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Post by kiev4a on Aug 24, 2006 22:59:13 GMT -5
From what I can see in between explosions it appears to be an FG or an EM. Must be why I never had that particular model.
My F3 get nervous if it's in the same room as a Minolta. It says it's afraid it will pick up some sort of contamination:)
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Post by herron on Aug 25, 2006 8:39:46 GMT -5
Randy: That's a funny animated gif....would only be better if I could somehow make it turn into a Mamiya! LOL! ;D
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Post by kamera on Aug 25, 2006 18:41:56 GMT -5
And how true, Brian...
A lot of Nikonians thought, and some still do, the same way as that salesman.
But those of us who have the EM know better. It is made of rather sturdy polycarbonate and has a metal chasis.
Likewise the E Series lenses for the camera admittingly are plasticy on the outside, but still have the quality optics of the more expensive Nikkor lenses of the time.
I have heard one Nikon shooter state it could outlast his F4 being dropped 10 times from a height of 4-5 feet. Uh...that might be just stretching it a bit.
But a good little quality camera to carry and shoot.
Ron Head Kalamazoo, MI
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orwopan
Contributing Member
Posts: 35
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Post by orwopan on Sept 21, 2006 16:25:25 GMT -5
My first "real" camera was a Praktica nova B my father bought new in the late sixties, together with the superb 2/50 Pancolar and 2,8/35 Flektogon. I took it everywhere, up the alps and down to Africa...never let me down, and it has only seen two services, a warranty checkup in the seventies and a retensioning of the shutter curtains after I dropped it . That´s why I´m stuck to Praktica (and M 42) gear....now I own twelve Praktica (from the early FX to the B-series), 13 Exa and Exakta, 13 Zenit, including one sniper, twenty FED and Zorki, and a bunch of odds and ends, trying to focus on GDR and SU gear. Sometimes I think I must preserve these mechanical beauties, ´cause I don´t believe in the eternal functionality of digital rubbish.
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Post by John Parry on Sept 21, 2006 16:37:13 GMT -5
Hey Orwopan,
Also used to be a great fan of mechanical Prakticas, but I have to admit their film wind mechanisms are all starting to fail, I had 3 MTL50s (up to that time, my alltime favourite camera) fail on me with the same fault. The older cameras are more reliable in that respect, but they have shutter problems.
I love my BC1s and BC3 though!
Regards - John
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orwopan
Contributing Member
Posts: 35
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Post by orwopan on Sept 21, 2006 16:55:52 GMT -5
John,
that´s right: the Pentacon guys started to use some kind of plastic winding gears on the L-series that may break, so my favourite Praktica is still the PL nova series, well made (despite the shutter problems), and it has the easy loading mechanism I love... The B-series is great too, some consider it as the best Dresden made SLR ever. Nice and compact. I got my BCA for very small money (It doesn´t work, see if you can use it for parts!) without battery. the easiest fix on my cameras so far.... ;D
see ya,
Philipp
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Post by Just Plain Curt on Sept 21, 2006 18:53:23 GMT -5
Hi Orwopan, Sounds like we've got a few in common here. I have 29 Prakticas from Praktiflex FX, Prakticamat V FB, to B100 (including 3 functional MTL3). Also have an Exa, Exakta VX, 22 Zenits (although 5 are NFG right now, grrr), 22 Fed & Zorkis (mostly Feds) and a smattering of Kievs, Smenas, Mir but believe it or not, no Flektogons.
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Post by John Parry on Sept 25, 2006 14:13:45 GMT -5
Philipp,
I have 3 BC1s which are great workhorses. I have a BX20 that scratches the film if you rewind too quickly (and I can't find out where it's catching), but my favourite is the BC3 (which were sold here as the Jenaflex). Better balance than the BC1s and earlier bayonets. I very often use them with M42s and adapters as I find the older lenses better in many respects.
As a replacement for the MTL50s, I'm using a Yashica TL Electro-X. It has a nice improvement with it's continuously variable slow speed settings.
Regards - John
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orwopan
Contributing Member
Posts: 35
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Post by orwopan on Sept 25, 2006 15:29:17 GMT -5
John,
I didn´t succeed getting an adapter for B-mount to M 42 yet, they seem to be rare over here in Germany. I agree, the B-series is a nice shooter, but the Prakticar 1,8/50 isn´t that satisfying.I have two of them, and contrast is way beyond ...it´s a pity, cause the M 42 Pentacon auto 1,8/50 was one of my favourite lenses (until I discovered the Helios 44, but that´s another story..). I got my first BCA (still my only one) in Hamburg, it was sold as "defective, for parts" with the Prakticar and a Exakta 70_210mm zoom, bag and flash, barttery adaptor for button cells, manual and so on for 15 EUR, I only threw in a new batt and here we go.....not a bad deal....
see ya,
Philipp
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PeterW
Lifetime Member
Member has Passed
Posts: 3,804
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Post by PeterW on Sept 25, 2006 16:47:58 GMT -5
Hi Philipp,
Sorry You're disappointed in the 1.8/50 Prakticar, I've got one with my BCA and the contrast is very good. I believe they were made by a number of different makers, Meyer being one. If mine's a Meyer, it's a rebadged Oreston which I've also found to be an excellent lens.
I agree about the Helios 44. They are very nice lenses - and so they should be, because they're a six-element Gauss type updated with newer glass from a 1940s Zeiss design.
Some people rate the Helios 44M-4 the best of the series, but I've found even the earlier 44-2 series are very good, and they're sunk deeper inside the mount which almost forms a lens hood. Watch out though, some of the early ones are not auto-stop down
I think they're much under-rated lenses. They go for next to nothing in the UK because the market was flooded with them on the front of Zenits, many of which now need a CLA to get the shutters working again. Also many of the Helios lenses need relubricating because the old Russian grease has gone hard.
PeterW
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orwopan
Contributing Member
Posts: 35
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Post by orwopan on Sept 26, 2006 7:55:16 GMT -5
Peter,
I have the "full range" of Helios 44, starting with the 44-nothing in M39 on my Zenit 3M, up to the 44-6 on my Zenit 130, dating from 1994. Couldn´t determine no great differences, my favourite being a BelOMO built "domestic" 44-2 from 1974. Now I am shooting mainly black and white, but they do perform very well with color film too.Helios´ go for next to nothing over here too, often considered as russian rubbish.... Did you know that the first ones from the early fifties were marked "BK" for Biotar Krasnogorsk?
see you,
Philipp
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k38
Lifetime Member
Posts: 156
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Post by k38 on Oct 15, 2006 19:29:43 GMT -5
My first new high quality camera was a Canon FTb. At that time the newest advancement in 35mm slr's was open aperture metering. I remember knowing about Nikons and Leicas but The stores anywhere near me did not carry them. The dealers in the back of the magazines usually would not post prices for Nikons or Leicas. I am primarily interested in the "Pro" quality cameras of any vintage. I put the Pro in quotes as it is not always the case! I could tell you a long sad story about a Pentax LX that I bought myself as a graduation present from college. To me, and not to start an argument, I feel the Nikon F is the most important and influential camera of the second half of the 20th Century. My list of 20th century cameras includes: Graflex Speed Graphic Leica screw mount Zeiss Contax Rangefinders Rolleiflex Leica M Hasselblad Nikon F and F2 This is not complete, and it ends before the auto focus era (I love my EOS 1n and it is hell for rugged) The Digital thing makes me feel like I just spent a lifetime learning to do Daguerreotype and I wake up out of a job. Oh well no more boiling mercury. Dwight
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Post by raguleader on Nov 4, 2006 23:51:05 GMT -5
I like Pentaxes because that's what my dad used. Of the cameras I use, my favorite is the Pentax Spotmatic, with the 50mm F/1.4 SMC Takumar lens. I've invested in a couple of things for it (a hotshoe flash adaptor so I could use the hotshoe flash after the PC synch cord broke, along with a 28mm wide angle lens), and it's a solid, reliable, unpretentious camera, and all the manual controls on it force me to put more active thought into what I'm doing when I take pictures, without being distracted by fiddling with menus.
I like Canons because the first real camera I bought was a Canon Rebel SII (purchased with kit lens, a very nice 75-300 USM lens, a Sunpak TTL bounceflash for the Canon, and a bag, all for the back-breaking sum of $75, my dad, being weird, loaned me his Spotmatic only AFTER I had dumped money on the Canon. He's weird like that). It has it's quirks (the shutter gums up from time to time, and requires semi-regular and very careful cleaning with Isopropyl alcohol), but is a rather nice camera (especially for the price!). The only things I don't like about it are it's bulk and lack of weight (excessively light things make me nervous to handle them). That said, the next camera I'm planning to buy is a Canon EOS 20D, which at least has the solid weight that I need in my cameras.
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Post by minoltaman on Jan 25, 2007 17:02:39 GMT -5
I love Minoltas. My dad had a Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 and he eventually gave it to me in the 90's, which I still have and use. In the early 2000's, I came across a Minolta XG-1 and three lenses, motor drive and a flash at an estate sale and bought it all for $30. It's been my camera of choice, although alot of folks on the internet boards say it's a lowend Minolta. That may be but I love mine and it's a pleasure to use and takes excellent photos. So I guess I just fell into Minolta, and that's been my choice.
I also have a Mamiya 500DTL. Great camera, built like an iron lung. I picked it up years ago at another estate sale. Used it alot, but I think that the light meter was always erratic. Also, without the aperature priority, stopping down on a DTL makes the viewfinder go dark. In any case, I'm still a fan of Mamiya SLRs.
Lastly, I used my brother's Nikon N65 extensively on several trips to Europe. Although I brought my Minolta along too, I wanted a fully automatic camera to have for certain situations. Plus the nice zoom made it easier in many cases instead of changing lenses on my Minolta all the time.
Anyway, I like this forum alot.
Cheers.
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Post by kiev4a on Jan 25, 2007 20:19:36 GMT -5
Over the past 40 years I've had at least a passing acquaintenance with most brands (except Minolta). Shot a lot of film with Pentaxes--from the early non metered SLR through the LX. Also owned several Leica Ms. But I always found myself coming back to Nikon -- beginning with the F (I still love the feel of the F) up to the F4. I've owned The F, F3HP, F4, Nikkormat FTN, EL and FT3. I've never had a Nikon product malfunction.
Important cameras of the 20th century, IMO, include.
Speed Graphic 35mm RF: Screw mount and M series Leica 35mm SLR; Nikon F -- The camera that made the SLR a household word. TLR: Rollei. Medium SLR - Hasselblad
There were other cameras that certainly contributed but I believe the above camera were the ones that drove their individual markets into the spotlight.
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