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Post by conan on Nov 6, 2016 14:50:53 GMT -5
What is the difference between a Honeywell Spotmatic and an Asahi Spotmatic? Why the 2 different brands? Heiland (a division of Honeywell) were the official US distributors and some cameras also bear that name. Later they just became Honeywell Pentax. Pentax US models carried an “H” model designation unlike the “S” model designations in most other countries. This was trailing brand name by association and reputation recognition. There was also Bell & Howell Canon, Beseler Topcon and AIC Miranda which were well know American companies operating in the photographic arena. Other manufacturers such as Nikon, Konica, Minolta had already established brand names and did not need to engage in this naming marketing.
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Post by conan on Oct 20, 2016 2:55:38 GMT -5
I've found a crate full of old primes, in time i'm gonna try them all... Wish I could find a Noct Nikkor in my lens collection. Your posts go to prove that some older lenses perform very well on digital. If one want to sacrifice the mod cons of auto focus and matrix metering etc there are some very good pieces of older glass still available..
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Post by conan on Oct 20, 2016 2:50:02 GMT -5
I have a number of these cameras, and have always believed that the first 2 digits of the serial number gave the year of manufacture. One has a number starting "68", and although it has an instant return mirror, it has the M39 lens mount. I had one some years ago, number also starting "68", that had the M39 lens mount, and a mirror returned by winding on, Zenit 3M style. So, when a Zenit E came up on our local auction site, with a number starting "67", I was fairly sure that it would have these earlier features - so I bid, and bought it. It arrived this afternoon, a well worn camera, in a brown ERC (usually an early feature, with Zenits). It has an instant return mirror, and M42 lens mount! Added later: I removed the camera's bottom plate, to check the serial number on the lower shutter plate. This also starts "67". John, Since Zeniths were produced in the millions there is always the chance of a batch with a different configuration being produced for a particular market segment or special order. This may mean they are not properly listed in historical data
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Post by conan on Oct 14, 2016 15:58:42 GMT -5
The S2 was an important camera for Nikon in 1955 as their first rangefinder with the 24x36 format and it sold extremely well in the USA and with the Pentax’s of the era was available in the UK in the late fifties when post war import restrictions were lifted. Designed to compete at the top end of the market with the Leica M3 and Contax IIa the S2’s main competitor was the Contax. The M3 had badly wounded the Contax and the Nikon S2 helped the process. With a 1:1 viewfinder with a 50mm frame line and lever wind it outsold the Contax despite the fact that the shutter was a wind on and lift and turn to set with a dual dial. Apparently the viewfinder and high speed winding were prime reasons. Contax never got out the Contax IV (several prototypes have been shown) because the Contarex was sucking so much development time and money from Zeiss. The release of the Nikon SP in 1957 which out spec’d the various prototypes of the IV meant the Leica M3 had a worthy competitor and Zeiss gave up on rangefinders – it was game over for the Contax rangefinders and Zeiss let the IIa die a slow death.
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Post by conan on Oct 13, 2016 5:11:08 GMT -5
This is a Konica 1. A Konica collector tells me it’s a model B from 1948. It has "Made in Occupied Japan" embossed in the leatherette on the bottom and "Konishiroku" embossed on the back.
It’s a delightful small camera with all the weight associated with cameras from this time period. The lens is on a pull out and twist tube and typical for its era the cocking and release are on the front lens standard. The rangefinder is very bright and still properly aligned. Everything still works well which is a tribute to its overall build quality. Overall condition is excellent with only some small tarnishing of the front plate.
For its time few Europeans even knew the Japanese had a camera industry and of course the German manufacturers ignored them to their eventual peril.
The camera does give an indication of what Japanese post war camera manufacturing was capable of. The Konica I went on to a Model II and Model III and then the S2 and S3 series. The later model III’s (with letter designation) are really sought after not only for their usage but the excellent Hexanon lenses they carried. I also have a model III which sports the slightly quirky front double action lever wind.
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Post by conan on Oct 13, 2016 5:09:12 GMT -5
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Post by conan on Oct 13, 2016 2:47:16 GMT -5
My Cameras
Tried to add an attachment and received "this forum has exceeded its attachment limits" - the file was an 80KB jpg
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Post by conan on Aug 8, 2016 7:45:42 GMT -5
N for Nikon F, the ultimate japanese classic slr ? Is this a statement or a question? Nikon got the camera 98% right on the first try. The F was the dominant pro 35mm SLR of the 1960s. there was no other choice for someone who earnt their living and needed the versatility of a 35mm SLR with the sheer hockey puck reliability of the F. The Contarex was a slow, ponderous show pony that had reliability problems and Nikon’s only other possible competitor was the Topcon RE Super which impacted little on Nikons dominance.
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Post by conan on Apr 13, 2016 19:02:45 GMT -5
Pleased to meet you, Craig. Don't try to fight the Camera Collecting virus. Just go with the flow. Mickey Collecting Cameras is not a virus. Collecting cameras is nonpolitical, non-gender and non-religious. Recycling, re using and re purposing is a positive thing for the environment. So called GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a positive ability syndrome – the same as empathy and other positive personality traits. We need to show great sympathy and compassion to people that do not understand this.
When I am World President people that do not have GAS will be classified as having a minor mental disability because they have some neuron or development deficiency. Luckily there are sites for us normal people.
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Post by conan on Apr 1, 2016 4:54:09 GMT -5
This pentax SFX N came with a package deal i bought, though i collect pentax, i am not interested in the "later" AF models. As far as i know not a lot of people are interested in these type of cameras from the early age of AF all electronic loaded with gizmos slr's.(exept maybe for the real top of the line types) I haven't got a crystal ball, but its my guess they never will be worth anything.My plan now is to keep the lenses just in case i would come across a cheap digital body( don't know if the flash would be compatible with later models) and scrap the sfx as i need the space for real classics. Anyway, what would you do ? 1 Don’t admit in a public forum read by serious camera collectors and young children that you actually collect Pentax bayonet mount cameras. 2 Open a local branch of Steptoe & Son and give them away. 3 Dig a hole in the back garden and bury them 4 Send them to Camfiend in Queensland which is miles away from civilized collectors.
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Post by conan on Apr 1, 2016 4:50:12 GMT -5
I've got a few beauty's myselve, bought them while they were cheap, prices do seem to go up but i've learned my lesson with the yashica electro GSN's. I went with the hype that these were extraordinary cameras, next only to leica, paid way to much for them (black and chrome) only to find out they weren't all that great and did have some (electronic) issues. Now after the hipsters have had their fun with the yashica, prices dropped rapidly to yard sale level again, wich is a bit more realistic for these cameras. Will the same happen to the beauty's? who knows, but i surely won't get fooled again and keep the ones i've got but won't buy any more if prices get out of proportion, after all beauty's may be interesting but they are not THAT good. Agree - Yashica GSNs are overhyped. Beauty and a few others disappeared after the Canonet caused a major market disruption that led to the eventual demise of the German intermediate cameras.
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Post by conan on Mar 23, 2016 5:32:47 GMT -5
I think that would appeal to 90% of us because we collect the older mechanical cameras rather than the modern computerized mini marvels. Those cars represent a golden age of mechanics before computers managed engines and mechanics used screwdrivers and wrenches to fix cars. Apart from the cost of classic cars they are not the sort of thing you can put on shelves in your lounge room.
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Post by conan on Mar 23, 2016 5:24:28 GMT -5
I think that Miranda as a brand was diluted when the Dixons chain in the UK started selling Chinon (I think!?) cameras and other photographic goods badged as 'Miranda'. There was probably nothing wrong with that but they just appeared with Prinz stuff in their shops and appeared to all be be bargain basement cameras. I have just bought through ebay, a clean looking, working (apparently)one owner Pentax MX with a f1.4 50mm lens a Vivitar 28mm and a Vivitar 70-210 zoom plus filters, paperwork etc. for what I would expect to pay just for the 50mm. This was more than I usually spend on any film camera, but I had spare cash from the sale of a pair of boot sale Leitz binoculars. Heard good reports on the MX and it will go with my mint Pentax Program-A. Will report on here when it all arrives. I think you are referring to a ‘badged’ Miranda sold by Dixons. When Miranda turned up their toes their name was sold and used on a variety of cameras primarily made by Cosina and these had no links to previous Miranda’s. Miranda were one of the early pioneers but they fell into the same situation as some of the German makers did in the mid-sixties – a lack of sales and a lack of profits which meant they could not spend much on development. The cost of the ensuring electronic revolution sent them to the wall. Toward the end they followed the same disastrous trend established by Edixa – a seeming endless variety of minor model changes. A little known fact is that Miranda developed the Instant Return Mirror and sold the idea to Pentax. I hope you have small hands – you will need them for an MX – fine mechanically compared to its unreliable brother ME but Pentax went just a little tooooo far trying to beat the OM1 in the size stakes.
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Post by conan on Mar 16, 2016 4:01:19 GMT -5
Isn't there allways a girl involved? In the late sixties in our hippie days, a girl on wich i had a crush had a sensorex, i then still used my linhoff press. I thought the miranda was an ugly camera with that stupid chrome star on front of the prism, i didn't gave it a second glance, i told her to get a nikon F if she wanted a decent camera... Years later we met again and she confessed she had a crush on me to but was engaged with someone else...by that time we where both maried and sighed at the prospect of what could have been if things had taken an other turn, i never saw here again since that day. This might explain why the sensorex holds a special place within my miranda collection. Miranda’s weren’t ugly – they just appealed to the strange American tastes and they were superbly marketed by AIC (Allied Impex Corporation) who eventually owned Miranda. Interestingly I note one of your cameras appears to have the AIC badge on it. Apparently they only used this badge in the States and Germany where AIC had a subsidiary. Miranda distribution was handled by other companies in the Western World until AIC got total control of Miranda.
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Post by conan on Mar 15, 2016 2:18:10 GMT -5
julio1fer, those ads sure must have made an impact if you can remember them more than 40 years later. Can anyone remember the ads from Nikon or others from the same period.
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