Very pleased. . .

[wheelygirl]

that someone began a social discussion group of my current favorite make of camera I own a SRT 101 & and its close to 'mint' condition & I so love it !
As I have said before in other threads in the general forums, I'll be "kicking and screaming" into the d*****ls age when it comes to cameras!!

 

[Terry Again]

Welcome "home" Write away have fun!!!
Terry

 

[B&Jdude]

Welcome to another SRT affectionado . . . oun number is growing as more photographers discover one of the best cameras . . . move over Nikon, Leica, Alpa, etc. to make room for another top shelf (but affordable) model. Take lotsa good pix, wheelygirl!!
Smiff

 

[wayne naughton]

hiya kiddo

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, WheelyGirl;

Also, welcome to the group. Yes, the older Minolta mechanical cameras do have a certain charm.

Now, speaking as someone who did carry Number 97 under AAMRR, CMA, WMRRA, and OMRRA sanction, and who spent time in the sand of the pits at Daytona, plus having made three laps of the Mountain Circuit on the Isle of Man, what vehicle are you using for performing these wheelies?

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[andrewc]

I also have recently become a diehard devotee of the SR-T system. I now have two SR-T 102s that I love dearly and use much more than any of my digital gear. Don't get me wrong--I love my DSLR but it doesn't have nearly as much charm nor give me as much satisfaction to use as do my 102s. These cameras seem to grow on me more and more everyday!

Andy

 

[Terry Again]

Welcome to the gang!! If those cameras growing on you interfers with your life then you should see a doc about that!! Otherwise let them grow and see if they work before you sell them!! Tell us how you grow them I'd like to get some cheap to me lenses!!
Have a great day!!

 

[JFH]

Thought I'd join the group too. After some years using d***tal, have been getting back to film. My old SRT 101, new to me in 1971, was CLA'd last summer, and I recently bought one of the "radioactive" 28mm f2.5 MC lenses; I am trying it with Hoya 82A filter. I LOVE this camera.. so many years and memories associated with it. And it gets me back to photography and away from computers...

 

[B&Jdude]

andrewc & JFH: Glad to see you guys latch onto those SRTs and jump in here with us . . . the water is fine!! Smiff

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, JFH;

Regarding your "radioactive lens," try just leaving it out where natural sunlight can shine through it for a couple of days. The UV (Ultra Violet) radiation will alter the cause of the yellow coloring, and you might not need that 82A filter after all. Another source of UV light ("Black" light, tanning lamps) may also work, but I do not know how long to recommend for the exposure time.

I have had a similar problem with my original Auto ROKKOR-PF 1:1.4 f=58mm lenses.

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[JFH]

Thanks, Ralph. I had read that this was a "cure" for the yellow- brown tint, although I seem to remember that some folks took a bit longer than a couple of days. A bit too far north and too cold for that right now anyway, and I don't feel too confident about leaving the lens out and exposed for extended times. It's in really nice shape. I may give it a try this summer though....

It's on its first roll of film (Portra 160NC) and I've taken some with no filter and some with the 82A. Since almost all contain snow, that should give a pretty good idea of what I'm getting for white balance. I also understand that the lens as-is can be pretty nice with b&w film, since the "filter" is already in place.

 

[wheelygirl]

Hi, everyone!
Just popping in briefly--to clarify something that Ralph Javins mentioned: I actually don't own any motorized vehicles; however, my screen-name is in reference to something I can do in a very limited manner--'pop' mini-wheelies in my manual wheel-chair

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, WheelyGirl;

I do understand your chosen mode of transport at this time. The fellow who is probably the closest thing I have to a younger brother also drives a chair. He is a parapleagic from an airplane accident, and he still drives cars also. At this time, he has a Volvo, a Dodge pickup truck, and a Volkswagen New Beetle. Probably the most surprising thing is his Cessna 172. Did you know that there are adaptive control systems for aircraft also?

There are several other people who drive chairs, although most of them use vans for their transport. You might know of one of my acquaintances, Lane Durand of Yakima, Washington. I believe that he is in the Guiness Book of World Records for his 23 mile long wheely on his chair through the Yakima River Canyon on the old US Highway 97 between Yakima and Ellensburg. This includes going up and down some hills on that road.

And, now that you have provided the explanation, I do recognize the silhouette of the chair in the photograph.

Have fun with your Minolta SR-T 101. Remember that you have the ability to keep your camera more steady than we do, so you might not need a tripod as often.

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, JFH;

Your comment about the difficulty in getting adequate sunlight for the altering of the chemicals in the glass elements of the lens is one that I recognize and appreciate. I live in Latte Land, home of Starbucks, and we frequently have difficulty in seeing the sun. Of course, we also save lots of money by not needing to buy sunblock, so we can afford all of those lattes.

If you have a window on the house that looks to the South, try placing your lens propped up there, and just turn it to track and face the sun during the day. I believe that the problem happens in either the first or the second element in the lens. While having quartz paned windows would really be nice for maximum effect, the common glass windows do transmit a fair volume of UV radiation, so it does work. If you can wait a week or so, that will not hurt the lens. Good luck with it.

We have had a fair volume of snow here also. I had not thought of using it to check the coloration of the lenses.

Enjoy; Ralph Javins

 

[B&Jdude]

Radioactive lenses?? I have often seen them mentioned in various threads and have always thought they were the result of some glass the lens makers used that had radioactive impurities in it.

Now I read about a yellow tint to the "radioactive" glass. I have seen what I had just assumed to be another type of coating on some camera lenses (and a few Bushnell binoculars, too) and figured it was just alternate to the more common blue coating.

Where did Momma go wrong in raising me? :confused:

Smiff

 

[JFH]

First of all, WheelyGirl, apologies for the total hijacking of your thread.....

B&J Dude: From the reading I've done, the "radioactive" lenses had one or more elements containing certain radioactive elements which enhanced the optical qualities of the glass. Afaik, Minolta made two: If I recall correctly, one was a 58mm, and the other was mine, the MC 28mm f2.5 SI. When new of course, the glass was perfectly clear, but over time as the radioactive elements decayed, they imparted the tint to the glass. The tint is IN the glass, not on it, and this usually only affects one element. From examining the lens, it appears that this element is just behind the diaphragm. It's definitely not a matter of coating.

These lenses were made around or before 1970. Later glass formulations were changed to eliminate this. I've also heard of other lenses, I think the Kodak Aero Ektar from WWII was one, which also have this characteristic. It is said, and Ralph has mentioned, that exposure to UV light removes this tint and "restores" the lens. When the sun finally comes up this year in my part of the world, I'll give this a try. Until then, I've just sent a roll to the lab with several each unfiltered shots and shots using an 82A filter... I'll see how that works out. Although the jury's out until I see the results, I really like this lens so far. It seems to suit my shooting needs and looks nice through the viewfinder, and it's in excellent condition.

 

[B&Jdude]

Golly, JFH, you really didn't hijack the thread, since those HOT lenses relate directly to the cameras that we love to shoot.

I still scarf up every yard sale and junque store SRT that I find at a reasonable (read as "cheap") price. Got 'em everywhere I may normally be found lurking about, so I can always grab one up and burn some film with it. I even have a dead one that they can bury with me so I can snap a few shots of the Pearly Gates (though I probably won't be allowed to enter through them!).

Now that Spring has sprung, I will be shooting a lot of the flowers that are just beginning to bloom.

Smiff

 

[JFH]

Well, I received my first roll from this lens back from the lab. Portra 160NC. And I must say, I'm impressed. The shots without any filter do show a slight "warming" effect to the colors, but I'm not getting "yellow snow" or anything even close to that. With the 82A filter, balance seems spot on... snow is white and all that and everything else looks right.
Now maybe the lab applied some color correction when they printed the film, I don't know, but the scans look the same as the prints. When I apply a "smart fix" to the scans from shots that used the 82A filter, the adjustments (in Paint Shop Pro X) barely show any correction. I'm not a pro or a guru, so that's about as sophisticated as I can get gear- wise, and it looks good.
Unless one is a real gearhead, I'd have to say that the tinted lens thing might be a bit more than an someone sould worry about excessively.... For me, all it did was to bring the price down on a really nice 28mm lens that I'm going to get a lot of use out of..