minolta srt200 question about focus?

Question

this camera is old, 30-40 years old. i'm trying to figure out if I can still use this one or if I should just get a new one. i'm fooling around with it a little and I find that even though i turn the lens to 0.5 ft, looking through the viewfinder is blurry until like 1 foot away. with my digital camera, i can bring the camera up close in macro mode and get a great detailed shot. do i need another lens or what?

Answer 1

If you have a 50mm lens on your SRT-200 the minimum focusing distance is 1.75 feet. The .5 on the distance scale on your lens is .5 meters. Just above the .5 and slightly to the right you should see 1.75.

For extreme close-ups you will need a macro lens.

Go on ebay or amazon and buy an Owner's Manual.

My first camera was the Minolta SRT-100. I learned a lot with it. I replaced it with an SRT-202 which I still have and use.

Answer 2

OK, bear with me. Here's what's happening.

I'll bet your SRT has a 50mm lens. With this lens, close-up focusing has to be bang on because there is very little depth of field (google it if you're not familiar with the term).

Your digital (I assume it's a point-and-shoot) probably has a much shorter focal length lens, which has lots of depth of field even smunched right up to the subject.

You can get great close focus shots on your SRT by buying a macro lens. For your camera I'd get a Kiron or Vivitar 105 -- they are inexpensive manual focus lenses which give superb results.

Hope this helps.