Minolta Relics for under $20
Analog Cameras are not dead…
…they’ve just been put on some dusty shelf…
Cat and I were out driving on a Saturday afternoon and passed an auction taking place in front of an old odds-and-ends store. We decided to stop off, get a bidder’s number and follow the auctioneer around along with the group of potential buyers just in case something amid the “goods” was interesting. The goods were varied and some of it was junk, some not. As the saying goes, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. A lot of things were going for ridiculously low prices. As the auction went on, we arrived to an area that contained 4 Minolta camera bodies with 50mm lenses. The models were in the 200 series with one being a Minolta 101. There were also a couple of Vivitar 85-205mm zoom lenses (they often sell for less than $10 a piece on eBay), a decrepit naugahyde camera bag (headed for the landfill, unfortunately), and a dead Minolta flash unit. The bidding started at $2 and I got caught up in the upward spiral and finally purchased the lot for $17.50. I was both tickled and shocked because I had no real need for the cameras. I have been shooting digital since the late 90s. Why did I feel the need for these relics?
My first serious camera back in the early 80s was a Pentax K1000. I purchased it because it was a good camera at the time for a good price. I just had it re-built several years ago. A very good manual camera for a student like myself at the time. I learned a great deal about photography using that camera. Back then, I even learned how to develop black and white film, use the enlarger to expose print paper and develop the prints. My K100 is still in mint condition and works like it did almost 30 years ago. Do I have an affinity for the old gear?
It is still VERY COOL!
These cameras are no different. They are great cameras even if they are about 30 some odd years old. So, I cleaned them up with alcohol, Q-tips and lots of elbow grease. One of the 4 camera bodies was shot. The other 3 were in good working condition. These are not made of plastic. These are solid metal and well made. You know, “they don’t make things like they used to…”. The button batteries (for the light meter mechanism) were long dead. One was actually starting to leak, but no damage done. So, I headed out for replacement batteries and, of course, film after work one day. The batteries are around $3.50 a piece (I bought 2) and the film I picked up at Target (convenience in this case) 3 rolls of ASA400 Kodak UltraMax 24 exposures per roll at $7.98 for a grand total of around $15.
Now, it doesn’t take a math professor to figure out that I was only $2.50 shy of the cost of all the equipment that I had purchased. However, what fun I have had so far for less than a nice dinner out. These are neat cameras in their simplicity of design, ease of use, and long life. This gear when purchased new would have cost hundreds of dollars and now, they are selling for ridiculously low prices.
More as it DEVELOPS…
Technorati Tags: camera, 35mm, conventional, minolta, srt200, srt201, srt101, film, analog, manual, lens, lenses, slr
