Last Manual 35mm SLR

macfred said:

IIRC this was about '92 but I can't find my source yet.



True, but on the other hand it's almost impossible to get any information about the Seagull line-up on the net.



Same here ! There was a -for me unknown- Zenit DF-2 also. On his page Guido Studer from Switzerland says : ... Zenit DF-2 Unautorisierter chinesischer Minolta X300-Nachbau, auch Seagull DF-2, ca. 1980 ... https://www.g-st.ch/privat/kameras/zenit.html

Here's another link to a -German language- forum discussion about 'non-Minolta' SLR's with the SD-bayonet and they mentioned the Seagull DF - series cameras too ... http://www.so-fo.de/t20560f94-Liste-aller-Nicht-Minolta-Gehaeuse-mit-SR-Bajonett.html

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reddesert said:

If (big if) you can get to Shanghai, the place to go to see Seagull cameras is the Shanghai Camera History Museum, 300 Anfu Lu (Anfu Road), 3rd floor. Free entry.
https://www.trip.com/travel-guide/shanghai/shanghai-camera-history-museum-91434/
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/soc...s-bygone-age-chinas-state-run-camera-industry
https://www.shine.cn/feature/travel/1812287385/

The museum is very professionally laid out and I would guess that it must have a webpage, but I can't find it easily with an English language search; perhaps it's only on a Chinese website.

There are a number of interesting things including an old manufacturing workbench with some boxes of Seagull TLR parts, in addtion to all the cameras in display boxes. Much of the display texts are translated into English. There are also some very rare things like examples of the Chinese
Hasselblad and Leica near-copies.

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BradS said:

The current production Leica MA is all mechanical and has no light meter and takes no battery. Hard to call it a beginner camera though.

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