Nice pics! I do actually have a Zenit TTL with a preset Helios 44: both seemed virtually unused when I bought them (more or less accidentally), and apparently in perfect working order (shutter seems smooth, light meter accurate). I've shot the Helios with a Chinon (not sure I appreciated the swirly bokeh, but I do like its like greater focal length). What stopped me from using the camera was its dim viewfinder, and the ugly bulky ever-ready case it came in - but I should give it a try.I once owned a Zenit 12, which weighed around 640 grams. You can find cameras heavier and lighter. There are different models, I believe the 12XP was the latest and had LED viewfinder lights vs the earlier match needle. All are TTL metering.
Viewfinder coverage is small, maybe around 60%, but it's a such a nice camera in your hands. Get one w/ a Helois 44 lens and you will have image quality as good or better than almost anything made at the time, or since. I never had any pics that were bad due to the small viewfinder coverage because nearly always my subject is right in the center of the photo. Anything unwanted can be easily cropped, but that never came up. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
The best bet is to buy one and send it out for a CLA, or buy one that has been serviced. Mine made killer photos, that Helios lens is amazing. It has just the right amount of softness wide open for portraits, and 3D sharpness when stopped down a little.
I have heard the Spotmatics don't depend on voltage because of the type of bridge they use, so you may be fine. I will have to try some vinegar. Some of my Spotmatics respond, but got the wrong direction, some just don't respond. I am fine with hand held meters also.
My MTL5 is rougher winding than the LTL3. The LTL3 is actually really smooth. I suspect it could be just the specific examples, or it may be due to small design changes over the years. I kind of like the cammed winding of the Prakticas (as well as the idea of the vertical travellling metal shutter).
Second, I want a built-in light meter: I don’t trust myself to rely on the sunny 16 rule, and I find it too fiddly to use an external meter.
I have heard the Spotmatics don't depend on voltage because of the type of bridge they use, so you may be fine. I will have to try some vinegar. Some of my Spotmatics respond, but got the wrong direction, some just don't respond. I am fine with hand held meters also.
I've found that if I am shooting during daylight hours using most all color negatives or b&w film that I don't even need a meter due to the excessively wide latitude of these films particularly on the overexposure side. Below shows what I mean using Kodak Portra 400 and Ektar 100 compared to the digis I had at the time I conducted the test. As you can see - even using RAW, the digis are unusable about +4 while Portra at +10 is completely usable with modest post work using WB and levels.
I love M42 cameras…
All M42 cameras beside the Bessaflex TM have some flaws. But it has a much higher price and will become more a collectors item…with some Zeiss ZS M42 lenses this is really an expensive alternative but then in competition with a FM3A or R6.2.
Having less costly alternatives in mind I would recommend the MTL50 or the Spotmatic SPII. The Pentax has much better quality and the better viewfinder (but not perfect), but the light meter usage is irritating. The MTL50 has very good ergonomics, LED light meter (in contrast to MTL5 and MTL3), but quite a dark viewfinder and a strong mirror slap. But you will not be wrong with both…
Thanks, that's really helpful! I didn't realise Portra was so forgiving - I figured it was a 'professional' emulsion, hence with less tolerance. Most of my cameras have meters that overexpose by 1 to 3 stops, which I compensate for with the ISO setting. I guess I should try compensating less. I also tend to shoot expired film, and had recently a couple of rolls come back badly underexposed, not sure if that was because I overcompensated or just the emulsion lost too much sensitivity...
I'm interested in Ricoh TLS 401: it seems to be on the heavy side (like Chinon CS?), but I can think of occasions when its viewfinder might be useful. Can you recommend it?
I’m bragging, but this is the best M42 kit on earth right now.
What makes the camera great is its recent complete overhaul and calibration. It’s the only 100% restored body I have right now. I bought a half dozen or so with the idea that I would fix them and get them out there. I spent a lot of time on a learning curve and I didn’t want it to just be so I could fix my own camera… but that’s where I am now.
How is your ES II working out for you? I occasionally consider buying one but have not acted yet. Is the viewfinder brighter than the original Spotmatic?
I’m bragging, but this is the best M42 kit on earth right now.
What makes the camera great is its recent complete overhaul and calibration. It’s the only 100% restored body I have right now. I bought a half dozen or so with the idea that I would fix them and get them out there. I spent a lot of time on a learning curve and I didn’t want it to just be so I could fix my own camera… but that’s where I am now.
Vivitar made an adapter for its TX interchangeable mount lenses for the Fuji ST-series cameras that includes a meter coupling tab for open aperture metering.
I guess it must be a combination of me overcompensating for the meter and underrating film degradation. One was ORWO 27, some 30 years old, which I rated at ISO 160, but probably that was too optimistic. The other was Ilford XP2, which was just past its expiration date, so I shot it at its nominal ISO 400. I guess I need to try again with a more reliable camera.I believe badly underexposed negatives must be meter related. Generally, shutter speeds on manual cameras tend to get slower and not faster and minilab scans tend to overexpose so this combination should result in lighter images.
I don't know how expired your films are but I picked up a box of Kodak Ektar 125 that's been sitting out in a hot Atlanta, Georgia open driveway for almost 20 years and shot an initial roll to see what the current speed was.
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I don't know what the CS weighs but the TLS401 is heavy at 787g compared to the Spotmatic F at 639g. I have tried the top viewer and you will have to put your eye closer and it does crop a bit all the way around the frame compared to the eyelevel view.
You might be better served with an adapter like the OM Varimagni Finder if it fits your camera. I've found it to fit quite a few of my cameras of various brands/models.
I had a Fujica in the 1970s, it was a very nice camera. I use mostly Fuji optics on my large format cameras these days.
I suggest that by nowM42 cameras are hopelessly outdated. Some are are a bargain (Praktika) but most are low-tech bricks. In today's market You are much better off with a 2nd-hand name-brand prosumer camera such as Nikon, Olympus just to name a couple. Forget M42 and move on!
I suggest that by nowM42 cameras are hopelessly outdated. Some are are a bargain (Praktika) but most are low-tech bricks. In today's market You are much better off with a 2nd-hand name-brand prosumer camera such as Nikon, Olympus just to name a couple. Forget M42 and move on!
I had the Ricoh 401, well built, the waist level finder, I found it rather dim, don't recall that I ever used it. I much preferred my Spotmatic or newer Chinon. Not mentioned much is the Vivitar Xc 2 and 4, made by Cosina, the Xc2 has both average and spot metering.
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