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| The indomitable SRT-303 |
This is a review of the Minolta SR-T 303 (and it's sibling, the SRT100).
I base my review on having spent half a year together and shot quite a
bit of film with it.
And I thought I was not going back to
Minolta ever again. I sold my X-700, my 9xi, my 7xi and my XD11 and I
said "enough, no more Minoltas" - how deluted I was. A lovely 700si
found its way back to my collection (review here) and at Christmas, I
came across an online listing saying: "old film camera - not working".
It was for peanuts, so I said why not. The lens (a Makinon 28 f/2.8) was
full of fungus so I threw it away, the camera - a beautiful SRT303 was
working just fine and looked like new. A few weeks later, a SRT100 with
an unusual Rokkor 50 f/3.5 macro was up for sale - price looked low and I
got it. That's how this equipment came to my hands.
I will not
go into the historical details of these cameras, there are other sites
that explain it so nicely. Anyway, i am so confused with all the
different designations of the same cameras or the different variations
with slight changes - you can have a look on the Rokkor Files for more
information - here I will focus on shooting the SRT303.
The SRT 303
The
SRT 303 is a beautifully constructed camera. My sample has a "4J" code stumped inside under the bottom plate which means it was produced in 1974 (4) October (J=10th month). The best way I can
describe it is a solid block of metal and glass. It feels heavy and
dense but well balanced with the macro Rokkor (which is more heavy than
it looks). Actually the SRT303 with the Macro-Rokkor is just slightly
lighter than the Nikon F4 with the 50f/1.8 (sans batteries and with the
MB-20 grip).
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| 1.040kg Vs 1.237 |
Nothing rattles in the SRT303, nothing moves out of position accidentally, everything clicks nicely and confidently. The shutter selector and the film advance lever are nicely oversized - you will appreciate it in cold weather wearing gloves (I am looking at you Mrs 700si and your tiny compartment door...). The film advance is smooth but it does have a rather long stroke. The shutter button has a nicely defined travel. There is very little doubt that this is a very solidly built camera - actually holding it feels just as well or even better build than the spotmatic (review here) or the Pentax K1000 (review here). The SRT came with a double plated chrome top and that is why most of them look like new - even in beaten up condition.
Noise and vibration is just average for this camera - it is not as quiet as the more civilised OM cameras. Although I can shoot with a 1/15 speed with the OM, I would avoid handholding speeds of 1/15th with the SRT. Not that is not possible, the extra weight of the SRT303 helps with stability but there is a loud "CLAP" when you press the button that you can feel it.
The real improvement of the SRT303 over the older SRT101 is the viewfinder. Both speed and aperture are visible in the viewfinder - the prism on the 303 has a small mirror that reflects the aperture on the viewfinder. Also, the 303 is equipped with a split rangefinder surrounded by microprism glass - this makes focusing much easier and accurate even with the slow f/3.5 aperture of the Macro-Rokkor.
The light meter works by ways of matching one needle (operated by changing the shutter or aperture) with another needle (operated by the potentiometer). I am not sure what to think about that, I feel it makes the viewfinder look a bit cluttered with all those moving needles - a more simple "place one needle between two positions" approach like in the case of Spotmatic or OM1 would be nicer. Another thing about the meter is that is slow to respond, give it a couple of seconds to settle and always treat it the way you would treat a centre-weighted system - put the main subject in the lower part of the viewfinder, take a reading, recompose.
There are a few things that I don't like. First of all the advance lever
- it has quite a long stroke and more annoyingly the lever needs to
(physically) reach the complete end in order to be able to press the
shutter button - no leeway at all. The complete opposite of this camera
is the OM-4, short stroke and plenty of space between advancing the film
and reaching the end of the stroke. This might sound like a minor flaw
but there have been times I wasn't able to press the button because I
hadn't pushed the advance level that extra 0,001 mm till the end.
Despite the criticism, advancing the film is super smooth, Minolta
claimed that by combining the advance lever and the shutter button, this
somehow adds to the reliability of the mechanism. I am not sure why or
how but that's what Minolta said.
Another thing that you need to
be aware of is the plastic tip at the end of the advance lever. If your
sample comes with one, make sure you break it and stick it back on with
some super glue. If not, it *will* break and you *will* lose it.
I'd
love to know who came up with the idea of putting the light meter
switch on the bottom plate. Nine out of ten you forget it on "On", thank
God the potentiometer consumes very little power. At least remember to
put the lens cap on.
I am not sure why these cameras are not as
appreciated as they deserve. Not even Jonny Depp walking around with an
SRT around his neck, pretending to be Eugene Smith, didn't hike up their
desirability or prices. Most of theses cameras went to Vietnam with the
troops and others were the cameras of choice for local newspapers who
could not afford the Nikon and Canon systems. Lets not forget that the
SRT cameras were the original "student cameras" that colleges used
before the K1000 came along. These cameras are build to professional
standards but they are not "system cameras" (i.e. different metering
prisms, motor drives, separate backs etc..) - if you wanted to have a
system camera, you would buy the Minolta XK or Nikon/Canon.
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| Jonny Depp as Eugen Smith |
Rokkor lenses are world famous for their quality. I used to have the MD
50f/1.7 in the past and liked it. The Macro 50f/3.5 is a bit of an
oddball for me as I am not shooting macro. Still, the lens is plenty
sharp and don't let online reviewers tell you otherwise. If you have the
latest 60 megapixel full frame camera and you want corner to corner
sharpness buy a modern lens. The 50f/3.5 macro was made to be used on
the SRTs with film and that is where it shines.
My sample came
with lazy aperture blades. It is easy to correct this if you catch it in
the beginning (like I did). All you need to do is soak the levels on
the side of the lens mount that move the aperture blades in ronsonol and
it is fine. If not, then there is also oil seeping through the aperture
blades mechanism and that is a pretty time consuming job best left to
those who can do it. I attached a few pictures to show you what I did
and worked. Please notice that sometimes the aperture blades look clean
but oil has seeped into the ring that the blades rest on and the springs
are not strong enough to open them and close them quickly due to oil.
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| 1. Unscrew the mount screws on the lens 2. Pull out the mount and clean thoroughly 3. Clean also between the blades |
The only thing I don't like much about my sample is that the focusing ring moves very freely (focus creep i think is called) and whilst walking around the focusing ring is rotating by itself. But the build quality of this lens is exceptional and so is the performance, if you hold one on your hand you will really appreciate it.
Renowned camera repairer Gus Lazzari commented that the SRT's shutter mechanism is rather complex compared to other cameras - this assures more accurate shutter speeds as each speed is set individually (rather than the more popular simple system where all shutter speeds are interconnected). I am not fully sure as to what this means but I take his word for it - it does sound good.
More and more SRTs nowadays come with non functional lightmeters, this is nothing that cannot be repaired. Minolta put a bit of a foam pads at the ends of the potentiometer to cushion the light meter needle from hitting the edges, with time the bumpers turn into goo and the needle gets stuck on it. Any repairmen can clean that - avoid doing anything like this yourself as it involves removing the prism.
Talking about lightmeters, the SRT303 is designed to work with the old mercury 1.35v batteries which are now obsolete. You can use the more modern PX625, PX13 or MR9 batteries but as these are 1.5v you will need to compensate with the ASA dial. In most cases set ASA 200 for a 400ASA film and that is accurate enough (mind you, when it is too bright or too dark the exposure error gets worse). Or you can do yourself and the camera a favour and send it off for service and have it adjusted to use modern battery cells. That way, your grandkids will probably still use this camera (provided film is still available).
By the way, the SRT line of cameras have a depth of field preview button. The early versions of SRT303 had a mirror lockup also but towards the end of the production this was removed. Mine doesn't have one. Also CLC is the light system Minolta used back then - two different light sensors point towards the top and bottom of the frame and contributing to the exposure on a 2:1 ratio. It is all over the Internet, no need for me to say more.
For those who don't know, the SRT-series' claim to fame has been Eugene Smith's seminal work of Minamata. Actually Smith used an SRT101 and not a 303. Also Smith is well known for using any camera he would get his hands on and since he was in dire financial state, Minolta approached him and gave him some of their cameras and fancy lenses (and possibly some pocket money too). The rest is history.
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| Eugene Smith with his SRT-101 |
The SRT303 is definitely not going to win any beauty competitions - it is heavy and loud compared to other cameras and there is the criticism of it being big. The jewel-like OM1 looks like a 110 camera next to the SRT303 but the OM1 is a small camera anyway. If you are used to modern AF-SLRs/DSLR actually the SRT303 is of good size. Have a look at the picture I posted to give you a sense of scale.
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| A bit of a size comparison |
I ended up liking the SRT303 more than the Spotmatic or the K1000. I liked the Minolta more than anything that came out of the Pentacon factory. I like the SRT303 more than my Konica T2 (review here) or the Nikkomat, although my experience with the FT is limited (review coming up soon). Actually, I think I will like the SRT303 more than any other mechanical camera of the same size and specification. Despite the bulk of it, the SRT303 is a likeble camera that looks better in person than in pictures. Did I like it more than the XD11 or the X700? Not sure - although I have treated the X700 and XD11 with a lot of care, the XD11 took a trip to the repair shop for jamming the advance mechanism and the (second) X700 blew up the capacitor. I don't worry too much about the SRT303 though, it feels unbreakable. The other two are more likeable cameras in my opinion as they are smaller, lighter and have some automation. Are they build like tanks? Nope.
The SRT100
This is a strip down version of the 303 with the aesthetics of the previous SRT101 cameras, top speed of 1/500 instead of 1/1000, Spartan viewfinder with no aperture or speed display, no split rangefinder and no self timer. Everything else (including build quality) seems to be the same. I could live with everything except the lack of 1/1000 speed, I think it is important. Another thing is that the shutter sounds slightly different in this one, on the 303 it sounds like a reassuring "klap", on this one there is a slight "iiingggg" after the mirror has come down - maybe the springs have lost part of the tension or something. Overall though everything works fine.
Shooting the 303 has been a very pleasant experience. This camera oozes quality and just keeps working no matter what. There is a reason why Minolta kept it in production for so many years, there is a reason why so many people bought it then (despite the high price tag) and there is a reason why all these cameras work well so many years later. Most camera connoisseurs will agree that this the best mechanical Minolta ever made and one of the best mechanical cameras ever produced by anyone. It just is.
Pictures seem to be fine, the CLC metering seems to be accurate and the Macro-Rokkor is a very fine lens - no distortion, very sharp and no flare - to me this is a winning recipe. I am leaving some samples here.
So what do I think about the SRT303? This is not the kind of camera that I will reach out first when I open up my camera closet. It is slow for street work, for portraits I will use the Rolleicord and for landscapes I would choose something small and light to lug around (i.e. Olympus). I wouldn't also take this abroad either - it would take too much space in my suitcase.
So what is this camera good for? Well actually I think I found my ideal "horrible weather outside" camera, the camera that can take rain and snow and keep working. No need to reach out for the Nikon F4 any more, the SRT303 is just as tough for bad weather. It feels unbreakable and probably is. Easy to use even with thick gloves on and it doesn't depend on battery which tend to die in cold weather (now I am looking at you Nikon F5...).
You might have a different vision and role for the SRT303. They are cheap online so why don't you try one yourself and see what you think. It is considered to be one of the finest mechanical cameras ever made and that's for a good reason. Maybe it is time to treat yourself to one.
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