SHOW US YOUR CAMERAS!!

[stevemark]

A large parcel came in today - with Canons first ever SLR. The Canonflex R is a very well made professional SLR with an exchangeable viewfinder. The camera was introduced in May 1959, competing with the legendary Nikon F and - to lesser extent - the Konica F as well as the Praktina (not to be confursed with the Praktica). Well - everyone knows the Nikon F (850'000 made), only few know the Konica F (about 1600 made), and the Canonflex F was somewhere in between (17'000 made).

Here it is ...



Stephan

[kansalliskala]

Shutter speed dial system looks interesting. I wonder why Canon didn't use that later?

[stevemark]

[kansalliskala]

[Minolfan]

My first camera was a nice Ricoh S3 with fast transport .... . under the bottom too.
Tripod screw in one of the bottom screws. Not ideal for stability, but no real hassle to transport.

[stevemark]

Another slightly "weird" SLR from the 1960s - the original Konica Auto Reflex (without "T"):



Why "weird"? Well ...

1) first its design - it looks a lot more "baroque" than that of its precedessor, the Konica FM.
2) While the Auto-Reflex has a automatic aperture control (and thus is one the first "automatic" SLRs), it doesn't measure through the lens.
3) Shutter speed are dialled in via a knob on the front of the camera (and not on top of it)
4) The rewind knob has an unusual shape, and it is geared
5) And las, but not least: There's a switch on top of the camera which allows you to change between "Full Frame" and "Half Frame". To my knowledge the Auto Reflex is the only SLR with this feature, but I'm not completely sure.
6) The shutter was very advanced, basically the ancestor of all todays DSLR shutters
7) The shutter release needs a loooong way until the shutter finally releases, roughly 10mm! This is due to the simply electro-mechanic construction of the automatic exposure: Pressing the shutter locks the position of the meter needle, which in turn controls the closing of the aperture.

The camera feels rock solid, it is precisely machined, and it looks pristine even after 55 years! All shutter speeds seem to work well (no "slow" slow speeds); there's a stop-down lever and a self timer, an a "on/off/check" switch for the electric circuit. Of course, the light meter (CdS) needs a battery - a mercury PX 625. All engravings are very well made, and the chrome plating looks perfect. The viewfinder image is quite large, but of course darker than the typical 1980s screen. It has a central microprism area, and two vertical lines (for half frame images). In addition to these lines, two triangular markings appear inside the viewfinder if you change from "Full Frame" to "Half Frame". The lightmeter needle is on the right side of the frame, and it's not overlapping with the image.

What else? A yea, the lenses!

The early AR lenses shown here are basically identical to the corresponding Konica F-mount lenses. They share the same optical construction, the front ring is engraved in the typical "broad" letters of the F-lenses, and the distance and aperture scales are extremely well done - comparable to the Leica engravings of the late 1950s. Please note that the 3.5/200mm lens shown here is a preset lens. It has a different optical construction than the later AR 3.5/200mm (see https://www.buhla.de/Foto/Konica/Objektive/e200_35.html for details).

All this stuff is very difficult to find here in Switzerland. Back then, Japanese lenses and cameras had to be imported directly, either from the US or even from Japan. Usually the original owners of such cameras were businessmen who brought home some interesting new stuff (remember, in the mid-60s most Japanese camera manufacturers did not yet have some official representatives anywhere in Europe). Actually this Autorefly is only the second I ever saw here in Switzerland. And I never saw a preset AR 3.5/200mm before ...

S

[kansalliskala]

[stevemark]

[kansalliskala]

[stevemark]

Another early 1950s camera. Very stylish design, clear lines, very much Leica-like indeed!



As far as I remember I found the camera in a huge heap of old cameras to be destroyed, back in 2010. The 5.6/85mm lens just came in a few days ago. It is by far the smallest 85mm lens I own (and probably one of the smallest "portrait" lens ever made for a 35mm camera). Just 92g! While this early "Paxette" model looks like a rangefinder camera, that second window actually is a primitive light metering device. Later versions injdeed did have a coupled rangefinder, and even a selenium light metering cell!

The camera, while small, is quite heavy (460g including the 2.8/45mm lens). It has a Prontor shutter (behind-the-lens, 1/300s - 1s), its Staeble Kata 2.8/45mm normal lens is tiny (the smalles normal lens for 35mm cameras I have): Just 52 g, even though it's made completely from metal (alu) and glass. Focusing is precise, MFD is a whopping 1.0m! (the 85mm has 1.5 m MFD ...). And no, build quality of these lenses is not on par with contemporary Steinheil, Leitz or Voigtländer lenses ...

S

[stevemark]

Canon F-1, here shown with a trio of fast prime lenses:







A few days ago my favourite camera dealer came up with a huge motor drive / grip for the old Canon F-1. I knew these things existed, but i didn't expect them to be that big! My hands are fairly large, and many cameras are simply too small for me, but this one is too big - seriously! Of course, like the conteporary Nikon F2, the old F-1 system is extremely well built, and the motor drive is no exception.
The setup shown in the second image (Canon old F-1, motor drive MF, Canon FD 1.2/55mm and batteries) weighs a whopping 2500g - that's 25% more than the FD 2.8/300mm Fluorite lens! Talking about the 2.8/300: While the whole set (F-1, motor drive, 2.8/300) is about 4 kg, it feels really well balanced - the camera being heavy and the FD 2.8/300 being one of the lightest 2.8/300 available. It must have been a stunning combination in its time, and somehow it still is today!



S

[Doc Sharptail]

Some of my Nikons:



L-R: Nikon F-2 with 85mm f 1.8. , Nikon FE with 28mm f 3.5, Nikon F-3 with 50mm f 2 sans MD-4.

The F-2 is my go to camera, and sees the most use. I remember these K series 85mm lenses being sold with the factory ai conversion installed N.I.B.. Back in the late 70's the 85 Nikkor's were priced well out of my reach. It does fairly well wide open, despite the earlier coatings.

The FE is one of my favorite cameras. I bought it body only from a camera store a couple of months ago, and it is in excellent condition. The 28mm f 3.5 lens on it is no slouch even though it's a shade slow in aperture.

The F-3 is a nice enough camera. It is a totally different "feel" than the F-2. I can tell right away which one is the F-3 even in the dark. The rubberized leatherette it wears is quite readily apparent. The HP finder on it is nice for us far sighted older fellas that need eye correction.






L-R: Nikon Fe-2 with 50mm f 2, Nikon FG with series E 50mm f 1.8, Nikon FE with data back and 80-200 f 4.5.

The FE-2 comes in handy when fill flash is needed out doors with it's 1/250 sync.

The FG is quite a nice little camera. The L.E.D.'s in the viewfinder still weird me out. I find it a little fumbly to use because of it's small size. The factory removable metal grip on it is an absolute necessity for me~ the camera is almost impossible to hold on to without it.

The black FE came to me in one of my package deals. It needs some work to replace the mirror cushion. The 80-200 f 4.5 on it is a very nice lens.







My Nikkormat FTn with S.C. 50mm f 1.4
I just love this camera. The microprism spot focussing screen takes a bit of getting used to.
My very first was a FT-2. This thing is a heavy weight piece of extreme precision. The lens barrel shutter speed ring is entirely natural for me. At the time I got my FT-2, shutter speeds in the view-finder were still a big fat hairy deal.
That lens is a personal favorite. C-41 film run through the camera with this lens results in prints that look like they were taken from Kodachrome. It tends to a very slight warm orange tone, which I don't find objectionable in the least.




FTn again, this time with a good view of the 135mm f 3.5 Q lens aboard. Nice sharp lens.






MD-4 motor drive for the F-3 shown above. I rarely have a "real" need to use it, and with 8 "AA" batteries aboard, it weighs a ton. It does work as advertised. I just had to try it a few times. It is fairly quiet for a motor drive~ much quieter than the MD-12 I had become accustomed to...
#2


Nikon F-65 film camera. It came to me in a package deal with no lens for it.
It has no means of communicating with a m/f lens, and I have no interest in it at all.
Just one of those things stuck in the closet. I don't even know if it will power up, and have yet to try.
No real interest in it yet...


-D.S.

[stevemark]

[Doc Sharptail]

Hi Stephan-

Thanks for your reply.

I had briefly an old SRT 101, but was already into nikon. At the time, the dual lens piles didn't make a whole lot of sense, so the Minolta got sold off. There was a short tele rokkor in that pile that was an excellent piece of glass. Can't remember if it was 90 or 85mm.

My college room-mate went through several X-700's. The first versions of it had serious electrical problems. I think he ended up with warranty replacement bodies 3 times and got tired of it. I loaned him an EL-2 for a while, and he ended up with nikons of his own, starting with a FM.

Kind of curious as to your experiences with the 85 1.8 Nikkor wide open. Mine is a bit fringy in the corners at 1.8, but you really have to know what you're looking for to spot it. It's gone by f4 though, and not really a problem...

I most recently had the F-2 out in the cold, and nary a hiccup. Did notice the swing of the meter needle slowing down a lot at -7C.

-D.S.

[stevemark]

[Doc Sharptail]

It must have been the 85-f2 with the SRT. It came at a very reasonable price.
I was doing theatrical work at the time, and features like bokeh meant nothing against the black background stages.
It did not get used much.

The Nikon F-2 manual suggests an external battery pack for metering in extreme cold weather, so like you, I have not un-covered a problem at all. The tiny batteries the body takes react quickly to sudden drops in temperature.

Will wait a few weeks for extreme cold, and see what happens to the LCD display in the F-3, after checking the manual again.

I find the m/s German to English translator a bit strange- completely understandable though.

-D.S.

[cooltouch]

[stevemark]

[kansalliskala]

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[Minolfan]

[stevemark]

[Blazer0ne]

...

[stevemark]

[stevemark]

Here's another one, recently bought from its original owner:



The Cosina CT-1 is a fully mechanical body from the early 1980s (sold also as Nikon FE-10, FM-10 and Canon T60). It seems to be quite nice; all shutter speeds work, and the lenses are clean and with working apertures. This nice little set consists of a fast Cosinon 2/28mm, a slower (and much smaller) 2.8/35mm, the ubiquituous 1.7/50mm, and a rather good 2.8/135mm lens. The mechanical quality of the lens barrels is so-so - basically a metal construction with lots of plastics on the surface. As mentioned earlier their focusing has run dry, but that happens to contemporary Nikkors as well !

I haven't tried the 1.7/50mm and the 2/28mm lenses, but as soon as i know more, I'll write a few remarks on their performance.

S