Topcon SuperDM K mount, the camera that could have been?

[Paul Howell]

Topcon made one body in a Kmount, the RM300, a RE300 with K mount lens. Soon afterwards Topcon got out of the camera business. What if Topcon had upgraded the SuperDM to K mount, added a shutter with 1/2000 of a second along with an adaptor to use Re lens on the K mount body? Light meter built into the body, interchangeable focusing screens, motor drive and winder. Nikon F2 or Pentax LX.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Hmm. Exakta/Topcon mount's register is 44.7 mm. K-mount's register is 45.46 mm. RE Topcon lenses can't be adapted to K-mount body.

 

[Oren Grad]

Topcon did not manufacture the RM 300 - it was just a re-badge of a camera sold under several other names. They were already throwing in the towel at that point after a long decline in their credibility as a serious competitor in the 35mm market . Even aside from the mount register problem, at that point there was no plausible scenario that would have justified the investment required to bring a new high-end model to market.

EDIT: One final point - by the time the RM 300 came along, the Canon New F-1, Nikon F3 and Pentax LX were under development - all three were brought to market in 1980-81. In the context of where the market was going at that point, a warmed-over Super DM would have been obsolete the moment it hit the street.

 

[dynachrome]

From what I have read, the RE200, RE300 and later variants were made by CIMA KOGAKU. The same goes for the 55/1.7 which came with them. The 55 will fit the older Topcon RE series cameras bur the 58/1.4 Topcor will not mount on these later cameras. A part f the rear of the lens sticks out to protect the rear element in case the lens is placed rear element down. The 55 is not a bad lens but I prefer the older 58/1.8. I still sometimes use my older Topcon cameras, usually with a hand held meter. In 1963 an SLR with TTL full aperture metering was an interesting and useful thing. It's surprising how well some of these old RE Super/Super DM cameras still work, at least their shutters work. The connection between the mirror mounted meter and the battery was a weak point. You were still dealing with a horizontal cloth shutter with a slow flash synch speed. Olympus was a hold-out with its horizontal cloth shutter and 1/2000 top shutter speed but the trend was toward vertical shutters with higher top speeds and higher flash synch speeds. While the RE Super/Super DM was still being made, Topcon also made the RE2/D-1, which had a vertical metal shutter. I think there was more potential in developing that model, maybe with a higher top shutter speed and a silicon meter cell. One day I might get an RE300 with the winder to round out the collection.