Minolta or Pentax?

mehguy · Oct 5, 2016

Hello everyone.

I'm going to take some family snapshots this weekend. I have a Minolta SRT 200 which is loaded with Fomapan. Or I have a Pentax ME. The pentax me hasnt been tested yet with film and it came from a thrift store. Although, the light seals arent gummy and are pretty new which tells me the camera might have been serviced fairly recently... Is it worth the risk of using the Pentax?

Paul Howell · Oct 5, 2016

I would take the Minolta.

flavio81 · Oct 5, 2016

mehguy said:
Hello everyone.

I'm going to take some family snapshots this weekend. I have a Minolta SRT 200 which is loaded with Fomapan. Or I have a Pentax ME. The pentax me hasnt been tested yet with film and it came from a thrift store. Although, the light seals arent gummy and are pretty new which tells me the camera might have been serviced fairly recently... Is it worth the risk of using the Pentax?

I would take the Pentax!

If it was a long trip or going to a war zone, the SRT would be the choice #1.

Born2Late · Oct 5, 2016

mehguy said:
Hello everyone.

I'm going to take some family snapshots this weekend. I have a Minolta SRT 200 which is loaded with Fomapan. Or I have a Pentax ME. The pentax me hasnt been tested yet with film and it came from a thrift store. Although, the light seals arent gummy and are pretty new which tells me the camera might have been serviced fairly recently... Is it worth the risk of using the Pentax?

Why would you take family photos with an untested camera? Absolutely use the Minolta.

summicron1 · Oct 5, 2016

Never, ever, ever, use an untested camera/film for an important gig.

I've seen people with brand new cameras trying to shoot pics at a wedding. "The clerk told me it was impossible to screw up," they would say as they were in the process of screwing up.

Jeff Bradford · Oct 5, 2016

The Minolta gives you more options.

Even if the Pentax ME is working properly, it is still just an auto-exposure camera. Pair it with a 40mm and use it for tourist snapshots by the beach.

winger · Oct 5, 2016

I would almost always choose a Pentax. But, in this case, you know the Minolta works and not so sure about the Pentax. So I would use the Minolta (but keep the Pentax handy and shoot some to see how it is).

MattKing · Oct 5, 2016

mehguy said:
Hello everyone.

I'm going to take some family snapshots this weekend. I have a Minolta SRT 200 which is loaded with Fomapan. Or I have a Pentax ME. The pentax me hasnt been tested yet with film and it came from a thrift store. Although, the light seals arent gummy and are pretty new which tells me the camera might have been serviced fairly recently... Is it worth the risk of using the Pentax?

Take along both - the Minolta for shots that might matter, and the Pentax because it will give you a chance to take some test shots.
Use the same film and try to take a couple of virtually identical shots, one with the Minolta and one with the ME set manually to the same settings. Develop the rolls together, and that will give you a check on whether the shutter speeds settings are giving similar results.

Minolta or Pentax?

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