2 Questions about 2 Minolota Film Slrs

[JeremyLangford]

I'm trying to decide on a camera for my high-school film photography class but I have some questions first.

First off. Here is a Minolta srt 201.

The shutter speed goes from 1000th to 1 sec as you can see in this picture.

http://i10.tinypic.com/4pvwopy.jpg

Im used to have up to a 30 second shutter on my dads 30d to use for a slow shutter shot.

Is there just no way to use a slower shutter than one second on this camera? I see that there is also a "Bulb" mode, but how in the world would I be able to know how long of an exposure is needed when in "Bulb" mode?

Second. Here is a Minolra xg1.

The shutter speed is also 1000th to 1 second and a "Bulb" mode.

http://i12.tinypic.com/5xe2sz6.jpg

This camera has an aperture priority mode and also a manual mode.

However, The camera's light meter only works when in aperture priority.

Does this mean that the only way to set the shutter manually is to have your own seperate light meter?

Also, does this mean that I still can't have a slower shutter than 1 second? Id really like to be able to shoot a 30 second shutter shot sometime.

[andrewc]

Use the bulb mode and a stopwatch... A screw in cable release with a lock would be best option to reduce camera shake.

You could use the aperture priority mode to get a reading and then add or subtract stops for both shutter and aperture to get what you want - eg take one stop from one side, and add it to the other.

However a lightmeter would do all the hard work for you, but you wouldn't be learning about photography.

I started out with a Canon AE-1 which was a great camera. If you have to have a purely mechanical camera, then these are great. Otherwise the Canon EOS range of film cameras will give you a lot more features, and are dirt cheap since digital took over.

[LBaldwin]

I actually have a SR-7!! I had two Steinheil / leitz lenses for it but they have gone the way of the dinosaur, or i would have given them to you!!

I love old camera gear, so have fun, just don't get caught chimping...

Les