REALLY old Minolta lenses?

Hi--

I was hoping someone could help me out. My Dad has an OLD (early 1970's) Minolta SRT-101 35mm SLR film camera and a wide variety of lenses. I am also very interested in purchasing a Sony Alpha DSLR-100. I took one of his lenses to a fairly knowledgeable camera store in my area and the lens was a little small for the body. They told me that the connections were a little different and that as far as they were aware, no adapter existed.

Does anyone know if there is any adapter out there that will allow these old (most were made between 1970 and 1973) lenses to work with the DSLR-100?

I've done all the research I can stand on this camera and the old SRT-101 and I haven't been able to find anything yet. I know that a lot of the 1985+ lenses that Minolta made are compatible, but I haven't found anything else.

I am very, VERY impressed with this camera, but I don't want to go out and spend tons of money on lenses when I have a bunch already.

Can anyone help?

Thanks!

Sad to say ... but your glass has had its day.

I've been shooting Minolta glass for over 20 years and there wasn't anything to adapt SRT camera glass to the AF-mount back then, either. You have to buy new ... or recent.

The SRT is a collector's item, now, if it still works. Perhaps you could sell it and recover enough to make an investment in the SONY A100 worth your while.

Most of the Minolta or third-party Minolta-mount glass produced from 1985 till today will work on the A100.

Ok, so after I posted my initial question, I did some research on the internet.

I found a website run by a man name Haoda Fu out of Madison, WI. He sells the exact adapter you need to connect the old Minolta MC/MD mount lenses to the Sony A100. It is a bit pricey, but when you consider being able to use all the lenses you might have from an older camera, it is well worth it.

I recently purchased a Sony Alpha and the adapter and old lenses work WONDERFULLY! Unfortunately, it's still pretty dark and snowy during most of the times I'm able to get out to shoot photos, so I haven't been able to put it to a good test yet, but the pictures I HAVE taken are incredible!

So--if anyone out there is wondering the same thing, there IS an adapter, and it works GREAT!

This is indeed grand news, Loxias44. I appreciate your determination concerning this. How is the infinity focus ... still possible or lost? :confused:

Tonight I ordered the 1:1 Haoda MD>AF adaptor for my KM 7D. The other day I discovered a pair of interesting old Minolta MC lenses in the "valuables" case at a local thrift store. They turned out to be a 200 f3.5 and a 28mm f2.0, both in mint condition. I paid my $25 and brought them home to do a little research. The 28/2.0 turns out to a rare bird, with no user reviews or photodo ratings, just a good reputation. I look forward to testing them against my Maxxum lenses, and I'll report my results.

First impressions are good. These lenses are solid chunks of brass, as tight and smooth as my old Contax/Zeiss lenses.

If the optical benefits don't exceed the practical hassles, I'll take my profits towards that upcoming Sony/Zeiss zoom. But I don't mind manual focus in many situations, and metering doesn't concern me at all. How often do we take photos in such fast-changing light that it's impossible to check a test exposure? I think light metering is a legacy of film photography that is far less vital on digital...

Hello all,

I am in a similar situation with the Sony Alpha and some old lenses.
I picked up an interesting Minolta MD Rokkor 135mm f2.8 lens, as well as a 50mm and 300mm primes which I am shooting with a generic MD/AF adapter that I got from eBay.

Seems to work alright, with manual control over aperture and focus. I will have to post some pictures from these lenses.

My question is - should I be turning SSS off when I use these old manual lenses? I get the shake-o-meter with it turned on, which is handy, but I am wondering how the shake reduction deals with having a lens that it knows nothing about (no electrical connections).

Any opinions?

Cheers,

Jonathan

If there is no way to tell the camera what focal length the lens has, then do not use anti shake. The camera then will not know how much to move the sensor for that focal length, and will not do its job correctly.

If you want to discuss glass that acts in unusual ways, consider TAMRON's Adaptall lenses. These lenses require manual focus, manual operation of your aperture and you have to manually select shutter speed on the body. They are built to a much heavier standard, being almost entirely constructed of metal casings and mounts.

This is true lensman's operation and will definitely teach you the relationships between aperture, shutter speed, ISO and the lens' minimum focus distance. Obviously, you also should be cognizant of the non-coated interiors of such a lens, although that usually comes into play with autofocus and flare issues. The first of which (autofocus) isn't even a consideration with these lenses anyway. You and your eyeball are the focusing engine, not the camera. Be sure your viewfinder's diopter adjustment is set correctly for your eye ... or you're in for a lot of mis-focused images.

So, the big advantage that these older and lower-cost lenses get from mounting on the SONY A100 body is the anti-shake (Super SteadyShot) feature. You will still get a super-sharp shot ... if focused correctly.

Are Adaptall lenses the answer to a prayer? No, but they aren't going to break your budget, either. You still get your optics ... at a reduced cost. :D

I found the Haoda Fu site and the $124 adapter (on sale), but I've also found general MD/MC adaptors for a 1/3 the cost. Not sure which way to go.

But, looking at my old lens, there is a "stem"? sticking out of the mount lip - which I don't see a way for the adaptors to accomidate. I'm a little concerned that these adapters may not be the correct ones.

I have jpeg photo's of my lens but they are to large to attach to this board 500kb and I'm at work with no software to reduce them. I'll post tonight.

thanks for any insight

dave