Minolta SRT SC-II User manual

The  Minolta SRT  SC-ll  is a  top-quality single-lens reflex precision
designed and  built  to give you  greater speed and ease of operation and
handling. Accurate exposure is yours by simply aligningneedlesin the finder
or adjusting manually as you prefer. Light metering is by Minolta'sexclusive
CLC  (Contrast  Light  Compensator) system through  the  lens for  most
satisfactory results in most lighting situations without adjustmentsor special
techniques.The SRT SC-ll is also an integralpart of the Minolta SLR system
and uses all interchangeablelensesand applicablesystem accessoriesfor more
versatility in advancedor specializeduse.
   Before using your camera for the first time, study this manual all the way
through  -  or at least all the sections needed to cover your own photographic
needs.As you read, load batteriesand handle your SRT and acquaint yourself
with  its parts and features. Then load  it with  film and proceed to actual
picture taking. ln this way, you can take good photos and begin to realizethe
broad potential of your SRT rightfrom the start. Be sure to keep this manual
for reference later as necessary.
                                                                                              I



        www.orphancameras.com                                             iI

MAIN FEATURES

Superior through-the-lens exposure system         Direct-Contact "Hot Shoe"
 ,  Exposure readingsare taken with the lens at       This accepts either cordlessunits or conven-
    full aperture for greatest metering accuracy    tional ones with  cords and provides X-type
  and clearest,brightest viewing and focusing.   flash synchronization.
o Meter and follower needles visible in the
   viewfinder show correct or adjusted expo-   World-renowned Minolta lenses
   sure at a glance with any shutter-aperture    MD or MC lensespermit full-aperture TTL
  combination.                                operation with the sRT  sc-ll, while any other
o Since only the  light to  strike the film  is    interchangeable Rokkor ever made can be used
  measured, there is no need to compensate   with  the stopdown  method. Either way, you
   for  filters, greater-than-normal extension,    benefit from  top  Minolta  quality, computer
  and so on.                                   design,and exclusiveAchromatic coating.
o The exclusive CLC metering system com-
   bines advantagesof spot and averagingtypes   Complete system accessories
   to yield optimum exposure without special     A  full line of over 150 quatity Minolta and
  adjustments even in highcontrast lighting   adapted Leitz accessoriesmakes for maximum
   situations.                                       versatilitywith your SRT SC-ll.

r5                      il-x


CONTENTS

NAMES OF PARTS                     STOP-DOWN BUTTON                  1 8
SUMMARY OF OPERATION             M E T E R I N G M E T H O D S                 1 8
BATTERY AND POWER                  H O L D I N G T H E C A M E R A               1 9
  lnstallingbattery                        V I E W F I N D E R                      20
  Testing battery
  Switching meter on and off   . .            M E T E R I N G W I T H C L C  .               2 1
  Cold-weather operation                  SETTING EXPOSURE                22
FILM-ADVANCE LEVER AND                  Match -needleexPosure control         22
 EXPOSURE COUNTER               1 2    Exposure adjustment or f ull-manual
                                                  operatton                       23
LOADING AND ADVANCING              . . . .  1 3     "B"  (bulb) setting                  24
F I L M S P E E D                                        . . . .  1 6
  Setting film speed                              . . . .  1 6
  ASA/D I N conversionscale                 . . . . 1 7





              www.orphancameras.com

NAMES OF PARTS

             Hot shoe
     Film-advancelever
     Shutter-speedd ial
    F ilm-speedwindow
         Shutter release
          Serial number
     Exposure cou nter
Back-coverreleaseknob
     F i l m r e w i n d c r a n k
     Meter-couplerlug
         Aperture ring
    Depth-of-fieldscale


    Lens-releasebutton
         Distancescale
        Focusinggrip
    Stop-down button
      Minolta MD lenswww.orphancameras.com

Rewind key
F i lm-cartridgechamber
Finder eyepiece
Battery switch
Shutter curtain
Tripod socket
Sprocket
Batterychamber cover
Rewind button
Take-up spool
Film pressureplate

guid e may a l s o b e u s e f u l a s a q u ick  re fre sh e r fo r     fo r  th e d e ta iled  instr uctions  in the  r est of  this
 good res ult s a f t e r y o u h a v e n ot u se d th e ca me ra   ma n u a l, wh ich  should  be  thor oughly  studied
 for some time.    lt  is not, however,  a substitute     for best results.

                      E



'rA  Load(p. 15).f ilm properly;  close cover      $  A d v a n c ef i t m t o " 1 "  ( p . 1 5 ) .





  t/      tr\.-               t5     -
   Reteaseshutter(p. 29).              poweroff (p. 10).lQ                                                            I lrurn

BATTE RY   A.I'{Li PCVJE f]

   The meter in your SRT SC-ll is powered by       A f t e r  w i p i n g    t e r m i n a l s w i t h  a  c l e a n , d r y
a 1.35v "button-cell" mercury battery, Ever-       cloth and handling only by the edges, inser t
e a d y E X P - 6 2 5o r E P X - 1 3o r e q u i v a l e n t .               o n e o f   t h e s p e c i f i e d b a t t e r i e s p l u s  ( + ) s i d e
I n s t a l l i n gb a t t e r y                                        o u t   i n t o  t h e c h a m b e r .
1 . U s i n g a c o i n o r  s i m i l a r o b j e c t ,  t u r n  t h e       J .  R e p l a c e  t h e  c o v e r b y  a l i g n i n g   i t c a r e fu l l y
   battery-chamber cover  counterclockwise     and scr ewing  it in clockwise until secur e.
   and remove it.



                    @r
                                                                    (   t- t  t4
                         \h,
              www.orphancameras.com

C A U T I O N                                mark  in the finder as shown, the battery is
 o  Do  not  touch  the  battery  terminals  with    serviceable.
   moist or dirty   f ingers, as this may cause it to      Test the battery immediatelyafter installing
   become inoperative.                                           it.   lf  the meter needle does not  point as
 o    lf  the camera  is not  to be used  for over a   indicated, make sure that the battery is fresh
   month,  the  battery should be removed and   and has been insertedcorrectly.
   stored in a cool dry place.                    The battery should be tested from time to
 o  Do not discard a mercury  battery  in a  f ire or    time thereafter, preferably before starting each
   attempt  to open or break  it.               new roll of film and after  it has not been used
                                                       for a period of time, particularly before startingTesting battery
                                                picture-takingsessionsor trips. A battery will   U s e y o u r    t h u m b    t o   t u r n   t h e    i n d e x o f   t h e
                                              generally last for over a year in proper normalbattery  switch  on the bottom   of the camera to
                                              use." 8 . C . "        l f    t h e m e t e r  n e e d l e m o v e s    t o  a n d
remains fixed  within  the square batterycheck
                                    C A U T I O N
                                        Do  not  leave the switch set at the B.C.
                                                  position, as this may cause improper exposure
                                                with the match-needlemethod and will place
                                        undue load on the battery.

1 0                  Switching meter on and off              NOTE
                     To  activate the metering system, move the      The metering svstem does not work correct-
                     index of the battery sruitch to "ON."  This will      ly when  the stopdown   button   is at  its stop
                   cause the meter needle in the finder to move if   down position with MD or MC lenses mounted
                       there are sufficient  light and battery power.       on the camera.
                  When not using the camera, it is aclvisableto
                       turn the sruitch index to the "OFF"  position to
                      prevent needless battery drain.





                           www.orphancameras.com

C o l d - w e a t h e r o p e r a t i o n
    Batteries  by  natu re  tend   to  decrease  in
capacity as the temperature  goes down.
       lf  an  old  battery   is used  at  temperatures
b e l o w 0 " C    ( 3 2 " F \ ,    t h e m e t e r    i n d i c a t i o n m a y
not be  correct. You  should  thus  replace the
battery with  a  f resh one before using your SRT
in cold weather.   lt may  also be a good  idea to
carry an extra  fresh battery warm  in an inside
pocket  to exchange with  the one in the camera
from time to time as necessary.
   Though  mechan ical  operation  should  be
satisfactory down   to  considerably  lower  tem-
peratures,  guard  against  abrupt  changes  of
temperature at such levels.
   F o r     i n f o r m a t i o n  a b o u t  u s i n g y o u r  S R T  a t
temperatures below about  minus  20" c  (-4'  F ),
consult an authorized  Minolta  service facility.

F I L M - A D V A N C E L E V E R A N D E X P O S U R EC O U N T E R

    T h e   f ilm-a d va n ce le ve r is d e sig n e d with  20"
u n e n g a g e d mo ve me n t  b e fo re  th e b e g in n in g  of
 i t s e n g ag e d stro ke to a llo w swi n g in g  it o u t  fr om
t h e  b o dy  so  th a t   th e  rig h t  th u mb   will   fit
c o m f o r ta b ly  b e h in d  it. Co n tin u in g  to mo ve the
lever in one or more strokes through  its engageda n g l e o f 1 5 0 '  u n til  it sp rin g s b a ck a d va n ce s f ilm Ttfu=
a n d e x p o su re co u n te r  a n d co cks th e sh u tte r for
t h e n e x t e xp o su re .
  W h e n  th e  le ve r sto p s p a rt wa y  th ro u g h  its
e n g a g e d  a n g le  a t  th e  e n d  o f  a  film,  never
a t t e m p t   to   fo rce    it  fa rth e r.  (Se e p .3 0   for
 i n s t r u c t i o n s o n   r e w i n d i n g a n d u n l o 3 f l ; n g  i ; 1 . . ;
   T h e e xp o su re co u n te r  a d va n ce s o n e g radua-
t i o n   f o r  e a ch e xp o su re ma d e .  lt wi ll n o t m ove
m o r e   th a n  o n e  g ra d u a tio n  p a st  "3 6 ."   T he
c o u n t e r  a u to ma tica lly  re se ts fo r  film   lo a ding
w h e n  t h e ca me ra b a ck  is o p e n e d .




              www.orphancameras.com

L O A D I N G A N D A D V A N C I N G F I L M



                                                2. L e a v i n g t h e k n o b p u l l e d o u t , p o s i t i o n a  f i l m
                                                     ca rtrid g e    i n the cham ber  with  the  pr oject-
                                                          ing-spool  end  toward   the  bottom    of  the
                                                     ca me ra . Then  oush  the  back- cover   r elease
1. P u ll  o u t  o n    t h e  b a c k - c ove r  re le a se kn o b       kn o b a ll th e way  in,  r otating  it slightly to do
   u n t il c a m e r a b a c k s p r i n g s op e n .                    so  if necessary.   'T

       _1

4 . Operate  the film-advance  lever slowly  until
                                                         the  film  has began to wi nd   f ir m ly  ar ound
3.  Insert a place on the  film  leader about four        the take-up spool and the sprocket teeth are
    o r  five sp ro cke t h o le s fro m  th e e n d b e hind      engaged  with  holes on  both  edges  of  the
   one  of  the  tabs on  the  take-up  spool  as              f ilm .  lf the advance lever locks at the end of
   shown  so that  the leader end forms a secure       a  full  str oke dur ing  this pr ocedur e,   r elease
         l o o p wh e n wo u n d  a ro u n d th e sp o o l.                the shutter and continue.
                                                  rl





              www.orphancameras.com

5. Press down  firmly on  the  film  with the
   fingers between the sprocket holes and the
   edge of the  f ilm on the same side as shown.
   While doing this to prevent the film from
   moving, take up any slack in the cartridge
   by folding out the rewind crank and turning
    in the direction of the arrow until resistance  6. Close the camera back and push in on  it
    is felt.                                         u ntil it clicks locked.

7. Releasethe shutter and advance f ilm until   F I L M S P E E D
                            "'1" on the exposurecounter dial is aligned
                        with  the index. Watch the rewind crank
t o                 wh ile doing  th is; rotation of  the crank      Each film on the market has an ASA or DIN
                                                                exposure-index number to indicate its sensitiv-                       during the full engagedstroke in the direc-
                                                                                             ity to light. For correct match-needleexposure,                           tion  opposite that of  the arrow indicates
                          that  f ilm is advancing properly. lf the crank   the meter of your SRT SC-ll must be set for
                        rotates during only  a small part of  the   the effective exposure index of the film in use.
                        stroke or not at all, repeat steps 1 through
                                                                      Setting f ilm speed                       6 above.
                                                            To do this, lift up on the milled ring of the
               C A U T I O N                                     shutter-speeddial and turn  it until the proper
                      Film should be handledand loadingdone in
                 subdued light  -  at least shaded from  direct
                     sunlight by the body.





                            www.orphancameras.com

STOP-DOWNBUTTON              M E T E R  I N G M E T H O D S

   The stopdown button on your SRT enables     With M inolta MD  or MC (meter-coupled)
depth-of-f ield  prev iew  (see p. 28l- and  stop-   lenses, metering  is done with  the stop-down
down metering (see right) in addition to usual   button  at  its   f ull-aperture rest position for
ful l-aperturemetering.                            greatest sensitivity and  accuracy. The view-
   With this button at  its normal outer rest   finder thus remains at maximum brightnessfor
position, the lens diaphragm remains at  full   utmost ease of composing and focusing except
aperture for metering regardlessof the f-num-    at the moment of exposure. (Do not push the
ber set by the lens aperture rirg, closing down   stopdown  button when MD or MC lensesare
to the preset aperture only  at the instant of   being used normally.)
exposure.                                     Stop-down metering is used for lensesother
   Pushingthe button all the way in closesthe   than the MD or MC type (seep.35) or for any
lens down to the preset aperture as long as the    lens used with non-coupled extension tubes or
button   is held there. When the  button  is   reversed as  with  the  Reverse Ring    ll   (in
released, it  retu rns to  its outer  f ull-aperture  accordancewith appl icable instructions).
posrtton.
  At full-aperture       ,,T\                        Stopped dorrn            -r.





               www.orphancameras.com

H O L D I N G  T H E C A M E R A

   You r camera should be held in a comf ort-   camera body  firmly  with  the  right hand as                  1 9
able position that will provide suff icient steadi-  shown so that the index finger rests on the
ness.A recommendableway that permits ready   shutter-release bu tton.    I n  th is position, the
operation of important controls is shown here.   thumb  can conveniently operate the  film-
   To hold the camera horizontally, cradle the   advance lever.
bottom of  it in the palm of the left hand with      The camera may be rotated to  a vertical
the thumb and index or middle  f inger on the    position when held th is way, the only diff er-
focusing grip  of  the  lens. The thumb and   ence being that its rewindcrank end will rest in
middle or ring  f inger of the same hand can be   the palm of the left hand.
used to  turn  the  aperture  ring. Grasp the

V I E W FI N D E R

20       As you  look through the view-
        finder of your SRT SC-11,you can
       see:
     Q  Meter needle (Responds to light)
    @  Follower (Align with meter needle
         for correct match-needle exposure.)
      (O Metering  range  limits   (Match-
       needle exposure will not be correct
      when meter needle is outside these.)
     O  Battery-check mark (Meter needle
       points to  this  to show sufficient
       power when switch on base turned to
           " B . C . " )
    @  Focusingspot, microprism type
    @  Shutter*peed scate with indicator
        to show speed set

          For further details,seethe follow-
        ing sections on exposure control and
       focusing, and on battery checking
             ( p . 9 ) .
                                                        B     I   2  4   8  15  30  60/125\250 500 1000


                            www.orphancameras.com

METERINGWITH CLCt
                  Minolta's exclusive CLC  ("Contrast Light    eyeglasses. Use of a rubber finder eyecup  is
             Compensator") metering system employs tWo     further recommended when the subject  is in         2 1
           CdS cells mounted on the pentaprism to take    shadeand the camera is in sunlight, when bright
              separate,overlapping light readings.                 sidelight  falls between eye and eyepiece, orI           These cells are circuited so that the reading    wlren stopdown  metering  is used, particularly
                 of each affects that of the other to automatical-     at small apertures.
                   ly yield optimum exposure in both normal and       Besides offering exceptionally long service
            most highcontrast situations. For best results,     life and consistent conversion of  light to elec-
              the  photographer should thus generally not     trical values, the CdS cells in your SRT, like all
           make compensatory adjustment for such differ-     others,  have  characteristics comparable  to
              ences. One exception  is that exposure should   human vision. They are able to "see" about the
               generally be decreased one to two stops if the   same light and color as your eyes and photo
             most important  subject area is much  brighter     film can; this  is a great advantage for accurate
              than  the  rest of  the  picture  (e.g., is  in a    exposure. Like your eyes, however, their time
               spotlight or  shaft of sunlight). Some phote      of responsevarieswith the intensity of the light
              graphers also prefer to increase exposure a half     falling on them.  lt thus take them a while to
              stop or more with a backlighted subject or one    become accustomed to  low  light  levels after
            whose most  important  area  is considerably   exposure to bright light. For accurate exposure,
              darker than the area surrounding it. (Exposure   you should thus be careful not  to point the
             adjustment instructions are given on p. 23).       camera at very bright natural or artificial light
i              Though the SRT's specialsystem and finder    sources before making  exposures. And  you
 llll            aremeterdesignedof  lightto enteringminimizethroughthe  effectthe onf inderthe    shouldto get accustomedgive your CdSto darkerelectricconditions,eyes a shortwhen,time
             eyepiece under usual conditions, care must be     for  example, taking  pictures  in shadow or
! *           exercisedto prevent this especially if you wear    indoors after shooting in bright sunlight.
 fi

SETTINGEXPOSURE

2 2                Match-needle exPosure control
                    1 . Look through the  f inder. With a serviceable    maximum aperture, a lighter subject, more
                        battery and  the  battery  switch on  (see       illumination, etc.).   lf  the needle moves
                       p.221, the f ine meter needle(silhouettedat      below the lower mark,  light reaching the
                        the right in the frame when the camera is        cells must be reduced (as with an ND or
                       held horizontally) will move in responseto       other filter over the lens, a darker subject,
                         sufficient light (the more light, the farther      lessillumination,etc.).
                      toward the bottom of the frame  it will go)'    2. As soon as the meter needle stops moving
                      Proper exposure can only be achievedusing       with  your subject composed in the frame,
                        the meter  if the needle is between the two        turn  the  shutter-speed dial  (but  not  to
                       pointed metering-rangelimit marks prolect-       "8"   -  see p. 241 andlor lens aperture ring
                         ing into the frame.  lf the needle does not      each only  in click-stops until the circle-
                   move into this area from above the upper       tipped follower  is lined up with the meter
                      mark, more  light on  the meter cells is      needle as nearly as possible (as in  lllustra-
                     needed (as by  using a  lens  of  greater       tion A on the next Page).
                                                                                      rt!It-i-




                                              ?03

                           www.orphancameras.com