I'm still on the quest for a perfect m42 body, or rather, having realised there is no such thing as a perfect all-around m42 camera, I'm looking into the best options for specific uses. For shooting slide film, an accurate and reliable spot (or rather partial) meter seems to be a top priority. Which native m42 options are there? First, there's the Ricoh TLS401: I don't have one and don't know how good its meter is, but it weighs a ton and is relatively rare and expensive. Second, there are the Mamiyas (DTL, DSX): I got a DSX almost for free, but haven't tried it so far (its meter behaves weirdly), and anyway it's heavier than I like. Finally, there's the Cosina CSR / Vivitar XC-2 / Porst Compact SP: I have a Cosina branded one, and this would be the perfect m42 body (it's small and has an excellent viewfinder), but it has corroded contacts (it works for a while after being tampered with, but then dies again), and anyway its electronically controlled shutter is known to be unreliable, and I've also read its meter isn't that accurate. Am I missing anything out? So far, my best option seems to be either having the CSR repaired or getting another one, but they are fairly rare and, as mentioned, apparently unreliable. I'd love to hear though if you have a positive experience with this model.
This seems to exhaust native m42 options, but if I can get a good spot meter, I'm willing to consider losing the auto-aperture function with m42 lenses. What do we have here? I lucked out on a Canon T70 (actually two of them) in a job lot, and it's great in some ways (it's got a huge viewfinder and is fairly light, though not small), but it's made of plastic and can only be used in aperture priority mode with m42 lenses (this isn't a bad thing per se, but I seem to prefer manual mode). I've read good things about Contax S2 and Olympus OM-3/4, but both cost rather a lot more than I'm prepared to pay (not sure actually if m42 lenses can be adapted on OM bodies?). There's a Miranda model with spot metering, but it's quite heavy too (i.e. like a Mamiya DSX). That's it, more or less, as far as I could figure out, but I'd love to be proven wrong!
So, my requirements are: (1) compatible with m42 lenses (with infinity); (2) compact (no bigger than a Spotmatic); (3) reliable (esp. as concerns the meter); (4) preferably metal and mechanical; (5) cheap. I'll be hugely grateful for any recommendations!
This seems to exhaust native m42 options, but if I can get a good spot meter, I'm willing to consider losing the auto-aperture function with m42 lenses. What do we have here? I lucked out on a Canon T70 (actually two of them) in a job lot, and it's great in some ways (it's got a huge viewfinder and is fairly light, though not small), but it's made of plastic and can only be used in aperture priority mode with m42 lenses (this isn't a bad thing per se, but I seem to prefer manual mode). I've read good things about Contax S2 and Olympus OM-3/4, but both cost rather a lot more than I'm prepared to pay (not sure actually if m42 lenses can be adapted on OM bodies?). There's a Miranda model with spot metering, but it's quite heavy too (i.e. like a Mamiya DSX). That's it, more or less, as far as I could figure out, but I'd love to be proven wrong!
So, my requirements are: (1) compatible with m42 lenses (with infinity); (2) compact (no bigger than a Spotmatic); (3) reliable (esp. as concerns the meter); (4) preferably metal and mechanical; (5) cheap. I'll be hugely grateful for any recommendations!