Best Of The Affordable Offbrand SLRS

[grat]

It's not really "off-brand", but the Konica Autoreflex T series (esp. the T3) seems to be a camera that's never really received the recognition it's due. Nigh indestructible, the lenses range from "good" to "holy crap that's sharp", and while it does use mercury batteries (although there are zinc-air batteries, and alkaline battery adapters available), it's only for the shutter-priority metering.

They aren't exactly easy to work on-- but they rarely need work, so it's not that bad.

 

[Paul Howell]

I use zinc air batteries in my T3 and 4, the 625 fits without an adaptor but it takes 2.

 

[radiant]

I mentioned this in other thread as well but Minolta Dynax - series. Really affordable & full of features. For example 500si.

 

[blockend]

I mentioned this in other thread as well but Minolta Dynax - series. Really affordable & full of features. For example 500si.

I don't think Minolta counts as off brand.

 

[radiant]

I don't think Minolta counts as off brand.

You don't think so, OK.

 

[blockend]

You don't think so, OK.

It depends how you cut the cake, and it's the OP's to cut, not mine. Based on sales and product recognition, I'm pretty confident Minolta is not "off brand" in the film photography world. In the digital domain, Minolta would certainly be exotic. Most Sony users would not see a connection.

 

[George Mann]

I mentioned this in other thread as well but Minolta Dynax - series. Really affordable & full of features. For example 500si.

If I bought a Minolta, it would probably be an XE.

 

[Paul Howell]

For off brand Minolta, from the Shanghai Camera factory, 60 and 70s licensed from Minolta MD mount Seagull Reflex DF

 

[Paul Howell]

On ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Seagull-Mi...709613?hash=item2f4d8f72ed:g:W3AAAOSw7HlfoFIm

 

[AgX]

What has been licenced? Just the mount, or more of the camera? I mean, are these copies of some Minolta models?

 

[Paul Howell]

As I understand it the camera is based on a early Minolta from Camerapeida.

The Seagull Reflex DF was a SLR camera body for 35mm film. It was the first of Seagull's series of SLR bodies with Minolta SR mount. It was cloned under license from Minolta from that company's SR-3, but developed further to have a mirror lock-up feature as first found in the SR-7. This proves that Chinese engineers didn't just copy! The body shape of the Seagull also differs from that of the Minolta model.
The camera was succeeded by the Seagull DF-1 in 1969 and later by a face-lifted version Seagull Seagull DF-2. Serial numbers of most DF-SLR-bodies began with '102-...'. Thus one variant even got this number as name, the Seagull DF-102b.


name variant Peafowl DF-1
image by Jim Wang (Image rights)

 

[blockend]

There aren't enough cameras named after avian species.