What makes the perfect m42 SLR? There are quite a few variables, and different users will have different priorities: (1) size and weight, (2) shutter (cloth vs metal, max. and min. speed), (3) light metering and automation, (4) batteries (1.3 vs 1.5v.), (5) viewfinder (brightness, type of focussing screen), (6) general quality and reliability; perhaps a few others. I’ve only been into film photography for less than a year, so I’m presenting what I’ve discovered so far in order to find out what I’ve missed — please do share your thoughts. Perhaps this also might be useful to someone just starting out.
So, what are my priorities? First of all, I’m sticking to m42, at least for the time being. 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. Third, I want the auto-diaphragm function — except for preset lenses. Fourth, the camera must not be a brick — anything heavier than a Spotmatic must have something special to justify the weight. Fifth, reliability — but this is something I cannot say much about: my cameras mostly either work or don’t, and I usually can live with shutter speeds and the light meter being somewhat off (and I have yet to regret not replacing light seals); I don’t have enough statistics to give recommendations. In general, I want the camera to feel nice in hands and be easy to use.
For me, cameras fall into three main groups, requiring three different modes of shooting.
(1) The first (and most numerous) group is mechanical with stop-down metering. You need to press a lever to close the lens down and activate the meter; then you need to adjust shutter speed and lens aperture manually. This gives you the most control, but also takes the most effort. The clear bonus is that typically this kind of camera will accept almost any m42 lenses with auto-diaphragm.
The usual contenders in this group are pre-F Spotmatics and Fujicas ST701 and ST605. Spotmatics are overall great (and often come with nice genuine-leather ever-ready cases), but their stop-down levers are to my taste rather inferior to Fujicas’ stop-down buttons. Of the two Fujicas, ST605 has the brighter viewfinder with a split-prism focussing screen, but only has a top speed of 1/700 of a second. I might slightly prefer my ST701 over my SPII. Another contender in this category that could probably win is Bessaflex TM (which I don’t have) — but it’s far too expensive.
Early Chinons (CS, CX) and their numerous siblings and/or reincarnations under different brand names are often recommended; they are not bad, and in my limited experience their metal shutters are more reliable than cloth ones, but they are just far too heavy. There is, however, a late plastic model (Chinon CS-4) that is more compact and much lighter — it’d be good for travelling (I have one, but its top shutter speeds are broken).
I’ve read good things about Yashica TL Electro-X and Mamiya DTL, but both seem to be heavier than the Spotmatics — I’d like to try them out, but am not sure they have enough to justify the extra weight. Would appreciate any thoughts on these. I’m passing over Zenits (viewfinder too dim) and Prakticas (not solid enough).
A subgroup of their own is formed by Chinon CM-3 (more compact and lighter than the earlier models) and Cosina CSM (CSL, CSR). Unlike the typical stop-down SLR, they don’t have a separate lever but are stopped down by half-pressing the shutter release button, which is rather more convenient — I’m surprised there aren’t more cameras that do that (or are there?). I like the Chinon, and it could be my favourite in this category — but it has a ‘harsh’ film-advance lever and shutter-release button. The Cosina is tiny and light (and plastic), and with a nice viewfinder, but it has an electronically controlled shutter, which seems prone to breaking down.
(2) The second group are cameras with open-aperture metering: you can meter without stopping the lens down, but set speed and aperture manually. This makes the operation easier, but the downside is that open-aperture metering only works with modified m42 lenses, specific for each brand.
Again, the principal contenders are Spotmatic F and Fujica ST801 (and ST705). In fact, however, there is no competition (though ST801 is smaller, has a brighter viewfinder and a top speed of 1/2000 of a second), since the Spotmatic will only work properly with dedicated Takumars and the Fujicas with dedicated Fujinons (and both with Adaptalls with appropriate converters). Both S-M-C Takumars and EBC Fujinons are excellent lenses, so it is worth getting an SP-F and a ST801 to use with them. Both cameras can operate in stop-down mode with ‘generic’ m42 lenses. Does this mean that they supersede the simpler stop-down models? Not for me: the risk of forgetting to stop down a ‘generic’ lens is too high, I find a stop-down body a safer option.
Another camera with open-aperture metering is Olympus FTL, which came with a dedicated line of m42 Zuiko lenses. I’d love to have a working set, but both the camera and the lenses are rather rare and expensive.
Other companies too produced their versions of cameras with open-aperture metering (Mamiya DSX, Praktica VLC; am I missing anything out?), but they have the same shortcomings (and perhaps others).
(3) In the third group I put cameras with aperture-priority auto-exposure: you set aperture, the camera decides on shutter speed. Again, here we have Asahi and Fuji cameras: three (?) versions of Electro Spotmatic and Fujicas ST901 and AZ — which likewise only function properly with the same dedicated lenses. I got an AZ as a ‘lens cap’, and I’m debating whether an ES or an ST901 would really be worth it, given their limitations.
Here, again, Chinons are a class of their own: CE, CE-II and CE-3 Memotrons offer aperture-priority auto-exposure with any m42 lenses. They come close to being the ultimate m42 SLRs, but not quite. The CE-3 is about the weight of a Spotmatic, but has the same ‘tense’ (can’t think of a better word) operation as the CM-3 (and only a top speed of 1/1000 of a second). The earlier Memotrons are smoother and have a top speed of 1/2000 of a second (unsurpassed in an m42 body, as far as I’m aware), but are they heavy!
One last group I’ll briefly mention are non-m42 cameras that can take m42 lenses with adapters. K-mount bodies are often recommended, but as I pointed out at the beginning, I find auto-diaphragm too convenient a feature to trade it off by abandoning native m42 bodies. Apparently Mamiya Auto XTL and Fujica X series cameras can preserve the auto-diaphragm function with special adapters (any other models?), but they don’t seem to offer any serious advantages over native m42 bodies. As I also noted, there is an exception — preset lenses have no auto-diaphragm, so it seems like a good idea to use them on a small K-mount body in auto-exposure mode. The other day I got a Pentax ME Super, which is even smaller than Cosina CSM (the smallest m42 camera?), has auto-exposure and a top speed of 1/2000 of a second (haven’t tried it yet).
So, what’s my favourite m42 camera? I can’t decide: none is quite as perfect as to make all others redundant. If I want to shoot ‘generic’ m42 lenses in manual mode, I would reach for my SPII, ST701 or CM-3; I’d also like to have working copies of CSR and CS-4, which are smaller and lighter than the classic-era bodies, and I couldn’t resist a Bessaflex if I were offered one for a fraction of its current price. If I want to shoot in auto-exposure mode, I’d go for the CE-3 or, if top speed is of the essence, CE (or ME Super, with preset lenses). If I’m using S-M-C Takumars or EBC Fujinons, then the SP-F or ST801 are the go-to options; I’d also like to have a working FTL with a set of Zuiko lenses. There are of course other variables as well, for instance some of my cameras I know to have more accurate light meters — I would use these if shooting slides.
Does one actually need so many cameras? Well, no. A Spotmatic, an ST801, or a CE-3 in good working order would be enough for most uses. But it’s fun to try them out, and perhaps one day I’ll be able to slim down to just three or four bodies. In the meantime, I’d love to hear if you are aware of any interesting cameras I haven’t come across yet!
So, what are my priorities? First of all, I’m sticking to m42, at least for the time being. 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. Third, I want the auto-diaphragm function — except for preset lenses. Fourth, the camera must not be a brick — anything heavier than a Spotmatic must have something special to justify the weight. Fifth, reliability — but this is something I cannot say much about: my cameras mostly either work or don’t, and I usually can live with shutter speeds and the light meter being somewhat off (and I have yet to regret not replacing light seals); I don’t have enough statistics to give recommendations. In general, I want the camera to feel nice in hands and be easy to use.
For me, cameras fall into three main groups, requiring three different modes of shooting.
(1) The first (and most numerous) group is mechanical with stop-down metering. You need to press a lever to close the lens down and activate the meter; then you need to adjust shutter speed and lens aperture manually. This gives you the most control, but also takes the most effort. The clear bonus is that typically this kind of camera will accept almost any m42 lenses with auto-diaphragm.
The usual contenders in this group are pre-F Spotmatics and Fujicas ST701 and ST605. Spotmatics are overall great (and often come with nice genuine-leather ever-ready cases), but their stop-down levers are to my taste rather inferior to Fujicas’ stop-down buttons. Of the two Fujicas, ST605 has the brighter viewfinder with a split-prism focussing screen, but only has a top speed of 1/700 of a second. I might slightly prefer my ST701 over my SPII. Another contender in this category that could probably win is Bessaflex TM (which I don’t have) — but it’s far too expensive.
Early Chinons (CS, CX) and their numerous siblings and/or reincarnations under different brand names are often recommended; they are not bad, and in my limited experience their metal shutters are more reliable than cloth ones, but they are just far too heavy. There is, however, a late plastic model (Chinon CS-4) that is more compact and much lighter — it’d be good for travelling (I have one, but its top shutter speeds are broken).
I’ve read good things about Yashica TL Electro-X and Mamiya DTL, but both seem to be heavier than the Spotmatics — I’d like to try them out, but am not sure they have enough to justify the extra weight. Would appreciate any thoughts on these. I’m passing over Zenits (viewfinder too dim) and Prakticas (not solid enough).
A subgroup of their own is formed by Chinon CM-3 (more compact and lighter than the earlier models) and Cosina CSM (CSL, CSR). Unlike the typical stop-down SLR, they don’t have a separate lever but are stopped down by half-pressing the shutter release button, which is rather more convenient — I’m surprised there aren’t more cameras that do that (or are there?). I like the Chinon, and it could be my favourite in this category — but it has a ‘harsh’ film-advance lever and shutter-release button. The Cosina is tiny and light (and plastic), and with a nice viewfinder, but it has an electronically controlled shutter, which seems prone to breaking down.
(2) The second group are cameras with open-aperture metering: you can meter without stopping the lens down, but set speed and aperture manually. This makes the operation easier, but the downside is that open-aperture metering only works with modified m42 lenses, specific for each brand.
Again, the principal contenders are Spotmatic F and Fujica ST801 (and ST705). In fact, however, there is no competition (though ST801 is smaller, has a brighter viewfinder and a top speed of 1/2000 of a second), since the Spotmatic will only work properly with dedicated Takumars and the Fujicas with dedicated Fujinons (and both with Adaptalls with appropriate converters). Both S-M-C Takumars and EBC Fujinons are excellent lenses, so it is worth getting an SP-F and a ST801 to use with them. Both cameras can operate in stop-down mode with ‘generic’ m42 lenses. Does this mean that they supersede the simpler stop-down models? Not for me: the risk of forgetting to stop down a ‘generic’ lens is too high, I find a stop-down body a safer option.
Another camera with open-aperture metering is Olympus FTL, which came with a dedicated line of m42 Zuiko lenses. I’d love to have a working set, but both the camera and the lenses are rather rare and expensive.
Other companies too produced their versions of cameras with open-aperture metering (Mamiya DSX, Praktica VLC; am I missing anything out?), but they have the same shortcomings (and perhaps others).
(3) In the third group I put cameras with aperture-priority auto-exposure: you set aperture, the camera decides on shutter speed. Again, here we have Asahi and Fuji cameras: three (?) versions of Electro Spotmatic and Fujicas ST901 and AZ — which likewise only function properly with the same dedicated lenses. I got an AZ as a ‘lens cap’, and I’m debating whether an ES or an ST901 would really be worth it, given their limitations.
Here, again, Chinons are a class of their own: CE, CE-II and CE-3 Memotrons offer aperture-priority auto-exposure with any m42 lenses. They come close to being the ultimate m42 SLRs, but not quite. The CE-3 is about the weight of a Spotmatic, but has the same ‘tense’ (can’t think of a better word) operation as the CM-3 (and only a top speed of 1/1000 of a second). The earlier Memotrons are smoother and have a top speed of 1/2000 of a second (unsurpassed in an m42 body, as far as I’m aware), but are they heavy!
One last group I’ll briefly mention are non-m42 cameras that can take m42 lenses with adapters. K-mount bodies are often recommended, but as I pointed out at the beginning, I find auto-diaphragm too convenient a feature to trade it off by abandoning native m42 bodies. Apparently Mamiya Auto XTL and Fujica X series cameras can preserve the auto-diaphragm function with special adapters (any other models?), but they don’t seem to offer any serious advantages over native m42 bodies. As I also noted, there is an exception — preset lenses have no auto-diaphragm, so it seems like a good idea to use them on a small K-mount body in auto-exposure mode. The other day I got a Pentax ME Super, which is even smaller than Cosina CSM (the smallest m42 camera?), has auto-exposure and a top speed of 1/2000 of a second (haven’t tried it yet).
So, what’s my favourite m42 camera? I can’t decide: none is quite as perfect as to make all others redundant. If I want to shoot ‘generic’ m42 lenses in manual mode, I would reach for my SPII, ST701 or CM-3; I’d also like to have working copies of CSR and CS-4, which are smaller and lighter than the classic-era bodies, and I couldn’t resist a Bessaflex if I were offered one for a fraction of its current price. If I want to shoot in auto-exposure mode, I’d go for the CE-3 or, if top speed is of the essence, CE (or ME Super, with preset lenses). If I’m using S-M-C Takumars or EBC Fujinons, then the SP-F or ST801 are the go-to options; I’d also like to have a working FTL with a set of Zuiko lenses. There are of course other variables as well, for instance some of my cameras I know to have more accurate light meters — I would use these if shooting slides.
Does one actually need so many cameras? Well, no. A Spotmatic, an ST801, or a CE-3 in good working order would be enough for most uses. But it’s fun to try them out, and perhaps one day I’ll be able to slim down to just three or four bodies. In the meantime, I’d love to hear if you are aware of any interesting cameras I haven’t come across yet!
