James's Camera Collection: Minolta srT-201

Minolta srT201 Japan 35mm cameras
Minolta srT201
Camera type: Single Lens Reflex (SLR)
Approx. dates of manufacture: 1975-1981
Lens Mount: Minolta MC or MD
Approx. original price: $267.95
Approx. street value: Low

A late-day find at a swap meet when the owner just wanted to get rid of it, so I got a good price.

Minolta began selling 35mm SLR cameras in 1959. Their first was the SR series, and in 1966 they began the very successful srT series. The first one was the srT101, a metal, mechanical camera with through-the-lens (TTL) metering. It's roughly equivalent to a Canon FT or Nikkormat FT. They kept this workhorse camera in production until 1975, when they gave it a hot-shoe (so that the flash could sync directly to the camera instead of going through a sync-cord) and called it the srT201, and continued selling it until 1981 when these all mechanical, all manual beasts were just too big, heavy and underpowered to compete.

Minolta srT200 201 202 ad (1976)There's also an srT202, which adds mutli-exposure (i.e. you can trip the shutter and then cock it again without having to advance the film), and aperture readout inside the viewfinder.

One of Modern Photography magazine's Top Cameras

Camera manual: Orphan Cameras.com

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