jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 8, 2012 8:17:50 GMT -5
Great Wall DF-4     Here's my Great Wall DF-4. It's just like the DF-2 with added features. It's a shame that lenses of different focal length were not made for this camera. From what I've read, other lenses were planned, but were never made. Since the lens is threaded to accept 52mm filters, you can use a wide-angle / tele screw on lenses to change the focal length and close-up lens set for macro photography. Specifications: Taking Lens: Coated 90mm, 1:3.5, in M39 thread screw mount. Focussing from 1m to infinity. Viewing Lens: Non interchangeable waist level viewfinder. Ground glass has lines for 6x4.5 and full-frame 35mm. Shutter: Metal guillotine shutter. Speeds from 1/30 to 1/200 and B. No self timer or flash sync. Features: Selectable ruby window frame counter, self timer, hot shoe, flash sync socket
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Doug T.
Lifetime Member
Pettin' The Gator
Posts: 1,199
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Post by Doug T. on Nov 8, 2012 17:53:34 GMT -5
Jack! You're causing me to go into fits  Seriously, if the lens mount on your Great Wall is a 39mm screw, wouldn't you be able to fit some old Russian lenses on it? Maybe someone makes a 39 to 42mm screw mount adapter. I don't know if it's possible, just a thought. Doug |
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 8, 2012 23:50:08 GMT -5
Doug, Sorry about that... I'm sure you're bound to run into a GW DF camera yet. About using 39mm screw lenses. Most 39mm screw lenses are designed for coverage on 135 film and for a shorter flange to film plane distance. I've read about people trying to use such lenses, but the best they could do was to use the "adapted" lens for macro work. Here's a nice pdf file that explains this special situation with the Great Wall DF camera. Jack |
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 9, 2012 11:00:55 GMT -5
Eastar S2   Here's an Eastar rangefinder camera, it's a copy of a Yashica camera. A fairly common camera in China as it was in production for a pretty long time. Specifications: Taking Lens: Coated 50mm, 1:2.8. Focussing from 0.8m to infinity. Viewing Lens: Combined rangefinder / viewfinder. Parallax-corrected bright line framing. Shutter: Between the lens shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/300 and B. With self timer and flash sync. Features: Self timer, cold shoe, flash sync socket and parallax correcting viewfinder.
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 10, 2012 10:37:13 GMT -5
Hua Ying AE-1  Here's another rangefinder, the Hua Ying AE-1. This camera has a multi-exposure mode where you can cock the shutter with a small lever on the body just below the lens. In the instruction manual that came with the camera, it shows a lens attachment that blocks 3/4 of the lens and rotates in quarter turn increments which allows 4 pictures on a single frame. The camera didn't come with that accessory, but it wouldn't be too hard to make one by replacing the glass from a cheap polarizing filter with some black plastic cut the same way as the original accessory. Specifications: Taking Lens: Coated 40mm, 1:2.8. Focussing from 0.8m to infinity. Viewing Lens: Combined rangefinder / viewfinder. Bright line framing and meter. Shutter: Between the lens shutter with speeds from 1/8 to 1/250 and B. Features: Self timer, hot shoe, multiple exposure mode, frame counter, cds meter, meter needle display in viewfinder.
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 14, 2012 20:56:20 GMT -5
Huaxia 821  Here's another rangefinder camera, the Huaxia 821. I really don't know a lot about this camera. I've read that the Huaxia 821 has a 40/2 Summicron copy lens, and it is considered to be a very sharp lens. Specifications: Taking Lens: Coated 40mm, 1:2. Focussing from 0.8m to infinity. Viewing Lens: Combined rangefinder / viewfinder. Parallax-corrected bright line framing. Shutter: Between the lens shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/300 and B. With PC flash sync socket. Features: Shutter release button lock, cold shoe, flash sync socket (on the side near the film rewind) and parallax correcting viewfinder.
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 21, 2012 1:26:30 GMT -5
Panda SLR   From what I've read, these cameras was made at the Harbin Electrical Instrument Factory from 1972 through 1977. Only about 7000 Panda SLRs were ever made. The first 1000 had a panda engraved on the front of the pentaprism housing above the Chinese writing. Specifications: Lens: Coated 58mm, 1:2. Focussing from 0.6m to infinity. Shutter: Cloth horizontal focal plane shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/1000 and B. Features: Self timer, mirror lockup, cold shoe, frame counter, provision for motor drive. There are two sync connections, X and FP sync. The lens has a DOF preview lever.
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 25, 2012 0:49:23 GMT -5
Peafowl DF1 SLR    Here's another SLR from my collection. In 1977, after the Harbin Electrical Instrument Factory ceased producing the Panda SLR, they started production of the Peafowl SLR. The Peafowl SLR is based on the same design as the Panda. Two differences that I see are that the Peafowl SLR dropped the motor drive capability and replaced the cold shoe with a hot shoe. Specifications: Lens: Coated 50mm, 1:2. Focussing from 0.45m to infinity. Shutter: Cloth horizontal focal plane shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/1000 and B. Features: Self timer, mirror lockup, hot shoe, frame counter. There are two sync connections, X and FP sync.
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 30, 2012 15:57:21 GMT -5
Seagull DF SLR    Here's a Seagull DF SLR with 58mm lens. The Seagull DF is based on Minolta's SR-2 camera. Since it uses the Minolta lens mount, all MD manual focus lenses can be used. Specifications: Lens: Coated 50mm, 1:2. Focussing from 0.6m to infinity. Shutter: Cloth horizontal focal plane shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/1000 and B. Features: Self timer, mirror lockup, cold shoe, frame counter. There are two sync connections, X and FP sync. The lens has a DOF preview lever.
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Stephen
Lifetime Member
Still collecting.......
Posts: 2,718
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Post by Stephen on Nov 30, 2012 16:58:34 GMT -5
The Seagull is the only Chinese camera I have, (apart from all the Digital cameras!) an excellent camera and crisp optics. Photax (Eastbourne), were the importers in the UK, but there was a lot of trade resistance in the late 1970's to them, the thinking being people did not want to buy cameras with Chinese writing on them!
Several Minolta owners bought them, and they seemed very reliable, very few problems I can remember offhand.
Stephen.
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 30, 2012 17:00:41 GMT -5
Seagull DFB   Ok, here's another camera in my collection. Here's a Seagull DFB with 50mm lens. Seagull manufactured a small range of cameras without viewfinders mainly for laboratory or industrial use. The three cameras were the DFAB, DFB and DFC. The DFAB has selectable shutter speeds from 1/60 to 1 sec + B. The DFB had only two shutter speeds, B and T. The DFC only has B shutter speed setting. These cameras used specially adapted optics. The most common lens for these cameras was a 58mm 1:2 focus adjustable lens. This lens had a shallow range of focus from 0.5 to 2 meters. The only other lens I know of and which I have for my camera is the quite rare fixed focus 50mm 1:1.4 lens. Both the 58mm and 50mm lenses do not have diaphragms, so are used wide open at f2 and f1.4, respectively. These cameras could also be fitted with microscope adapters. From my own unscientific measurement, the 50mm lens has it's sharpest focus at 65cm (25.5 inches) between the object and the film plane. I simply displayed an enlarged resolution test pattern on my computer screen and adjusted the camera position until I had the sharpest image I could see on a ground glass I attached to the film plane. Then I measured the distance from my computer screen to the ground glass which resulted in 65cm, give or take a few millimeters. Specifications: Lens: Coated 50mm, 1:1.4. Fixed focus, sharpest with object placed 65cm from film plane. Shutter: Cloth horizontal focal plane shutter with two speeds, B and T. Features: No viewfinder, two shutter speeds, B and T.
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Stephen
Lifetime Member
Still collecting.......
Posts: 2,718
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Post by Stephen on Nov 30, 2012 17:07:10 GMT -5
On the Seagull 35mm, Photax had a second batch with only European lettering done at Photax's special request. These had the writing on the pentaprism replaced with SEAGULL etc., and the made in China only had European script as well. They left the Seagull logo on the front.
Stephen.
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 30, 2012 17:16:37 GMT -5
The Seagull is the only Chinese camera I have, (apart from all the Digital cameras!)... Stephen. Hi Stephen, Your comment about Chinese digital cameras reminded me about the Seagull D55 digital camera hoax from a few years back. Read this fake article for a good chuckle. It was an April Fools joke. ;D Jack |
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jack
Senior Member
Posts: 76
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Post by jack on Nov 30, 2012 17:28:31 GMT -5
The Seagull factory also contracted with other camera companies to make "branded" cameras. One company I can think of at the moment is Kalamar. I have a Kalamar TLR which is just a re-branded Seagull 4A TLR. Seagull also did a re-branding of the 4A TLR for a German camera reseller as well, they named it the "Revue 6x6".
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Post by Randy on Nov 30, 2012 23:02:29 GMT -5
Many of my modern Minoltas say made in china on the bottom.
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