A moment of great weakness...

The Kildare Track

A
The Kildare Track

  • 9
  • 3
  • 86
Stranger Things.

A
Stranger Things.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 56
Centre Lawn

A
Centre Lawn

  • 2
  • 2
  • 61

Recent Classifieds

Forum statistics

Threads
198,909
Messages
2,782,963
Members
99,745
Latest member
Larryjohn
Recent bookmarks
0
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
1,603
Location
Iowa
Format
Multi Format
And now I have a Minolta SRT-101 plus 58/1.4 lens coming to me.

Yes, I'm using a large format camera now. Yes, I just sold a Nikon SLR. But this cost me $47 with post and it just screamed "BUY ME" on the auction site. So...I did. And now I have a 35mm SLR again.

How IS the 58mm? I'm looking for something soft wide open for portraits. :smile:
 

unohuu

Subscriber
Joined
Apr 10, 2004
Messages
480
Location
Minneapolis
Format
35mm
you are going to love the camera, if nothing else for the sheer simplicity of the camera. the 58 f/1.4 is a wonderful lens as well. enjoy. remember mirror lock up is your friend. beware though, you may become addicted to the creamy bokeh of some of that marvelous Minolta glass.
 
OP
OP
Stephanie Brim
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
1,603
Location
Iowa
Format
Multi Format
And said glass is CHEAP. My God. So many good lenses at prices I could never even dream of finding a Nikkor for.
 

BradS

Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
8,120
Location
Soulsbyville, California
Format
35mm
Shhhh! don't tell everybody! Minolta glass is like...the best kept secret. Just quietly buy and enjoy.
 

GeorgK

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
91
Format
35mm
Hi.
The 58mm should give you nice "soft" (low contrast) pictures fully open.
Regarding the camera, check the shutter speeds with a test film (slide) first. The 1/1000 almost defintively will not work properly, maybe the 1/500 also might have problems. This is typical for older cloth-shutter cameras.
There is a lot of great glass around for the Minolta bayonet, where the best ones can put their Nikon counterparts ashame, but for usually 40-60% of the price. Just check the web for recommendations.

Regards
Georg
 

Eric Rose

Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2002
Messages
6,843
Location
T3A5V4
Format
Multi Format
The very first camera I bought with my own money was a Minolta SRT 101. I bought it new and the only reason I bought the SRT was because David Hamilton used one and I thought.....well never mind LOL. I eventually sold it when I started doing news photography because the lens was to soft. So if you looking for a nice soft lens I'm sure you will be happy. The Minolta glass is very nice and reproduces color very pleasingly. One thing to keep in mind if the meter is still working is that it is very bottom weighted which can throw you off if you are doing verticals.
 
OP
OP
Stephanie Brim
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
1,603
Location
Iowa
Format
Multi Format
I plan to use my hand held Gossen Luna Pro F.

At $47 I figure I can add a little bit to that for a CLA at some point...I just hope it comes to me working. I plan to run a test roll of film through it (probably just some Tri-X or something) to make sure.
 

arigram

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
5,465
Location
Crete, Greec
Format
Medium Format
You can always sell the game console and games to fund another camera, like that RB67...
 
OP
OP
Stephanie Brim
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
1,603
Location
Iowa
Format
Multi Format
I can't sell them all, but I plan to sell at least something. I have a lot of rare RPGs that we now have two copies of because I had one and he had one before we moved in together. I'll sell mine and we'll keep his. :smile:
 

photophorous

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2008
Messages
3
Format
35mm RF
I got an SRT 101 with a 58/1.4 not too long ago. I only recently got some shots back with the 58, taken in the f/1.4 to f/2.8 range, and I'm very pleased. The bokeh is amazing...great for portraits. I was surprised at how much shallower the DOF is, when compared to a 50mm. It is soft at f/1.4, but stopping down a little sharpens things up nicely and you still get nice creamy bokeh.

I haven't used the SRT yet, because I have another Minolta body. It appears to be working, but the light seals and mirror bumper have disintegrated and left tiny pieces of foam all inside the mirror box. This is common for cameras from the 60s and 70s. I plan to put mine in rehab eventually...just been to busy.

Good luck with yours.

Paul
 

Soeren

Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2004
Messages
2,675
Location
Naestved, DK
Format
Multi Format
And said glass is CHEAP. My God. So many good lenses at prices I could never even dream of finding a Nikkor for.

Hmm Maybe I have just been to lucky. Over the last year or so I was given a Nikon FM with MD12 and a 50mm f/1,8 AIS, a 300mm f4,5 AIS and at my/our wedding party my big brother handed me his Nikon F3 with a 55mm f/3,5 AI Mikro Nikor as a bonus gift.
Some years ago I was given a Nikormat FT3 sans lens. So even Nikons and Nikors can come cheap :wink:
kind regards
 

Steve Roberts

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2004
Messages
1,299
Location
Near Tavisto
Format
35mm
In the mid-1970s when me and all my teenage photographic pals were messing around with Pentax Spotmatics (OK, I still do!), Praktica Super TLs, Zenit Es, etc., one chap returned from Oz with a Minolta SRT100b. Compared to the Minolta everything we others had seemed quite agricultural, as on the Minolta the focussing, film advance, shutter action and so on all seemed so much more refined.

Steve
 

srmcnamara

Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2008
Messages
141
Location
Baltimore
Format
4x5 Format
I picked up an SRT-201 last spring. The off-brand 35mm lens is worthless and the 55 1.7 I haven't used enough to know but hey it was only 3 bucks. the 135 2.8 is a beast.

I really can't wait to get more lenses. I think a friend has got a whole bucket full of lenses from ebay but I'm not sure. It really does work like a dream.
 
OP
OP
Stephanie Brim
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
1,603
Location
Iowa
Format
Multi Format
Eh, this is for baby photos. I realized that Rinoa is just way too little to shoot with a 4x5. She's not one to sit still.

I did, however, get one shot of her that I plan to upload as soon as I have it developed and scanned. :wink:
 

panchro-press

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
122
Location
Cleveland
Format
Large Format
You're not giving the Crown a fair chance, Stephanie. It can move every bit as fast as your Little One. Just don't light the cigar.
 
OP
OP
Stephanie Brim
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
1,603
Location
Iowa
Format
Multi Format
Well, I just got it in the mail today. The shutter is on (as far as I can tell without shooting a film), and even the slow speeds sound accurate to my ear. Don't know about the meter, but I didn't really care about it. There are a few marks on the lens, but nothing substantial that should have any impact on images. The film door is a little hard to open, and would like some suggestions as to how to loosen it up a bit. I was thinking WD-40, but don't know if that would be a good idea.

All in all I'm pleased.
 
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here.

PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:



Ilford ADOX Freestyle Photographic Stearman Press Weldon Color Lab Blue Moon Camera & Machine
Top Bottom