My baby

No photos yet from Barcelona, but since I mentioned that our trip photos were taken by my SLR, I thought I talk about my camera since I love it to death and feel lucky to have found it.

My camera is an old school Minolta SRT201, which was probably made in the late 60s or 70s. I've had the camera since 1998, but I only rather recently finally researched the camera online and came across this handy site that details the features of the entire SRT line. As you can see from the ratings, the 201 does pretty well. In my research, I even found a PDF of my camera's original user's manual. I love when the internet gives you more than what you expect.

So, the history of how I got the camera. In late August 1998, I was hitting a lot of thrift shops, buying stuff that I would need for my first apartment at college when I went back in the fall. In one place, as I waited in line at the cashier, I noticed a decent looking SLR camera sitting in a case. I'd been wanting to get into photography for a couple of years, but it was a bit hard without a camera. I assumed the camera would be expensive, and I was pretty low on money, so, as I waited, I debated what the maximum was that I would spend once I asked at the register how much the camera was. $10? $20? Could it really be that cheap anyway? I finally got to the register (with my other purchases of a bunch of random, mismatched silverware and a pasta strainer) and I asked how much the camera I saw in the case was.... $7.95. Fucking hell. I pointlessly asked if the camera worked, to which the cashier said "I don't know" while doing a bit of looking through the viewfinder, but of course I was taking it. I've always felt it was an incredible steal.

I think that same afternoon I went and bought a 12 exposure roll of film to try the camera out with, but I ran into the slight problem of not knowing how to load film into an SLR camera. I was missing the essential step of sliding the film into the spool on the other side, so it wasn't being pulled across at all. I "developed" two 12 exposure rolls before deciding I should stop wasting money on film, but hoping nothing was wrong with the camera.

Everything looked ok with the camera, and it is indeed in near-perfect shape. The body has no scratches or dents, all the mechanisms work fine, nothing is broken on it. I've always just used the lens that was on it when I bought it, and though it didn't have a lens cap when I bought it, the lens is not scratched or damaged (probably could use a clean though). A few weeks after getting the camera, a friend who knows photography showed me how to load the film, I tried again and voila! Photos! Rock on.

Ironically, once I had a camera, photography lessons never followed. I always put it off or didn't have time or money, or, after coming to Amsterdam, gave the excuse that I didn't want to take classes in Dutch. Then O bought his digital cameras and really learned what he was doing and amazingly I didn't feel jealous that he was learning what I'd meant to for years, but rather I just kinda left the photo taking to him. I fell more and more for the instant feedback of digital so that, while I love my Minolta, I didn't feel like dragging it with me on a trip, when O's camera could take much better photos and without all the costs associated with film. It was nice to use it again in Barcelona though. I just hope the photos came out well.

I've always wondered what value my camera would have, based on the condition it's in and its age, etc. I guess the SRTs aren't too rare and expensive if you come across one in a camera shop. On ebay, you can get one with a flash and such for under 50 bucks. Though I've seen a similar old Minolta, body only, in a camera shop here for nearly 100 eur. Ah, I just found this site that gives a clear idea of the camera's value. So yeah, I got a good price for it. ;) Though the site I referenced above, in the section headed "Professional Models", talks about SRTs made in a "Professional" black finish that had a higher price, though the black finish doesn't hold up as well under heavy use since it was just painted brass. Mine is all black, unlike the ones usually pictured online that are chrome on top, and it has no scratches or brassing, as mentioned can happen. Perhaps then it is more rare and has a higher value? =)

Regardless of what it might cost, I love the thing. I love that it all works mechanically; it only has a battery to run the internal light meter (I might want to take those photography lessons to ween myself off of the light meter since I see in stuff online that the battery it uses is not easy to come by anymore since it is a mercury battery that isn't made much anymore for environmental reasons. I may not be able to use the meter forever...) Right after I bought the camera, and I didn't have film in there, I would play with all of the settings and buttons, and it was great to see the physical connection between turning a dial and what the lens would do. It's a good way to learn, in a concrete way, the relation between film speed, shutter speed and aperture. Not that I've learned it so that's it's second nature, but it helps me to visualize it all if I'm trying to fiddle with the settings.