casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Jul 29, 2007 19:49:44 GMT -5
Now that it works, I feel a bit guilty about chiseling them on the price! Walker, The camera came from Long Island, NY according to the filled out but not mailed warranty card. Don't know when it moved to Florida, but it does show evidence of having been in a humid environment. Green growth on the plating and deteriorated foam. Good overall condition though. Peter, I've been hooked on Canons for over 35 years now. I started with the FT-ql in 1971. The AE-1 is my 4th A series unit. That's my web page on the monitor. If you've never seen it you can check it out here. There are several other pages on the site and I hope to add to it when I get settled in my own home. www.vermontel.net/~wsalati/CasualCollector/canonmain.htmBill
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Jul 29, 2007 15:33:23 GMT -5
The girlfriend and I spent a good part of Saturday scouring the thrift shops in the Melbourne, FL area. There were the usual selection of plastic fantastics. I thought I was onto something when I asked to see an unmarked pouch. It had $30.00 marked on it. Inside was a Voigtlander Vitoret with 50/2.8 Lanthar. Alas, non-working and making a rattling noise when shaken. I passed. As we were checking out at another, she spotted the red bag. I made a quick check. The meter responded but I couldn't get the camera to release. I offered half what was marked on the tag and got them to accept. I tried a fresh battery earlier today. Don't you know, the darn thing works!
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on May 16, 2007 21:14:45 GMT -5
Yeeeoww!! The one Minolta I absolutely drool over! If you want to make some money on your investment...
BTW, Randy. I finally dug out my 55/1.7 Rokkor PF and will run a roll through the SRT I bought off you real soon.
Have fun with the XE-7.
Bill
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casualcollector
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In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on May 18, 2007 16:29:37 GMT -5
Ron, You should get an M-42 adapter for your Canon and put those Mamiya lenses to use!
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casualcollector
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In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Apr 25, 2007 16:10:13 GMT -5
Wow! Your persistence has paid off. Have fun with them.
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Apr 24, 2007 19:20:43 GMT -5
Hi Walker,
I think the Mamiya screw mount lens is fairly easy to work on if I recall correctly. Get the name ring unscrewed, then unscrew the filter ring/forward barrel. Three screws facing you hold the focusing ring to the helical and it slides off to the front. Getting the threads restarted properly is the trick. You have three or four chances to get it wrong!
Bill
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 19, 2007 20:38:02 GMT -5
Walker
I consider it under rated, too. I have a Sears TLS and a Sears SL-11. Both are older versions. The SL-11 has the Sears name engraved in the top plate. Wish I had the external meter that goes with it. The TLS has the Sears name on the prism face. I really want one of the later, black body "atomic" models! I have a third, badged Ricoh, that I got for parts. Missing self timer levers seems to be common on these.
The Chinon screw mount cameras are very similar to the Ricoh in internal design. I used to sell these as the GAF L-17 back in the 70s. Black paint was the standard finish and they stood out in a case full of chrome cameras. I like them, too, but I think they're more prone to trouble than the Ricoh.
Bill
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 19, 2007 18:05:56 GMT -5
When I see low feedback members in a bidding war, I too, suspect shills working for the seller. Don't be surprised if you see the same TLS back on "the bay" again.
Good press can affect prices, too. Several years ago the price af Canonet G-IIIs spiked after a favorable article by Jason Schneider. Back to realistic now. I think my website article on Vivitar and Soligor T-4 lenses caused an increase in interest in them. Well, I like to think so!
Bill
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 11, 2007 12:55:17 GMT -5
Ya done good!
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 8, 2007 19:23:44 GMT -5
It's very different from anything else Ricoh ever made. The same camera was also sold as the Ricoh TLS EE and an entry level version called the SLX-500. What makes me think it was an outside design is the cloth shutter. Prior to this model, Ricoh had always used the Copal Square shutter. After this model, they went back to Copal shutters. Even then, the Copal had a rep for being accurate and durable. Why would a relatively small manufacturer like Ricoh tool up for and train assemblers for a new shutter?
On a related topic: I've read that the short lived Olympus FTL was not designed at Olympus and may have been produced by another company. I forget now where I read that.
So... What maker with cloth focal plane shutter experience might have designed and or built these cameras if Ricoh and Olympus didn't? I think the list reads Mamiya, Fuji, Petri, Yashica.
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 6, 2007 18:35:33 GMT -5
John.
Film going in it and it will be checked out as the sunshine allows later this week. Hope to have pictures posted next week!
Bill
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 6, 2007 17:09:54 GMT -5
HO scale. A recent model from a well known and respected manufacturer. My brother says it never ran very well. The spur gear on the drive axle has split, been replaced and split again! A similar model by a manufacturer that used to be well known for poor running models purrs like a kitten and has never been a moment's trouble.
There's a photo of a layout my brother built here, somewhere. Would like to see yours.
Bill
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 5, 2007 23:06:29 GMT -5
I just checked your site, Ron. The 200/3.5 Auto Sears is a ringer for the first version Mamiya Sekor on Rollie Stauber's site as well as the Rikenon and my Soligor/Vivitar/Tokina!
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 5, 2007 19:09:26 GMT -5
Scooped this outfit off E-Bay recently. Sears Auto TLS, also known as the Ricoh Auto TLS EE. Camera has a 50/1.4 lens. In the outfit were a 55/2.8 Auto Sears Macro with extension tube and a 200/3.5 Auto Sears tele. The camera is unusual in many ways. It has a cloth focal plane shutter. Every other Ricoh SLR I've seen has a Copal, (or other) vertical travel, metal shutter. It makes me think the camera wasn't manufactured by Ricoh, but I've never seen a similar camera from the usual private label suspects; Chinon, Cosina, Mamiya or Petri. Maybe some of our non - US members have seen this camera with other nameplates?! It uses standard M-42 mount lenses, but for auto exposure to work, they have to be Sears/Ricoh EE lenses. The lenses have an extra pin that is engaged by a sawtooth edged plate in the camera. The plate moves the pin a specific distance dictated by the TTL meter. Energy to move the plate is supplied by the user's finger on the shutter release, much like the Konica Auto Reflex or Miranda Sensorex EE. Makes for a long, stiff release! I haven't opened it up yet but the body seems to be unusually constructed. What appears to be the top and bottom covers may actually be the body casting. The prism housing is a separate piece and the top and bottom covers appear to be just flat plates recessed into the casting. Much like a Konica, the bottom is notched to slip the film cassette in. The rewind knob does not lift up. The meter uses a PX-625 battery. A dead battery was removed with some difficulty and a fresh one installed. The meter doesn't work so neither does the auto exposure system! The shutter is mechanically timed but 1/1000 doesn't work. Others work but haven't been timed. Sears probably sourced their lenses from Ricoh but I don't think Ricoh manufactured lenses. The 200mm tele bears a very strong resemblance to my Soligor T4 200 manufactured by Tokina. The Macro is very different from my 55/2.8 Vivitar that originated with Komine. Trying to answer these persistent little questions is what makes the hobby interesting! Both of the lenses are standard M-42 mount and not the special EE type. Everything is in excellent cosmetic shape. Optics are relatively clean, focus and aperture work smoothly and quickly. Next step is to load up some film and guesstimate exposures!
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casualcollector
Lifetime Member
In Search of "R" Serial Soligors
Posts: 619
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Post by casualcollector on Mar 3, 2007 19:47:59 GMT -5
The Copal shutter is quite rugged. Short of a hundred thousand cycles or having a finger stuck through it, I don't think much will stop them.
Bill
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