What's your latest new old camera ? (Part 2)

r-brian · May 20, 2016

Picked up a Contaflex Super today at Goodwill, $35. It's in beautiful condition after being kept in its ERC all its life. The meter is responsive but haven't checked it for accuracy yet. The shutter was sticking at 1 sec when I first tried it, but after about 15 minutes of dry firing at all the speeds, 1 sec is working, but at about 1 1/2 sec. But then, why would I try and shoot it at 1 sec anyway. Even had the Zeiss collapsable rubber hood in good condition. I will keep my Contaflex III company.

Ricardo Miranda · May 20, 2016

Nice story John. But a lot of mutilations around.
I like my cameras to be as original as possible and with all the wrinkles of old age. Not abuse, but use and care.
Good luck!

elcabezagrande · May 20, 2016

Leica II (Model D) by Mike Novak, on Flickr

Ashfaque · May 20, 2016

Zeiss Ikon Nettar 518/16 (Novar 75mm f/3.5) from Tom. It's coming all the way from USA to BD. I can't wait!

cooltouch · May 21, 2016

CMoore said:
You got all of that for 250.?
I paid that for (very nice condition) F3 body a year ago.
What a deal...!!
What a beast...!!
It seems that was, kind of, the tipping point for film cameras.
The cameras got Faster/More Complex.....but they never got "better".
Nice way to get a body cap.

Yeah, when the guy made me the offer, I just couldn't say no. I think he had inherited the gear and just wanted to see it gone, plus I got the impression he was somewhat desperate for the cash. Everything is as clean as it looks in the photo too. The "body cap" is currently residing on a minty EL2, whose pic I posted here a few pages back.

Ranssu · May 21, 2016

Zeiss Ikon Contessa (works but might benefit from CLA) and 645 Zeiss Ikon Ikonta 521 with Tessar lens and Compur Rapid shutter.

4season · May 21, 2016

Yashica Microtec Zoom 70 wasn't new old-stock as hoped, but maybe a demo unit or customer return which was reboxed then forgotten about until recently when I found it at my neighborhood camera store:

But the Zenit KM Plus was. Serial number indicates 2005 manufacture, maybe one of the very last Zenit SLRs.

cuthbert · May 22, 2016

4season said:
But the Zenit KM Plus was. Serial number indicates 2005 manufacture, maybe one of the very last Zenit SLRs.

That is interesting, I heard about that camera but never seen one in life, how is it? As bad as it looks?

On my side I was finally able to find one of the most importand accessories for my F-1Ns:

Why are these cases so scarce?

Europan · May 22, 2016

A SEM véronic

Don’t buy such a camera!
I have purchased mine only for research purposes. Like with Independence Day I was curious to learn about the innards of the alien. It’s not worth any effort. Am going to publish a detailed description on the Filmvorführerforum soon.

fstop · May 22, 2016

black SRT -202,chrome SRT- 101 w/mlu

MattKing · May 22, 2016

cuthbert said:
That is interesting, I heard about that camera but never seen one in life, how is it? As bad as it looks?

On my side I was finally able to find one of the most importand accessories for my F-1Ns:

Why are these cases so scarce?

Because most of them have deteriorated into a shabby mess.

And because fitted cases are no longer "in style".

That one looks to be pristine!

fstop · May 22, 2016

They weren't called "Never Ready cases for a reason. Although cameras that spent their life in one don't get banged up as easy.

Theo Sulphate · May 22, 2016

4season said:
...
But the Zenit KM Plus was. Serial number indicates 2005 manufacture, maybe one of the very last Zenit SLRs.

How do you like it?

Without a scale reference, the shape reminds me of my Pentax Auto 110.

TheToadMen · May 22, 2016

Theo Sulphate said:
How do you like it?

Without a scale reference, the shape reminds me of my Pentax Auto 110.

I had that thought too.

cuthbert · May 22, 2016

MattKing said:
Because most of them have deteriorated into a shabby mess.

And because fitted cases are no longer "in style".

That one looks to be pristine!

It's strange because while finding a case for a F1 old is not a problem the ones for the F1N seems incredibly scarce. This one looks like it's made of the same material of the one I have for the old model, and it's real leather, quite supple, not as good as the shiny black hardened Nikon F2 cases or the pebbled Pentax ones but still more than decent.

The reason why they are so rare is a mystery to me, perhaps the F1N owners didn't use them because the winder and motordrive were popular?

dosilverhalide · May 22, 2016

Nikon FTn, 50mm F 1.4 lens for 25 dollars at the flea market. Has a little brassing on it. The man who sold it said his father gave it to him, and that the father had his own darkroom at one time in the past. It's an early model with all metal film advance, and straight head screws. Bought is at ten this morning, already shot a short roll through it, and all good exposures. J

cooltouch · May 22, 2016

cuthbert said:
It's strange because while finding a case for a F1 old is not a problem the ones for the F1N seems incredibly scarce. This one looks like it's made of the same material of the one I have for the old model, and it's real leather, quite supple, not as good as the shiny black hardened Nikon F2 cases or the pebbled Pentax ones but still more than decent.

The reason why they are so rare is a mystery to me, perhaps the F1N owners didn't use them because the winder and motordrive were popular?

Perhaps. I think it is also just as likely that most of the people who bought the New F-1 were working pros or serious amateurs, neither of which had any use for a never-ready case. I know I dispensed with mine as soon as I got serious about photography.

Most never-ready cases for FD Canons that I come across were made from that pressed paper product and have completely deteriorated by now. But every once in a while I come across a real leather one. I have one for a FTb made from leather that looks just like the other FTb cases I've seen that have totally deteriorated, but obviously it's still in nice shape. Don't have any use for it, though. But I've often wondered, what, were leather cases available as an option, or were they indeed leather for some years and not for the rest? I've run across this same thing with Oly OM-1 cases too.

John_Nikon_F · May 23, 2016

cooltouch said:
Perhaps. I think it is also just as likely that most of the people who bought the New F-1 were working pros or serious amateurs, neither of which had any use for a never-ready case. I know I dispensed with mine as soon as I got serious about photography.

Most never-ready cases for FD Canons that I come across were made from that pressed paper product and have completely deteriorated by now. But every once in a while I come across a real leather one. I have one for a FTb made from leather that looks just like the other FTb cases I've seen that have totally deteriorated, but obviously it's still in nice shape. Don't have any use for it, though. But I've often wondered, what, were leather cases available as an option, or were they indeed leather for some years and not for the rest? I've run across this same thing with Oly OM-1 cases too.

On the Nikon side, all the pro bodies had either hard leather, soft leather, semi-soft vinyl or leather. The consumer cameras went from hard leather and semi-soft vinyl to the vinyl coated paper stuff with a felt lining in the mid-'70s. Case in point, the CTM case for the Nikomat/Nikkormat FS, FT, and FTn got replaced by the CH-6 for the FT2 and FT3 bodies. No difference in shape, since the FT2 and FT3 aren't much different in size than the FTn, which means that the newer bodies fit quite comfortably in an older hard leather case. For that matter, if you slot the hole for the mounting screw on the case bottom so it can slide backward, you can then take the MD-4 off your F3HP, and slide it into the Nikkormat case. It's a little tight around the F3's handgrip, but the case is otherwise a perfect fit for an F3. That way, you don't have to pay the CF-20/22 premium for a leather neveready case for an F3 or F3HP body.

-J

4season · May 23, 2016

Theo Sulphate said:
How do you like it?

It seems so simple and lacking in amenities compared to any number of N, C, P and L SLRs I've used over the years, and yet how many companies outside of Japan ever attempted such a relatively modern auto-loading design? Lots of details a person could grumble about, but the fact that it exists at all is probably a small miracle. Got it loaded with film and will be carrying it with me this week.

John_Nikon_F · May 23, 2016

FM2n arrived. Back to square one. Apparently, someone had some impact damage on their 780xxxx-781xxxx FM2n and had a top cover swap done. I remember this camera now. Think it was being sold by the 168and328 seller on eBay a while back. I'm going to pop a battery in and see how the meter works, then figure out what to price it for. It'll be listed here later tonight for probably less than what I paid for it.

-J

ColColt · May 23, 2016

Got a Nikon S2 rangefinder with 50 f1.4 S-C lens coming tomorrow.

cuthbert · May 23, 2016

4season said:
It seems so simple and lacking in amenities compared to any number of N, C, P and L SLRs I've used over the years, and yet how many companies outside of Japan ever attempted such a relatively modern auto-loading design? Lots of details a person could grumble about, but the fact that it exists at all is probably a small miracle. Got it loaded with film and will be carrying it with me this week.

Show us some pics and tell us your experience.

I have few Zenits, a 12XP that is a decently finished yet bare to bone camera, and two 19 (better one, the other I had had an accident while I was moving and now it's not operative anymore) and I must admit I kinda like it.

I was attracted by the last of the line but to be honest I've seen a quality drop from the traditional metal Zenit tank to the plastic 122 to the more plastic 212, 312, 412 etc...etc...

This one looks ehm, ugly but perhaps it's a capable camera.

poppaneedsanap · May 23, 2016

Everyone knows I love camera, so I'm constantly getting freebies thrown my way. A Praktica LTL w/ Helios 44 and a Zenit are the most recent. Also got a giant box of random lenses, 60's 8mm movie cameras and a small chinese student enlarger..

Ricardo Miranda · May 24, 2016

Got an early OM-1 MD at Photographica, London.
IT comes with its Zuiko 50mm /1.8 silver nose and case.
Also a Macro Zuiko 50mm /3.5 and a nice Auto-zoom Zuiko 35-70mm /3.6.

WP_20160524_16_37_08_Pro by Ricardo Miranda, on Flickr

John_Nikon_F · May 25, 2016

^Nice. That said, unless you're planning to shoot flash with it, I'd remove the shoe and put it into storage where you can find it when you need it. The OM-1/1n, OM-2/2n, like the Nikkormat FT, FS, and FTn, look much nicer and sleeker without a shoe threaded on.

-J

What's your latest new old camera ? (Part 2)

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