Miranda D 1960

[Svenedin]

I was having a tidy up today looking for stuff. I have a bedroom devoted to junk I really should get rid of. I was actually looking for 2 things, a Ferrograph power cable and a particular OM lens. Anyway, I found my father's Miranda D in a bedside locker. I thought this was long gone. Seems in immaculate condition in ever-ready case. Shutter works. I think it is going to have an outing on Monday during lunch break at work. I will post some pictures later. Quite excited. Very strange to see an SLR with waist level finder.

 

[Paul Howell]

Until the last Miranda the Dx all bodies had interchangeable finders, even the entry level RE. The 50 mm lens are very good, if your has the original lens it should be a 50 2.8 pre set or a 50 1.9 auto Soligar.

 

[Svenedin]

I just spoke to my mother about it. Aparrently, both my grandfathers were absolutely disgusted that my father had bought a Japanese camera and it was something of a forbidden, horror item. I will post pictures with the electric pixel camera built into my mobile telephone.

 

[Svenedin]

I have used a finder like this years ago. I had a Mamiya C330. I could never really get anything in proper focus. I will run a roll through this camera but the chances of me being able to focus accurately are slim. My eyesight is just too bad. I could not focus at all until I used the focus magnifier and then the split prism seems useful.

 

[Svenedin]

Eventually managed to work out how to post photos despite having done it before!

 

[mesantacruz]

First time I see one of those. I like it, looking forward to some photos taken by it!

 

[Svenedin]

First time I see one of those. I like it, looking forward to some photos taken by it!

You will see some photos! Shutter works, I've just given it a clean. Does not seem to have any problems.

 

[TheToadMen]

Nice looking camera. And knowing it belonged to your father makes it even more special. I too have the old camera my father bought in the 1960's I guess. Looking forward to your photos.

Enjoy yourself!

Bert from Holland

 

[cb1]

nice! My 90+ year old neighbor gave me his Miranda F. It takes some really nice pictures. I had it CLA'd and no issues to report.

 

[Konical]

Good Afternoon, Svenedin,

You should have no trouble finding a standard Miranda pentaprism finder at a very favorable price. The one you're showing on the camera is handy, however, for copy work. Used properly, the Miranda you have should give results that are of virtually the same quality as those from better-known (and more expensive) brands.

Konical

 

[Svenedin]

Thank you Konical. A bit more searching through boxes has revealed a number of focussing screens but no pentaprism. It would appear that my father found this awkward as well. I have also discovered that the lens filter thread is 40.5mm. Handy as I have a full set of such filters for another camera!

I am packing for the working week (I always work away from home) and the Miranda is going in the bag along with a light meter.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

This is a treasure. Perhaps your father wanted you to have it, so he saved it rather than sell it. Had you shown any interest in photography back then?

I love stories like this.


Miranda info on the net:

http://www.mirandacamera.com/_modelid/modelid.htm

 

[Svenedin]

Hello Theo. Yes, I have loved cameras and all things mechanical since I was tiny. I do not remember the Miranda though and I do not think I have ever even seen it. My father used to carry a Minox in his pocket but rarely used an SLR. I do have boxes of slides that my mother tells me he took on this Miranda. It so happens that many of the photographs were taken locally. One box of slides is of some lovely rhododendron gardens (colour slides). I still go to that place and the rhododendrons are every bit as good in the Spring now as they were in 1962.

Thanks for the info.

Must remember that this is not an "auto" lens. Changing the aperture ring does not stop the lens down unless the lever is operated to close the lens to the set aperture.

Attached is a picture of my father on holiday in Italy taken in 1962. The camera case is on the ground. A very dirty slide that I could clean up on the computer if I knew how to do it.

Another picture is my grandmother out for a Sunday walk after lunch. Springtime 1962 when my father was playing with his new camera! (this Miranda D)

Last one is at a campsite in Italy. My mother with the DKW (the "Deek"). The only other DKW of this model I have ever seen was in the Science museum in Munich.

(Kodak Kodachrome slides)

 

[Svenedin]

Camera is loaded and ready for action.........first time a film has been in that camera in nearly 50 years. Poor old thing.

 

[Paul Howell]

I believe the Soligar 50mm 2.8 is a 5 element tessar style lens, quite good for the day. Other Soligoar lens to look for a D are the 135mm 3.5, one of the best of that time, I think it was a rebranded Petri or Kowa, the other is the 35mm 2.8, I dont recall who made it. Miranda designed some lens others were re branded 3rd party lens. Some sources state that towards the end AIG, the American owners of Miranda, made lens, other state that all Miranda lens were outsourced. Miranda offered a limited number lens, I have almost complete collection in EE mounts all of which were sharp with good contrast.

 

[Svenedin]

Thank you. Looking through my father's slides it appears he had trouble focussing this camera. There is also a box of various focussing screens which supports this view. The decent pictures were taken in bright light; either the increased depth of field was more forgiving or the lens behaved better stopped down (or both).

 

[Paul Howell]

With a preset lens when working in low light the lens needs to manually opened up to 2.8 then stopped down to working aperture. True of most cameras of the 35mm viewfinders of the time were not that bright, using a waist level finder might be even more dim. The waist level on my EE seems to me as dimmer than the eye level or critical focus finders, the EEs do not have interchangeable focusing screens and come with split image rangefinder as normal. Other factors of course is that Miranda did not have mirror lock up, so shooting in low light at low speeds can result in camera shake.

 

[Svenedin]

The waist level finder brightness seems reasonable but very alien to me as I am not used to it. There is magnifier which makes things easier. I will have to see how some photos turn out.

 

[Svenedin]

I went out during my lunch break and took a few photos today. The camera was quite awkward for me to use. The waist level finder was usable for landscape orientation photos but for portrait orientation it really confused me. Looking through a waist level finder when trying to line up a vertical photo is not easy (especially with the left-right inversion). Focussing is reasonable if the flip up magnifier is used but then this has to be flipped back down to check composition. Then the lens has to be stopped down to the preset aperture. If the aperture is small then the viewfinder is so dim it is hard to check if the camera hasn't moved slightly.

The various shutter speeds seemed to work but I will not know if the speeds are at all accurate until I process the film. I noticed that the film wind lever must be moved through the full travel or the shutter does not cock properly.

The frame counter seems to have a mind of its own and essentially function as a random number generator between 0 and 36.

Quite fun but a challenge.........When I have a chance I am going to have a search at home to see if there is a pentaprism. I don't think there is but then again I did not even know I had this camera.

 

[Paul Howell]

I agree, although I like a waist level on a TLR or 6X6 SLR, but I also found waist level to be odd on a 35mm. I had a waist level for a Nikon F when I was a working PJ, only time I used was for overhead shots in a crowd. Miranda parts show up on American ebay, for that matter you can buy another D with a eye level finder, the Ds are rather inexpensive.

 

[Svenedin]

Well it ate the film rather fast. There's no way that I took 36 shots but the film is finished. It really was finished, would not wind on further and seemed to rewind enough for a full film. Might have taken 15 perhaps. Something wrong with the film counter/spacing. Will see what happened later this week when I have a chance to dev the film.

 

[Svenedin]

I have developed the film. I DID take 36 shots. They appear to have come out OK. I am not sure what is wrong with the frame counter.