SRT 101

There's got to be a bunch of these for sale on Ebay.

Some of these models require mercury batteries which leaves the meter semi-bum (in the US at least). There are replacements, I hear they aren't fully satisfactory.

Contact Shuichi Yoshida at atla_shuichi@crosswinds.net. He is a private individual who repairs Minolta SRTs, and I was referred to him by someone on this forum. I just got my Minolta SRT fixed (broken meter, just like yours) and he seems to be an expert on these brands. He is honest and will clean and lube your camera as well. What's best is that he will adjust your camera such that it does not need the old (unavailable) mercury batteries, and such that it will work with the new alkaline types.

I am not affiliated with Shuichi in any way -- just a happy customer.

I live in Memphis and had my father's SRT 101 serviced after at least 10 years of non-activity. Had a basic service performed, including shortening the shutter time (evidently each exposure was a little too long) and "readjusting the meter." I was told the the meter was re-calibrated to work with modern alkaline batteries. I haven't heard from others regarding recalibrating the meter, but the camera works fine. Maury

Why not get one of the newer X bodies? There are about 2 billion of them on the used market and a lot of them won't have the battery issue. You can still buy a new X-700 or X-370 body - I think the X-370 is about $150 new at B&H. They will work with your lenses.

Look on Ebay. I just bought a SR-T 201 through there. The 201 does use a mercury cell, but it seems to do just fine with the replacements availible.

I am thinking of buying a used SRT101. It seems to be in good condition. Do you think this would be a wise idea. The man is selling it and a tripod for $80.00.

I read about the battery thing, I don't know if it has been converted or not. I didn't know to check that.

What do you think?

One of the main reasons that the meters in the old Minolta SRTs stop functioning properly is due to the fact that the metering cells were glued to the front face of the pentaprism with a type of exopy that, turns brown with age. Therefore, this brown goop impedes the cell from correctly reading the light passing through the prism, throughing the meter off by a stop or so.

This seems to be a problem of SRTs in general, which is why many now have non-functional meters. I have often been told that this problem irrepairable, but apparently this is no the case. (By the way, could any of you who have had your SRT's meter repaired please tell me what such service goes for?)

My suggestion? Look for an old XE-7. This camera was basically a redevolopment of the SRT and features a nearly identical chassis. Furthermore, it has aperture priority AE, but, if the batteries are removed, all shutter speeds will still function mechanically! It has no meter problems like the SRT and is very rugged. Your SRT then can function as a mechanical, meterless backup or alternate body.

I am afraid, the Minolta XE has an electric shutter. If the batteries are dead, it will work on X and B only. All other settings won't work. It is a very nice camera but also quite old by now (23 years) but still younger than the 101 which is 34 years. Would recommend something new, but am uncertain how well build present Minolta MF bodies are. Perhaps you want to look them in a proper shop before buying.

The Wein batteries (1.35 V) don't require recalibration for the SRTs... If you use 1.5 V batteries as a replacement , then meter recalibration is recommended to improve the probability of proper exposure....ebay is a a good sourse of SRTs... I got a good ( functional and cosmetic ) STR MC-II for about $80 with a 50mm lens and a SRT -201 with a ding for about $45 (no lens) They're fun to use as an alternative to my Nikon AF and my x-700s (MF/AE)

HELLO, I USE A PILOT 2 LIGHT METER, WHICH ALLOWS ME TO CONTROL MY LIGHT MORE.BUT I DO HAVE 4 EXTRA 101'S THAT ARE IN BEAUTIFUL SHAPE, METERS WORK AND JUST HAD CLA'S DONE ON THEM. IF YOU CAN NOT FIND A BODY LET ME KNOW. ROZIEDAN@FRONTIERNET.NET ...((( I HAVE BEEN USING 101'S SINCE 1969, USN DAYS, UNFORTUNATLY THE METER'S ARE KNOWN TO GO 1ST. I DO HAVE A SOURCE FOR THE PROPER BATTERY. 1.35V MERC FREE.SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RECALBRATE )))