camera a clean/service and make sure its fully working before we sell it on to you.

Most lenses are cleaned, re-lubricated and all of their functions checked prior to sale so you know they will work, full details will always be in the text. All items are packed safely for transit using proper packing material NOT something the cat was sick in. Having been stung both on eBay and by dealers alike who often know very little about film cameras we decided to offer people a chance to experience film using a camera that will last for many years and which we can say for sure works reliably

Mel & Claire