I purchased the Braun SR2000 MD because I’m a total nerd. It’s essentially a “worthless” camera as far as the experts say, however I found it appealing because in one of my favourite books – a sci-fi written in the early ’80s – the author refers to future tech as a just ‘ a Braun’, which is a detail I love. The thought that the Braun name might still be around in the far future manufacturing future tech things, is fun to me. I thought owning my own Braun, and having it be a camera, was more exciting than just a owning a coffee maker or hair clipper… and if nothing else, I DO realllly love the font used for its branding!
I have my doubts about this camera actually being manufactured by Braun. Word is they stopped manufacturing cameras long before their name was used on this camera, but I’m still into it. The mount on mine is Minolta. I read on the internet that only the MC Minolta lenses will meter properly with the Braun, however I only own MD Minolta lenses and don’t often use built in light meters on manual cameras, so this wasn’t an issue for me. I used my MD Minolta 16mm f2.8 on it. This lens says ‘fisheye’, but it’s not totally fisheye, it’s more of an ultrawide that bends space at the edges.
I found the lens not only good for distorting architecture in my photos, (which is what I was expecting) but also capturing the full interior and exterior of cars, which I discovered at Mission raceway. When I found myself in these small interior spaces, it captured everything!
I found I used this combo FAR more than I expected to. I figured I’d tire of the wide fisheyesque vibe, however it’s actually been extremely enjoyable and I shot quite a few rolls with it. I know people hate on plastic bodied cameras, but it’s because of how plastic-ee the camera is and how stout the lens is that makes this combination great for cruising around the city on foot!
A Minolta 16mm f2.8 might be hard to find, a Braun SR2000 will definitely be difficult to find, however you can keep an eye on our used section and perhaps one will turn up!
https://www.beauphoto.com/product/used-minolta-x-700-w-md-50mm-f2/
