I've mentioned several times on this blog that the Minolta SRT-101 is one of my all time most beloved cameras. Aside from the fact that it is a durable and very capable bare bones 35mm SLR, it also happens to be the first camera I ever owned. For that reason alone it will always have a special place in my camera library. To this day, I still use my Minolta SRT-101 on a regular basis both for nostalgic reasons and because it produces very good quality negatives.
I was pretty excited when I found this vintage camera advertisement in a National Geographic the other day. Not only does it advertise the standard chrome finish Minolta SRT-101 (the version I and most people own) but here we have it side by side with the limited edition black bodied version of the SRT-101. I love how Minolta even states directly in the ad that the black body version of the camera is "for sale to very important people."
For my money, I actually find the chrome (i.e. "Metallic") version of the camera sexier but that is because at this point in time the chrome look is rather retro. Back in the seventies a chrome camera body would have been the more common of the two for sure.