SHOW US YOUR CAMERAS!!

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3773 Location: Switzerland

A few days ago I found a rather early "Miranda T" SLR, shown below. According to 1992 McKeowns it's the second only of the numerous Miranda SLR models, produced in the 1950s. The first version of the "Miranda T" (which distinguishes itself from the second model only by its "Miranda Camera Co" instead of the original "Orion Camera") was the first Japanese SLR with exchangeable prism finder - certainly a kind of milestone for Japanese camera history.

The shutter is a bit limited, going only from 1/30s to 1/500s. The camera is quite well made - maybe not as refined as a contemporary (early) Pentax, but certainly not much inferior. The viewfinder is surprisingly bright for a SLR from the 1950s (in daylight certainly much brighter than the rather dim EVFs we got used to during the last few years).

An interesting find indeed!

S

HansMoleman · Joined: 12 Jul 2019 Posts: 148 Location: MD USA

Nice find. Run a roll of film through her and post up some results........please. I love the photos by the older stuff.

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3773 Location: Switzerland

marius.zaech · Joined: 27 Jan 2021 Posts: 53 Location: Switzerland

A heavy sucker but an absolute joy to use... especially with some nice Zeiss and Yashica glass such as the 21/3.5!!

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3460 Location: Northern Ireland

Lovely!

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Doc Sharptail · Joined: 23 Nov 2020 Posts: 1051 Location: Winnipeg Canada

A little late with this one.

Fairly pristine late run chrome F2.
Seller said he bought it for using in his high school photo club,
then gave up the whole idea after a matter of weeks.
He said he had put 5 or 6 rolls of b&w film through it,
and then it sat in storage for 43 years.

The pre-AI "K" 50mm f-2 is a nice lens I like it a lot.

It also came with a 200mm f-4 "Q.C." that I have yet to use.
Compared to my black "beater" F2, there's a huge difference.
Film advance is almost equal in smoothness to my F3.
My black F2 goes "Flap" (mirror up) and "clack" (shutter trip)
The new to me chrome version is more of "ping and ting" affair, and a bit quieter.
The only mark I can find on it is a tiny scratch in the chrome of the top plate at the front,
and it's barely discernible...

I am quite impressed with this!
The factory leather strap is still quite pliable after all this time.

-D.S.

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3460 Location: Northern Ireland

New old stock found recently:-

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3460 Location: Northern Ireland

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3460 Location: Northern Ireland

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3773 Location: Switzerland

What a beautiful XE!! Looks like new indeed!

And the Minolta 600si classic is a milestone in the Minolta Dynax lineage. After all these "computerized" user interfaces the "classic" user interface of the 600si was the beginning of a new aera. The Dynax 9 (and later the Dynax 7D and the Sony A900 which in reality was the "Dynax 9D") would become the culmination and terminus for those expensive and labor-intensive user interafces.

S

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3460 Location: Northern Ireland

Minolfan · Joined: 30 Dec 2008 Posts: 3436 Location: Netherlands

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3460 Location: Northern Ireland

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3460 Location: Northern Ireland

kansalliskala · Expire: 2016-12-30

First roll done!

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1614

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3773 Location: Switzerland

[quote="alex ph"]

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3773 Location: Switzerland

A few days ago this little black Minolta AF-C caught my attention (she was in the waste bin of our local photo store awaiting destruction) - so I saved her Wink

. Back in its days (1982) the AF-C was pretty expensive - around 500 DM or half the price of a Minolta X-700 SLR including 1.7/50mm normal lens!

While the AF-C feels pretty cheap (it was made mainly from lightweight plastics), technologically it was top level: A miniaturized AF module, AF-Lock, program mode from 1/8s @ f2.8 to 1/500s @ f16, LEDs in the viewfinder, and - last but not least - a high quality 2.8/35mm [6/6] lens with rear focus (!).

Today, at the same shop, another AF-C was in the waste - this time a white one with its original flash. What a funny coincindence ... Wink

S

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1614

[quote="stevemark"]

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3773 Location: Switzerland

Here's another one - a quite common Minolta X-500 with the no-so-common MD 2/135mm lens:

I always felt the X-500 is more "professional" than the X-700, even though the X-700 officially was the higher rated camera, of course. The X-500 has no program mode (just A mode and M mode) which feels "cleaner", and its manual mode metering is better engineered (LED show both the recommended / measured shutter time and the time manually chosen on the camera). In addition the X-700 doesn't allow slow flash sync when using dedicated (TTL) flashes, even in manual mode the camera insists to have 1/60 s ... With the X-500 you can use slow sync combined with TTL measuring, at least in manual mode. This feature is quite important when shooting events, concerts and weddings.

Here are the X-500 (with MD 1.2/50mm) and the X-700 (with MD 2/135mm) together:

The viewfinder of these SLR is among the best (=brightest and largest) I know - by far larger than the OVF of the Nikon F5 or the Nikon D3, for instance. It's a real pity Minolta didn't put all that engineering of the X-700 into a rugged metal body, combining it with the metal shutter of the XD-7 (which went up to 1/2300s even though it was officially only 1/1000) and selling it as X-900 ...!!

S

Doc Sharptail · Joined: 23 Nov 2020 Posts: 1051 Location: Winnipeg Canada

There are similar (un-substantiated) claims made for the shutter of the Nikon F-3, which I take with a healthy pinch of salt over the left shoulder.
I've been un-able to force my version to 1/4000th sec in "A" mode, no matter how hard I try. Wink

I still prefer the viewfinder of the F-2 over all others. It is the only finder that I am able to focus off the ground glass with, despite it's slight dimness.
The "E" screen in the F-3 comes close, but no cigar.
I suppose I have become some-what set in my ways over the years, but I really don't mind.

-D.S.

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3773 Location: Switzerland

Doc Sharptail · Joined: 23 Nov 2020 Posts: 1051 Location: Winnipeg Canada

The claims I referred to are for the F-3, and not the Minolta.

I thought I was fairly clear with that point, but I suppose not. Wink

The top 1/2000 sec speed is impressive for the F-3's horizontally travelling shutter, and realistic expectations for it may have it a few 1/100 sec faster in A mode, but not a full stop faster in that vintage.

Hope this clears things up.

-D.S.