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Minolta Bodies

CMoore

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Messages
6,349
Location
USA CA
Format
35mm
Any of you guys shoot Minolta from "The Golden Age".?
I really wish i had money for yet another Brand of Bodies/Mount/Lens
I always Read/Hear great things about their various:
SRT
XD
X-570, 700
I have so many great 35mm that i do not shoot now, i hate to buy anymore. But if you Minolta guys would like to toot your own horns i am all Eyes and Ears.
Thanks
 
Since I found how great the Rokkor lenes (4) are I picked up 2 cameras to use them on. The XD-11 & XG-1n and they are strong performers using the lenses. Only problem I found was the limited lens range selection but the ones they do have turn out a very good photograph.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/minoltacollectors/
 
Nice.....good for you.
They always (to me) seemed to be a Understated/Under Appreciated camera.
They have several bodies i would be pleased to own.
 
I have approximately 35 film cameras in my collection. It includes everything for 110 to 4x 5. I have more Minoltas than any other brand. I've had great luck with them.
 
The SRT-101 is my favorite. Shown here is one with a 58/1.2 and another with a 35/1.8; the AF lenses are for a Maxxum 7.

 
I use the SR1s - because it is the most elegant SLR ever, and the XK because it is the coolest SLR ever:



 
Cut my teeth on an XG-M. I love the sr-/ X- family of cameras that Minolta put out. I would venture that I have owned most of them over the years. All I have right now is just a plain old X-700. I am working radio for a sprint triathalon at Dewey Beach, DE tomorrow. Just might take the old Minny for a spinny.
 
fstop said:
Limited lens selection? Try looking at this http://minolta.eazypix.de/lenses/
Click to expand...
Seems like anyone who has a good Rokkor wants to hang on to it until they pass away. This is probably why there is such a limited selection in Canada. I am certainly thinking that way as they will be available when they pry them from by cold dead hands ;o)
 
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I recently acquired the Minolta 35-70 zoom lens for under $100, and am blown away by how good it is. Let alone the other Minolta prime glass that I have.
 
I have an X-570, one of my favorites. I'm hoping to pick up an SRT-201 and XD-11 plus some lenses next week. Minolta makes great glass, and I really like the bodies.
 
Awesome.!
Would LOVE the 570 and would like to have the 11 also.
AND.....that XK/M up there would be heavenly.
 
Back in the 1980's I owned an XG-M for a little over a week. I shot one roll of film through it before I flipped it for profit. It was a sweet camera but I already owned a Contax 139 so I didn't need it. I used to sell X-700's new. They were really nice cameras. I bought my sister a Minolta X-570 for Christmas one year. I preferred Minolta over Canon. I liked aperture priority over shutter priority and didn't care about program mode.
 
I purchased the then new X-700 with my first wage packet after leaving school and loved it. Later I added an XG-M, again a great camera. I eventually traded for a Canon T-90 but that was all many years ago. I have been trawling Ebay for an X-700 but haven't taken the plunge yet. I always found them be great cameras and along with their lenses were much underrated.
 
I started with the SRT-MC back in the 1970ies. Still I own SRT 101 (chrome) and 101b (black) from that age. Last year I bougth two X-300 in black and chrome for 100/400 ISO film. One of these x-300 came in a bundle with the minolta gadged bag.

Karl
 
I was GIVEN two Manual Focus Minoltas -- a SR-T100X and the famous X-700 and various lenses including the famous MD Rokkor 35-70mm f3.5 which i have tested at full aperture and it is sharp ! I did Videos on these -- you can see them here :


 
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XDs are such a joy to use, sadly, I've had a few with dying electronics
 
Just a note of interest. A number of years ago the famous French photographer Lucien Clergue photographed a model in my backyard with a Minolta and normal lens. He was making double exposures on film he already shot of famous paintings in museums. They were in camera double exposures no PhotoShop at that time. Perfect registration. The next year we had the pleasure of visiting with him at his home in Arles. I'm not sure of the camera model but I vaguely remember 370 which looked like an SRT 101 or 102 but my have been numbered for a foreign market.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
 
My dad gave me his SRT101 (my first SLR to use), his XG7 and he X700. The XG7 does not work too well, he left a battery in and it leaked a little and shutter release works/doesn't work/works... The contacts a bad I guess.

I really love using the SRT101, I have a roll of HP5+ in there now checking a CLA I had done on it. The X700 also works very well.

He gave me his lenses to go with it and all but one is great. The Focal lens is a 70-300 zoom which weighes a ton and it's all messed up, he may have dropped it. The others are clear, no fungus or haze.
I got a Minolta MC tele-Rokkor-QF 200mm for the SRT for $15 on ebay, clear and no fungus. what a deal.
 
I use the Minolta SRT 200 as my main shooter. Great camera. They are built like a tank and they are readily available today.
 
It would have been a 303, a 370 won't do double exposure.
 
My brother is a noted archaeology photographer. His kit was ALL Minolta. Minolta didn't suit the Photo mags because with their quality they didn't need to advertise heavily, unlike certain inferior brands, who were the apple of photo mag editors eyes.
My current kit is a X-700 + 35-135 zoom, an Indy (Cosina-I think) 19-35, Srt 101 with duff meter 50 f1.4 & various indy 24, 135 & a couple of heavyweight Tamron zooms one a 35-210.
 
Re: Lucien Clergue's double exposures. He was reloading previously exposed rolls and not working from notes. I was amazed as to how accurately the frames lined up. I imagine a search will show some of the images of figures blended with paintings he photographed in museums.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
 
Hi,
Some wonderful stuff here! Brings back memories. My first SLR was a Minolta SRT101 with f1.4 back in 1968. My system grew until I owned every MC/MD Rokkor-X of different focal lengths from the 7.5mm through 500mm with a few exceptions, no 24 shift or 85 defocus. I used to test camera lenses while working for Olympus camera, naturally I tested all my own (they didn't like the fact that I used a Minolta). They stacked up to anyone's. Unfortunately when Minolta changed mounts because of the Maxxum it annoyed me. When Ebay started up I sold off almost everything including my SRM and XK-AE and replaced it with a F3, FA, and Nikon AIs and AF lenses. I was disappointed, my Minolta wides were better. I wound up rebuying a type 2 XK-AES and a few lenses. I kept my two XD-11's (which I feel is one of the best SLR's ever made). It's almost identical to my Leica R5. Back in the 1970's Minolta and Leica were sharing ideas and designs.
For you guys still shooting them with film, I think that is wonderful. I run a roll of B&W through mine now and then.
best regards,
Rick
 
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