Minolta SRT's -- Gotta Love 'Em.

KoNickon said:
The MC-Rokkors with the deeply scalloped metal focus rings, like this one,^ are my favorites. I realize the later Rokkors with smaller filter ring sizes are probably optically "better" (mainly due to improved coatings), but they don't seem as well made.
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I'll just add my two pennies and say that while the 58 f/1.2 has a deservedly excellent reputation, based on what I've seen, I can attest that the 58 f/1.4 is also a worthwhile lens. I got mine at $80 in excellent optical shape with some minor cosmetic infelicities. I've only shot it via an adapter on a Ricoh GXR, but the results were quite wonderful for portraits. I like it enough that I may by a SRT 102 one day to go with it.
 
+1 re: the 58/1.4; nice lens. I very luckily got mine and a 28/3.5 (same vintage; scalloped heavy metal) for $67 + postage. Some screws missing on the 58 as I've posted above, but so far it has not mattered a whit. I don't see getting any of the later plasticky MC, or MD, lenses unless I "need" a model (such as a 24 mm) that didn't exist in the old metal lenses. Or if I ever dive into the later X-bodies and then need MD lenses to make them work properly.

--Dave
 
Somebody just got an amazing deal on this! Hope it was somebody here 🙂

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331115737831?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

For the Minolta collector and user. The 21mm F4.5 MC Rokkor with SRT optical finder, ORIGINAL REAR CAP!! and case. Raid Amin and I both have the later version of this lens, and we both love it 🙂 The later version was an F4 lens. What a great price for such a truly rare and lovely to use item. Mine has basically replaced my RF 19mm F3.5 Canon, and 21mm F3.4 Leitz Super Angulon. Gives a very similar look to both of those, and works on the SRT's, providing a rangefinder-like buzz whilst shooting. (requires mirror lockup).
 
But the SRT is not a rangefinder, so I presume one just zone-focuses/guesstimates with the 21? It seems like the DOF on so wide a lens would have everything between your nose and Mars in focus anyway...or maybe only from your elbow to the Moon if shooting wide-open. I never knew the SR/SRT lineup had a lens like that; interesting, and frustrating if I ever wanted one: I have a later SRT102 that lacks MLU.

--Dave
 
How to Put the 21mm F4 MC Rokkor-QH on the XK.

How to Put the 21mm F4 MC Rokkor-QH on the XK.

The Yashica 21mm SLR Finder, absolutely great on the XK or on the SRT's😛

A coveted favorite of the Leica Guys (second choice for me would be the 21mm F3.4 Leitz Super Angulon finder).
The Leica finder is usually less money and way easier to find.

This one is every bit as good as the Leitz 😛

Since the mirror is locked up, and the shutter is electronic, this camera setup is very steathy. 😎
 

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Nokton48 said:
The Yashica 21mm SLR Finder, absolutely great on the XK or on the SRT's😛
[...]
Since the mirror is locked up, and the shutter is electronic, this camera setup is very steathy. 😎
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Sonically stealthy maybe, but visually not so much. It stands out like Darth Vader with a monocle!

Eventually someone will have to get together this lens, an adapter, and a a7 to see if it can fit on there safely without the rear element fouling the sensor. Tempting setup if feasible...

--Dave
 
Argenticien said:
It stands out like Darth Vader with a monocle!
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Ha Ha! Yes, You are right!

Here it is in an SRT-101. Really not so different in use from the Leicaflex with 21mm and finder, or a Nikon FTn with the 21mm Nikkor-O. But with Minolta the price is so much more reasonable. 😉 Here's a good example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Minolta-W-R...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leicaflex-w...645?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item56607623f5

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-NIKKO...21364284?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item2a3798733c
 

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85!

85!

Well, I was buying SRT kit bottom-feeder wise (garden-variety lenses at $15 - $50 at a time). Now I am committed to this system: After a frustrating outing shooting a concert where I could not get the combination of speed and reach that I wanted, I gave in and got the 85/1.7 lens. (I had no fast portrait lens in any system until now.)


SRT102_85 by Argenticien, on Flickr

I had been halfheartedly watching 85s on eBay before, and was not amused by the ones sitting there for months with B.I.N. prices of $500, or those auctioned for over $200 with oily blades or "needs repair." Then KEH ran a 10% off special last weekend (just days after my concert fail), so I pulled the trigger on an EX one for $314 (down from $349). That eliminates the thrill of the auction hunt, but also eliminates the risk. The lens is perfect except for minor paint wear on the scalloped focusing grip. You have to like KEH. Ordered Sunday night, received this morning. (Granted, Charlotte is close to Atlanta.)

I hadn't fully realized how big this thing would be. It wears the same 55mm filter as the 58/1.4, but that's not the whole story. It's much more bulbous, and weighs half a kilo. Here it is with the 58, and with the tiny Canon RF 50/1.8 for reference. (Oh ... this is why we shoot rangefinders...)


3lens by Argenticien, on Flickr

Needless to say, I can't wait to shoot with this thing. I'm cooped up inside due to a snowstorm now, but if I can get out on Friday, my mom has a round-number birthday (70)--a good occasion for some portraiture. And then I need a concert...

--Dave
 
Here's My 85mm F1.7 MC

Here's My 85mm F1.7 MC

Love this lens. Use it quite a bit, and will continue to use it in the coming years. It actually has replaced my Canon RF 85mm F1.5 (this lens is way smaller than that one, and way lighter in weight, too). The Canon was about a stop faster, but no MC, and 2X-3X the total cost, so the Minolta is fine for my uses. I paid a bit North of $300 for mine as well, after a while it developed a sticky aperture. John Titterton fixed that problem, in -one day-, for $40. He's THE MAN. Imagine getting a Leica repaired in one day :bang:

I fitted mine out deluxely, with the correct specific 85mm MC Rokkor hood (about 5 Bucks at KEH), and a vintage original Minolta MC silver filter, and the plastic lenscap is for a large format lens, I believe. It tightly press-fits into inside of the 85mm F1.7 hood.
 

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Nicely done, Dan. I looked for a hood while I was ordering the lens on KEH, and didn't find the anatomically correct one. I suppose any hood that screws onto 55mm threads and is for a shorter lens would help at least more than nothing. (Anything from a longer lens, of course, risks vignetting.) But I like your way better!
--Dave
 
colyn said:
Look what followed me home today...
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Brilliant! It looks almost new. Mine came with that standard 50/1.7 as well. I've hardly used it, favoring the 58/1.4 non-"X" Rokkor. I keep meaning to do a rigorous, controlled comparison shoot between those two lenses, though. I suspect I could be overlooking a gem in the 1.7.

--Dave
 
Argenticien said:
Brilliant! It looks almost new. Mine came with that standard 50/1.7 as well. I've hardly used it, favoring the 58/1.4 non-"X" Rokkor. I keep meaning to do a rigorous, controlled comparison shoot between those two lenses, though. I suspect I could be overlooking a gem in the 1.7.

--Dave
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The only scuffing is a little on the bottom plate.

I've got a sample of all the Minolta 50's. The f/1.7 is every bit as good as the others. My 58mm f/1.2 flares a bit in bright sunlight even with the proper hood.

I may try a controlled test with all soon..
 
Second Minolta Electroflash.

Second Minolta Electroflash.

This just arrived today, the Minolta SRT Electroflash. A spare for me, now I have two of them. Put batteries in it, no go at first. Let it "soak" for ten minutes with power on, both readylights glow, and flash fires perfectly. Once again, old Minolta SRT stuff just keeps on working! Also came with original case and AC cord.

Shown with my ringneck Lizard SRT101 and 58mm F1.2 MC Rokkor. Very hard to find original flash made for the SRT.
 

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A few tests from the test roll with the MC Rokkor 85/1.7 (which arrived the day before the snowstorm in the eastern USA last week). OOF areas seem nice. First real production roll is still in the camera.

--Dave

SRT102, 85/1.7 (wide open), 1/30, Delta 400, Rodinal.


Footfalls by Argenticien, on Flickr

I practiced portraiture on an inanimate object at all apertures as part of the same test roll (and whilst snowed in anyway). Below is a montage; left half is at f/1.7, right at f/16; focus was at the eyes. DOF is narrow at 1.7, but I'm seeing OOF-ness, not bad softness, in the left half (e.g., the crown, in the plane of focus, is pretty sharp). This is Guanyin, of fame also in the camera world since in Japanese nomenclature he/she is Kwannon, whose name was put on a camera ages ago, then b@stardized to "Canon" and the rest is history...
 
I can remember when I was a kid back in the'70s, Minoltas weren't considered "Pro" grade by a lot of people I knew, but I saw our local paper's SRT 101s regularly get the crap pounded out of them by the newspaper staff. These cameras held up quite well and delivered the goods for years before needing major repair or replacement. I'm glad that I was able to build up a Minolta kit while the lenses were still cheap on the used market.
 
The Minolta SRT 101 was my first SLR. I bought it in the late 1960's as I remember. Only had the lens it came with when I bought it from National Camera. I thought I had gone to heaven, why, looking at what the film will see and the through the lens metering, unbelievable! I kept it until I was in the military when I had the opportunity to buy Nikon equipment, some in Japan and some in Hong Kong.

I still have the Nikon equipment and it has traveled with me until about late 2012 when I started to buy used Leica equipment. I have grown quite fond of the IIIf cameras.

Recently my wife attended a seminar in Orlando and all I brought were the IIIf cameras and one 50mm f2.0 lens. All B&W film.

Thanks for taking me down memory lane!
 
I have a 35mm F2.8 MC Rokkor, with a rather loose focus helical. I considered sending it out for repair, but in the end, I simply bought another one (cost of $38). Sometimes it is easier and cheaper to replace something, and keep or sell the old for parts. I do sometimes take my Minolta lenses apart, but usually I stop at the focus helicals.
 
I have my Dad's SRT Super, and it is an absolute tank. Not sure when he bought it, but it would have been in the late 70's or early 80's. It's in almost pristine condition, apart from the film advance lever's plastic snapped off, and the leather case totally disintegrating. Surprisingly, it has the 50/1.4, 35/2.8, and 135/2.8.

I've tried all the lenses and the 50/1.4 is my favourite, but I'm tempted to get something like a Sony A7 and adapter to use these lenses digitally. So far, I've only put one roll of film through it in the last seven years, but I might shoot some more film in the meantime.
 
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