| Author | Message | ||
     Eric Hutchins Rating: N/A |
K.S. - The SRT 101 used a 1.3v mercurcy cell battery. Unfortunately those batteries were deemed more deadly than nuclear weapons, so western governments banned them in their infinite wisdom, now the only place you can get them is on eBay from people in China. Replacement of the 1.3v with a 1.5v cell will result in an inoperative light meter. There are two solutions for this: 1) There are adapters made that slide into the battery compartment on the SRT and undervolt the 1.5v cells to 1.3v, resulting in normal operation. I'm not sure where to find one but you can check the Minolta Yahoo Group for info on that. 2) You can have the camera's light meter recalibrated to operate properly on 1.5v batteries. This is, IMHO, the preferred solution, because I don't like to rely on stop-gap measures like adapters, and I consider this the proper, permanent fix. You can try the ManualMinoltaFree group on Yahoo Groups to find a reputable Minolta repair tech in your region. Just go to Yahoo groups and search for the name. If you get the adapter or recalibrate the meter and it is still giving you this problem, then it's possible that the light meter is truly broken. Replacing the meter is a painful prospect, so we'll cross that bridge if/when we get to it. The mercury battery problem is a PITA with REALLY old SLRs like the SRT, but if fixed you will be rewarded with a great camera. With the exception of the meter, that body is virtually bulletproof, and high quality used MF Minolta glass is common and inexpensive. I have an X-700 and an XD-11 and assorted lenses, and I love it. Good luck! |