The Minolta SR-mount was the bayonet mounting system used in all 35 mm SLR cameras made by Minolta with interchangeable manual focusing lenses. Several iterations of the mounting were produced over the decades, and as a result, the mount itself was sometimes referred to by the name of the corresponding lens generation (f.e. "MC", "MD" or "X-600") instead.
All lenses for these mounts are interchangeable between older and newer Minolta manual focus 35 mm film SLR bodies. There are exceptions, such as, the lenses before 1961 feature a slightly different aperture leverage, and thus the automatic diaphragm may not work correctly on post-1961 cameras, and later MC/MD tabs may hit a screw of the front cover on earlier cameras. Four design enhancements, all forwardly inclusive and backwardly compatible, are:
SR - 1958-1966: Plain SR-bayonet featuring automatic diaphragm. Lenses are labelled Rokkor (pre-set) or Auto Rokkor (automatic diaphragm)
MC - 1966-1977: Meter coupling added (often called MC mount) allowing full-aperture TTL measurement. Lenses are labelled MC Rokkor.
MD - 1977-2001: MD lever added, which allows the reading of the smallest available aperture, often referred to as MD mount. Lenses are labelled MD Rokkor or MD.
MD X-600 - 1983-1998: X-600 mount extension reporting the maximum aperture of the lens to the camera body, which then engaged different auto focus confirmation sensors in the camera body.
Rokkor-PF 1:1.4/58mm with "MC" mount and XD-7 body with "MD" mount
SR - The SR camera models from 1958 to 1967 features the initial design implementation of the SR bayonet, beginning with the Minolta SR-2. These are mechanical cameras without TTL metering or automatic exposure. The 1962 Minolta SR-7 was the first 35 mm SLR with a built-in CdS meter, providing the same metering capabilities as the external clip-on meter available for the 1960 Minolta SR-3 and later models of the Minolta SR-1.
MC - The SR-T 101 launched in 1966 has a lens coupling for full aperture through-the-lens (TTL) metering. A coupling lug protruding from the aperture ring operates the follower needle in the viewfinder, allowing the lens aperture to be set according to the meter reading. The camera has two CdS cells attached to the top of the prism that reads in a center-weighted fashion the brightness off the focusing screen. The later X-1 and XE models, also using the MC lenses, has an aperture-priority automatic exposure mode.
Aperture ring with MD-tab, and lockMinolta SR-T 303 camera with MC Rokkor-PG 50 mm 1:1.4 lens.
MD - In 1977, the XD series introduced an additional tab on the lens which reported the smallest available aperture (f/16, f/22, or f/32) to the camera to accomplish shutter priority automatic exposure in S mode on the Minolta XD-7 (XD-11 in the U.S.A.), and later in the P (programmed automatic exposure) mode on the X-700. The proper use of this feature meant that the lenses had to be set to their smallest aperture. In 1981, MD lenses included a minimum aperture lock that prevented the aperture ring from accidentally being moved.
X-600 - On the 1983 Minolta X-600 camera, intended for the Japanese market, there is also a focus assist and confirmation feature. The Minolta X-600 sensors need the lens's maximum aperture so that the camera body can use its appropriate sensors for judging focus accuracy. There is a tab inside the lens that identifies either
f/2.8 or larger maximum lens aperture, or
f/3.5 or smaller maximum aperture.
The lens tab operates a switch inside the body of the X-600. There is no MD Auto Exposure feature on the X-600.
The SR-bayonet mount was replaced by the Minolta A-mount, which was introduced in 1985.
There are also adapters for Minolta/Sony A-mount cameras, but they either do not maintain infinity focus or contain glass-elements, working as 1.2-2× tele-converter, changing the optical properties of the system and often deteriorating the image-quality.
Bille, Baris S. "Rokkor Digital". BilleAD.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2015-07-12. includes a full list of Rokkor lenses
"The Minolta SR System". comprehensive site about the system including a much more detailed list of all SR mount lenses
"Minolta SR Lens Database". (Aperturepedia.com) A comprehensive table with detailed information on all first-party Minolta SR-mount lenses including links to reviews, repair guides, and other online sources for individual lenses.
A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin lens reflex and rangefinder cameras, the viewed image could be significantly different from the final image. When the shutter button is pressed on most SLRs, the mirror flips out of the light path, allowing light to pass through to the light receptor and the image to be captured.
Minolta Co., Ltd. was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten. It made the first integrated autofocus 35 mm SLR camera system. In 1931, the company adopted its final name, an acronym for "Mechanism, Instruments, Optics, and Lenses by Tashima".
TC-1 is a luxury point and shoot camera that was produced by Minolta. It is a compact 35 mm clad in titanium, equipped with a G-Rokkor 28mm f/3.5 lens. The TC-1 was equipped with a high quality lens and body, similar to other luxury compacts produced during the Japanese bubble economy era, including the Contax T line, Konica Hexar, Leica minilux, Nikon 28/35Ti, Ricoh GR series, and Rollei QZ 35W/35T. Expensive when initially released in 1996 with a suggested retail price of ¥148,000, it was produced in small numbers and since then has become collectible.
The Nikon FE is an advanced semi-professional level, interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. It was manufactured by Nikon in Japan from 1978 to 1983, and was available new from dealer stock until c. 1984. The FE uses a metal-bladed, vertical-travel focal plane shutter with a speed range of 8 to 1/1000 second, plus Bulb, and flash X-sync of 1/125th second. It had dimensions of 89.5 millimetres (3.52 in) height, 142 mm (5.6 in) width, 57.5 mm (2.26 in) depth and 590 grams (21 oz) weight. It was available in two colors: black with chrome trim and all black. As on the FM, its model designation did not appear on the front of the camera, but was engraved as a small "FE" preceding the serial number on the rear of the housing.
The Canon A-1 is an advanced-level single-lens reflex (SLR) 35 mm film camera for use with interchangeable lenses. It was manufactured by Canon Camera K. K. in Japan from March 1978 to 1985. It employs a horizontal cloth-curtain focal-plane shutter with a speed range of 30 to 1/1000 second plus bulb and flash synchronization speed of 1/60 second. It has dimensions of 92 millimetres (3.6 in) height, 141 millimetres (5.6 in) width, 48 millimetres (1.9 in) depth and 620 grams (22 oz) weight. Unlike most SLRs of the time, it was available in only one color; all black. The introductory US list price for the body plus Canon FD 50 mm f/1.4 SSC lens was $625; the camera body was generally sold with a 30–40% discount.
The history of the single-lens reflex camera (SLR) begins with the use of a reflex mirror in a camera obscura described in 1676, but it took a long time for the design to succeed for photographic cameras. The first patent was granted in 1861, and the first cameras were produced in 1884, but while elegantly simple in concept, they were very complex in practice. One by one these complexities were overcome as optical and mechanical technology advanced, and in the 1960s the SLR camera became the preferred design for many high-end camera formats.
Nikkormat was a brand of cameras produced by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K., as a consumer version of the professional Nikon brand. Nikkormat cameras, produced from 1965 until 1978, were simpler and more affordable than Nikon-branded cameras, but accepted the same lenses as the Nikon F series cameras.
The Minolta X-700 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex film camera introduced by Minolta in 1981. It was the top model of their final manual-focus SLR series before the introduction of the auto-focus Minolta Maxxum 7000.
The Minolta XD-7 is a 35mm SLR film camera manufactured by Minolta from 1977 until 1984.
The Minolta SR-T 101 is a 35mm manual focus SLR camera with Through-The-Lens exposure metering – TTL for short - that was launched in 1966 by Minolta Camera Co. It was aimed at demanding amateur and semi-professional photographers. The SR-T 101 stayed in production for ten years with only minor changes.
The Minolta A-mount camera system was a line of photographic equipment from Minolta introduced in 1985 with the world's first integrated autofocus system in the camera body with interchangeable lenses. The system used a lens mount called A-mount, with a flange focal distance 44.50 mm, one millimeter longer, 43.5 mm, than the previous SR mount from 1958. The new mount was wider, 49.7 mm vs. 44.97 mm, than the older SR-mount and due to the longer flange focal distance, old manual lenses were incompatible with the new system. Minolta bought the autofocus technology of Leica Correfot camera which was partly used on the a-mount autofocus technology. The mount is now used by Sony, who bought the SLR camera division from Konica Minolta, Konica and Minolta having merged a few years before.
The Konica Hexar RF is a 35 mm rangefinder camera which was sold by Konica. It was introduced to the market on 13 October 1999. and subsequently discontinued some time before the end of 2003. The camera used the "Bayonet Konica KM-mount", a copy of the Leica M-mount, thus sharing interchangeable lenses with those designed for Leica cameras and others compatible with them. The Hexar RF has a combined rangefinder/viewfinder modeled on that of Leica cameras, a similar body shape and size - and so is similar to Leica M-mount cameras in many aspects of operation.
This article details lensesfor single-lens reflex and digital single-lens reflex cameras. The emphasis is on modern lenses for 35 mm film SLRs and for "full-frame" DSLRs with sensor sizes less than or equal to 35 mm.
The Minolta CLE is a TTL-metering automatic exposure aperture-priority 35 mm rangefinder camera using Leica M lenses, introduced by Minolta in 1980.
The Minolta X-1 was the professional model in the Minolta line-up. It took about ten years to develop and started a new era in the Minolta SR system. It was the first Minolta SLR with interchangeable lenses to have an electronically controlled shutter, a horizontically traveling shutter with titanium foil curtains and capable of a shortest speed of 1/2000s. It had interchangeable finders:
The Minolta SR-2 was presented in 1958 as the first 35mm SLR camera from Chiyoda Kogaku. Popular cameras of this type at that time were mainly from Europe but a few from Japan, including the Asahi Pentax, the Miranda T and the Topcon R. The miniature SLR camera concept was conceived in the 1930s at Ihagee in Dresden, resulting in the 1936 Kine Exakta. Influential cameras designs like that of the 1939 KW Praktiflex, the 1949 ZI Contax S, and 1952 the KW Praktina marked the steady progress toward a perfected SLR. Several features of the latter seem to have influenced the design of the SR-2 although dissimilar in many respects. The obvious similarities are the stepped top plate, the carrying strap lugs, the self-timer lever and some general body features.
The E-mount is a lens mount designed by Sony for their NEX and ILCE series of camcorders and mirrorless cameras. The E-mount supplements Sony's α mount, allowing the company to develop more compact imaging devices while maintaining compatibility with 35mm sensors. E-mount achieves this by:
Leica R4, R5, R6, R7 were 35 mm SLR cameras manufactured by Leica between 1980 and 1997 and belonged to the manual focusing R-System, which was offered from 1965 to 2009.
Rokkor was a brand name used for all Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō and later Minolta lenses between 1940 and 1980, including a few, which were marketed and sold by other companies like Leica. The name was derived from the name of Rokkō (六甲山), a 932 metre (3058') high mountain, which could be seen from the company's glass-making and optics factory at Mukogawa near Osaka, Japan. The company's founder Kazuo Tashima wanted the name to symbolize the high quality in optics.
The Minolta SR-7 is a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera (SLR) made by Minolta, produced from 1962 to 1966. It is notable for being the first SLR camera with a built in CdS light meter.
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