Most reliable manual focus Minolta bodies

Deleted member 88956 · Dec 7, 2020

George Mann said:
Yet the R3 (XE) is considered to be Leicas least reliable model, followed by the R4 (XD).

Because R3 is not XE in much deeper sense than stated prism and spot meter. And it were the electronics that took R3 down, not mechanics.

R4 was apparently closer electronically to XD and both had issues. Leica fixed its problems in later production R4, while Minolta dropped XD for X line with a completely new, cheaper, but reliable design.

russell_w_b · Dec 7, 2020

BAC1967 said:
The srTsc-II is basically the srT201 without the self timer and memo holder on the back.

Isn't that what an SrT-200 is?

BAC1967 · Dec 7, 2020

russell_w_b said:
Isn't that what an SrT-200 is?

I don't have one but I think the srT-200 is lacking the shutter speed in the viewfinder. That's based on the description on the Rokkor Files web site. The differences all seem very slight to me but they must have had a marketing reason to make so many variations of the same basic camera. I'm sure the reliability of the low end ones are no different than models with more options. Maybe the low end ones are more reliable since they have less that can go wrong with them.

russell_w_b · Dec 7, 2020

BAC1967 said:
I don't have one but I think the srT-200 ...

Ah... Didn’t think of that, but yes. No shutter info visible through viewfinder. I note that with the bottom plate off the mechanics look similar to the Sr-1V but one of the gears is plastic on the Sr-t 200.

Pretty solid construction though.
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R.

miha · Dec 7, 2020

George Mann said:
Yet the R3 (XE) is considered to be Leicas least reliable model, followed by the R4 (XD).

Sure, nothing compares to a Leicaflex.

CMoore · Dec 7, 2020

russell_w_b said:
Ah... Didn’t think of that, but yes. No shutter info visible through viewfinder. I note that with the bottom plate off the mechanics look similar to the Sr-1V but one of the gears is plastic on the Sr-t 200.

Pretty solid construction though.
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R.

I have the 202.
Do you know, is there much difference..... i suppose that all depends on how important a certain feature is to a person..... between the 200, 201 and 202.?
Thank You

pbromaghin · Dec 7, 2020

BAC1967 said:
I use the 675 hearing aid battery with a #9 O-ring to hold it in place. You can get a 6 pack at the drug store for under $10 and the O-ring at the hardware store for less than $1. It may be a bit too thin to make proper contact. You can bend the spring post in the camera up a little or wad up a little tin foil to put between the battery and threaded cap. The voltage may be off slightly, 1.4 instead of 1.35, but I’ve never had a problem with exposure.

Thanks a lot! I did a fair amount of searching but somehow missed these and eventually gave up.

russell_w_b · Dec 7, 2020

CMoore said:
I have the 202.
Do you know, is there much difference..... i suppose that all depends on how important a certain feature is to a person..... between the 200, 201 and 202.?
Thank You

The 200 has no self timer whereas the 201 has. And, as mentioned, the 201 has shutter speed info visible through the viewfinder. The 202 comes in black and chrome and has an offset pentaprism as well as full viewfinder info. I think it was aimed at the professional tog. And it has a film memo holder on the back to stick the top of your HP5+ card in or whatever.

Not only are there these variants but, as I've learned, there are sub-variants of models! There's a 200 model a and model b, for example. different focussing screens and plastic things instead of metal. I suppose it's like buying a car. Do you go for the DL, the E, the L, the DL, the GT, the GTI? They'll all get you there in the end.
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R.

CMoore · Dec 7, 2020

russell_w_b said:
The 200 has no self timer whereas the 201 has. And, as mentioned, the 201 has shutter speed info visible through the viewfinder. The 202 comes in black and chrome and has an offset pentaprism as well as full viewfinder info. I think it was aimed at the professional tog. And it has a film memo holder on the back to stick the top of your HP5+ card in or whatever.

Not only are there these variants but, as I've learned, there are sub-variants of models! There's a 200 model a and model b, for example. different focussing screens and plastic things instead of metal. I suppose it's like buying a car. Do you go for the DL, the E, the L, the DL, the GT, the GTI? They'll all get you there in the end.
--

R.

Got it..... thanks

Helge · Dec 7, 2020

The most reliable Minolta is the wrong question to ask.
SR-T is the most reliable one, in the sense that it’s a best bestseller and you can pick and chose. It’s also very solidly build and mechanical, so if it was stored right in the last 40 to 50 years it will probably work.

But it’s not the best experience in lot of senses (not that it’s a bad camera).

The light meter is also likely to be off or non-functioning, and it’s slow and not very precise at the extremes (where metering matters).

Most reliable manual focus Minolta bodies

Deleted member 88956

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