Minolta SR-T 101

The first camera I purchased and one of my most used is a 35mm SLR made sometime in the early '70s by the Japanese manufacturer Minolta.
It came before the legendary Olympus OM-1 could set the trend of more compact SLRs so it's still a heavier and not so compact camera.

Despite the heft it has very nice ergonomics and it's a joy to use.
The camera is not only fully manual, it's also fully mechanical. Other than the lightmeter - which is not really reliable anymore, but the fact that it still works is impressive - it requires no batteries and the camera still functions without the lightmeter.
This all adds up to a very nice and tactile experience but it also commands a slow-paced style of shooting.

While it had some mechanical problems (like light leaks, incorrect shutter speeds and the aperture tab sticking a bit) they could all be fixed as they are still worked on by many camera repairmen to this day.
Now it's a very reliable workhorse of a machine that I gladly take with myself despite also owning a Minolta XD-7.