The Minolta SR-mount was the bayonet mounting system used in all 35 mm SLR cameras made by

Minolta 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 . It made the first integrated autofocu ...

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 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), ...

'' (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 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), ...

.'' # 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 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), ...

'' 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. Bajonett manual minolta

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 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. It is a full mechanical camera - batteries are needed only t ...

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 TTL may refer to: Photography * Through-the-lens metering, a camera feature * Zenit TTL, an SLR film camera named for its TTL metering capability Technology * Time to live, a computer data lifespan-limiting mechanism * Transistor–transistor lo ...

) 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. Blendensimulator Minolta XD7 animation-2

Blendensimulator Minolta XD7 animation-2

Appareil photo Minolta SR-T 303 avec 50 mm f1

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 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 . It made the first integrated autofocu ...

, which was introduced in 1985.

Adapters

A variety of glass-less adapters allow SR mount lenses to be used on modern 4/3,

Leica M-mount The Leica M mount is a camera lens mount introduced in 1954 with the Leica M3, and a range of lenses. It has been used on all the Leica M-series cameras and certain accessories (e.g. Visoflex reflex viewing attachment) up to the current film Le ...

, Micro 4/3,

Sony E-mount The E-mount is a lens mount designed by Sony for their NEX ("New E-mount eXperience") 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 whi ...

, Fujifilm FX-mount,

Canon RF lens mount The Canon RF lens mount is an interchangeable-lens mount developed by Canon for its full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, and featured first by the EOS R, followed by the EOS RP. The RF mount was announced in September 2018. In ...

and

Samsung NX-mount The Samsung NX-mount is the lens mount used on NX series mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras by Samsung. The mount was first implemented in the Samsung NX10, and Samsung initially referred to the NX line as 'hybrid digital cameras', citing the ...

digital cameras, albeit without any aperture control from the camera body. Instead the lens is stopped down as the aperture ring is turned (allowing

depth of field The depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image captured with a camera. Factors affecting depth of field For cameras that can only focus on one object dist ...

preview), rather than when the shutter button is pressed. There are also adapters for

Sony A-mount , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

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.

External links

* * includes a full list of Rokkor lenses * comprehensive site about the system including a much more detailed list of all SR mount lenses * (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. {{Minolta Lens mounts Minolta SR-mount lenses Japanese inventions

Adapters

See also

External links