Minolta's mechanical SR SLR — clip-on selenium meter option, MD mount, 1960.
The Minolta SR-3 arrived in 1960 as a development of the SR-2 within Minolta's SR line of manual-focus 35mm SLRs. It continued the SR bayonet mount and mechanical design of the earlier bodies while adding provision for a clip-on selenium exposure meter that coupled to the shutter speed dial.
It is a mechanical 35mm SLR using the Minolta SR/MC/MD bayonet, here labelled Minolta MD. The horizontal cloth focal-plane shutter is mechanically timed and fires without a battery. Rather than a built-in TTL meter, the SR-3 accepted an accessory selenium meter that clipped to the body and coupled to the shutter dial; exposure was otherwise set manually. The pentaprism reflex finder shows the scene through the taking lens.
The SR-3 suits collectors and users who value a mechanical body and are content to meter with the accessory selenium unit or a handheld meter. Handling is simple and robust, though the external clip-on meter is less convenient and less reliable with age than the through-the-lens metering of the later SRT models.
On the used market, test the cloth shutter for pinholes, even travel and working slow speeds. Perished foam light seals and mirror-damper foam are common and usually need replacing. Check the prism for desilvering or foam haze, feel the film advance and rewind for smoothness, and be aware that any clip-on selenium meter may have drifted or died with age. The body itself is fully mechanical and runs without a battery.