Minolta SRT-101 SLR Camera with Smoothside 58mm f1.4 Lens

General

Minolta SRT-101 SLR Camera with Smoothside 58mm f1.4 Lens

A near mint and fully serviced early Minolta SRT-101 complete with its early smooth-sided MC lens manufactured in May 1968.
The camera (serial 1357571) and lens (serial 5113665) have been completely rebuilt and refurbished. There are some minor specks in the viewfinder which is quite common with a camera of this age. Lens and camera are close to mint showing only minor wear.

Lens is clear and bright, fully cleaned with a smooth focus and reactive aperture after rebuilding. The camera have been extensively serviced and tested and calibrated on our professional equipment

Supplied with the original Minolta metal 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.

The SR-T101 was the first camera released in the SR-T Series in April 1966, and was in production for 15 years.  This ones dates from May, 1968 and is the 2^nd production type with cross head screws rather than the JIS types that followed.

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. Other key features of the camera included a viewfinder that displayed the selected shutter speed, mirror lock-up for use with non-retrofocus wide angle lenses, and a depth of field preview button that enabled the photographer to stop the lens down to the taking aperture to assess the depth of field.

The major specifications of the SRT101 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 super telephoto lenses
• Mirror lock-up
• Exposure control needle and selected shutter speed visible in viewfinder
• Flash synchronisation (X and FP)
• Fine microprism focusing with Fresnel lens
• Automatic reset film counter
• Accessory shoe (cold)
• Self timer
• Depth of field preview button

Restoration

This camera arrived in good overall condition but with a failing meter. This was due to faulty meter cells which have been replaced along with a new battery chamber as the old one showed bad corrosion. The lens release lever was also defective and this has now been replaced with a NOS unit from our spares.  Like many of our cameras for sale this one has been extensively serviced to bring it to a very high standard and has been fitted with new parts where required.

• All internal foams and seals replaced
• New light seals and mirror bumpers
• New meter cells and wiring
• New lens release lock
• 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 appear here when available.

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