daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jun 15, 2010 15:20:05 GMT -5
I have been seeking out some of my cameras that are here and there in various boxes. One of the first out was the Topcon Super D. I bought this new in the early 1970s for just over £100 - complete with f1.4 58mm lens. Quite a few rolls of film have been through it, but it is in pretty good nick thanks, at least in part, to the strong leather case. The one thing that has happened is that the rubber grip on the lens barrel has stretched. I think this shows fairly well in the photograph. Does anyone know a way of shrinking it again, or is there a supplier out there who can replace them? (Other cameras to come out of the first box - Praktica B100 + 55-200 Prakticar, Olympus 35ED and a very cheap plastic Kodak Star 275.)
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2010 15:29:21 GMT -5
Afraid I don't have any info on the stretched rubber but your Super D is beautiful. That's a model I always wanted but even today the fetch top dollar.
W.
|
|
|
Post by GeneW on Jun 15, 2010 17:15:36 GMT -5
I'm using a modern clone of that lovely Topcor 58mm f/1.4.
It's the CV Nokton 58mm f/1.4 SL. I have it in Nikon mount. The look of the lens is nearly identical to the original, but it's chipped and meters on my D90.
Sometimes good ideas (e.g. Topcor) live on.
Gene
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jun 15, 2010 17:46:27 GMT -5
I weighed the SuperD + lens earlier. It is reassuringly heavy at 1,256 grams, 2lb 12oz.
I think the only other Topcon lens I have is the 135/3.5. Wonderful quality manufacture - and decent optically too. Just thinking as I write that I do have an RE2 (bought cheap, meter never worked and even bona fide repairers couldn't fix it) with the 58/1.8.
I hadn't really thought about the design living on.
|
|
|
Post by GeneW on Jun 15, 2010 17:55:53 GMT -5
This is what it looks like (product photo) It's manual focus with a long throw. Quite a bit lighter than the original, but about the same size. Gene
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jun 15, 2010 18:05:01 GMT -5
The Topcor 58/1.4 takes about 270o to focus from 18" to infinity: autofocus lenses seem to do it in about 45o.
|
|
Doug T.
Lifetime Member
Pettin' The Gator
Posts: 1,199
|
Post by Doug T. on Jun 15, 2010 18:42:44 GMT -5
I had an old Pentax with the same problem. The rubber wasn't completely dried out , so I cut it , and stuck it back together. You might, however, be able to find a broken lens with a good one that fits. Doug
|
|
|
Post by nikkortorokkor on Jun 16, 2010 6:01:26 GMT -5
What a lovely camera! Coincidentally, I just saw the Super D / RE Super included in a list of the "Top 10 Japanese cameras of all time". I admit to having been wholly ignorant of Topcon's significance or reputation for quality. The looks alone - super clean, classic Japanese 60s design aesthetic - win me over.
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jun 16, 2010 9:30:08 GMT -5
All mechanical: built to last. Match needle metering. The metering cells are on the mirror. This does lose a little light to the viewfinder, but (and it's a big but) TTL metering is maintained no matter which viewfinder is used. It was ahead of the game in that respect. Nikon had their rather large photomic head for metering, but any other viewfinder and you were back to 'guesswork'. Several different viewfinder screens are available and several heads too.
The Exacta bayonet fit was a bit of a problem. Put a long focus lens on and the bottom part of the shot was blocked out, with the narrowness of the lens throat - but only in the viewfinder screen, not on the photo itself. Topcon did change to the Pentax bayonet just before they decided to concentrate their efforts on the optical instrument side of the business.
I am not sure that much of the available information on the internet about Topcon is correct. On states the company started in 1963. It was actually about 30 years earlier than that. I am fairly sure that the company's first camera was the Lord, although the internet articles seem not to mention this - other than camerapedia which is 'down' at the moment.
|
|
Mark Vaughan
Lifetime Member
I STILL have a pile of Nikons. Considering starting a collection of Ricoh SLRs and RFs.
Posts: 191
|
Post by Mark Vaughan on Jun 16, 2010 11:25:59 GMT -5
I wonder if you could strip off the old rubber grip and replace it with a custom strip of black leather or leatherette?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2010 11:47:28 GMT -5
Mark's idea is a good one. Use Pliobond adhesive. Apply to both the lens and the material and wait about a minute before putting the two surfaces together. The adhesive is key (from my experience with reskinning Soviet RFs)
W.
|
|
mickeyobe
Lifetime Member
Resident President
Posts: 7,280
|
Post by mickeyobe on Jun 16, 2010 12:47:43 GMT -5
Mark's and Wayne's suggestions would do the job.
You might, as well, be able to salvage the original rubber ring by following their instructions and very carefully cutting the ring open and trimming it to fit.
Be very careful when applying the Pliobond surfaces together. Pliobond does not allow for adjustments. Once both surfaces touch they are there to stay.
Mickey
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jun 16, 2010 13:52:06 GMT -5
Thanks all. I haven't heard of pliobond - I suspect we have the same under a different name. If I google it I should find out. I had thought of cutting it and sticking it on. I was hoping someone might just say "you put it in this or that liquid and it shrinks". Mark's idea sounds good too.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2010 17:43:35 GMT -5
Dave:
Pliobond smells like rubber cement but when applied to both surfaces is pretty permanent. You need to use it in a well-ventilated area as the fumes are pretty strong.
|
|
|
Post by herron on Jun 17, 2010 9:21:00 GMT -5
Pliobond is well known among camera restorers. I can sometimes find it at a hardware store, but also buy it online at Micro-Tools...a great source of restoration materials and tools. You could get replacement material for that lens barrel there, too. Good luck! ;D
|
|