Post by belgiumreporter on Nov 7, 2015 14:31:13 GMT -5
The king regula ctl 2000 is an interesting and rare camera.There isn't much to be found on the net about these cameras and what i did find wasn't very conclusive. Launched in 1966 it wasn't the first slr with trough the lens metering or 1/2000th top shutter speed but the iso 8-6400 and 1/125 sync speed were special features in those days.Completely made and assembled in West Germany by a family run buisness, it should have had good credentials as being a quality camera. However in it's 7 years of production it never sold well for a number of reasons ( image, poor quality finish,Japanese competition,price range...). The ctl 2000 is often referred to as a poor man's leicaflex and Leitz aledgedly brought King to court for infringements of Leitz patents. However there isn't hard evidence to be found if this actually happened and if so, what the outcome of the court case was.Some say there wasn't any conviction, others claim King had to pay a million Deutch marks, wich was the main cause of King going out of buisness...
Comparing the ctl2000 with a leicaflex of that era i wouldn't call it a copy. It's more like comparing a zorki 4 to a leica M 3 they look a somewhat alike but that's where the comparison ends. Still the King regula ctl2000 has gained some cult status and if you happen to find one chances are it'll cost you twice(or more) the price of a leicaflex.
The King regula ctl2000 in full glory
Next to its so called "example" the leicaflex,though this is an sl 2 wich appeared some 6 years later than the regula, bear in mind at the time of introduction of the regula, leicaflexes didn't have through the lens metering .
Comparing the ctl2000 with a leicaflex of that era i wouldn't call it a copy. It's more like comparing a zorki 4 to a leica M 3 they look a somewhat alike but that's where the comparison ends. Still the King regula ctl2000 has gained some cult status and if you happen to find one chances are it'll cost you twice(or more) the price of a leicaflex.
The King regula ctl2000 in full glory
Next to its so called "example" the leicaflex,though this is an sl 2 wich appeared some 6 years later than the regula, bear in mind at the time of introduction of the regula, leicaflexes didn't have through the lens metering .