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

[Theo Sulphate]

I haven't used my Canon EF yet. They are so beautiful, yet relatively few people know about them.

My latest is a Leicaflex SL.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

The unmarked Leica IIIc "K" arrived last week. It's only 37 units apart from it's brother on the right.

I'm guessing .223 and .35 Rem? As a sub-hobby, I love to collect and display cartridges.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I haven't used my Canon EF yet. They are so beautiful, yet relatively few people know about them.

My latest is a Leicaflex SL.

I have known about them for years, but in 135 and 120 I am a SLR guy not a Range Finder guy. Great cameras though.

 

[cuthbert]

 

[filmamigo]

I just pulled the trigger on a Pentax LX. I had a pristine LX with a set of viewfinders that I sold last year. I found the mint condition off-putting; too nice a camera to drag around and use heavily. This time I went for a clean but well-worn user. I look forward to making it my main 35mm body.

 

[flavio81]

I just pulled the trigger on a Pentax LX. I had a pristine LX with a set of viewfinders that I sold last year. I found the mint condition off-putting; too nice a camera to drag around and use heavily. This time I went for a clean but well-worn user. I look forward to making it my main 35mm body.

So true, i have many cameras that I'm afraid to use just because they're too mint. I don't use a vintage F-1 for this reason. I bought two new F-1s, one of them is the well-worn, and that one goes out without fear. My Nikon F2 stays at home only because it's in good shape and it's an "AS" model. I have a Zeiss Contessa 533/24 in perfect shape, and i don't want to take it outside!!

Congrats on the LX, very interesting camera.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

This thread has been so popular, the old one is broken, so let's start a new one.

What's your latest new old camera?

my third Hasselblad 501c Itwas in such good shape, I couldn't resist.Just looking at the trio is suh a joy.

 

[cuthbert]

Unsual L1/VL hybrid.

 

[Nodda Duma]

I just got a Nikon FA body and a Nikon FE in the mail today. The FA I'll keep and play with.

The FE was a "does not work, shutter jammed and mirror stuck up" special that I've already fixed and will turn around and sell so someone can enjoy it (already own a nice one).

Did that yesterday also with a Nikon FM. Easy things to fix.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Did that yesterday also with a Nikon FM. Easy things to fix.

I see that by profession you're an optical designer. Nice.

Are you self-taught in camera repair or did you have formal training?

 

[Nodda Duma]

I see that by profession you're an optical designer. Nice.

Are you self-taught in camera repair or did you have formal training?

Self-taught. I learn that way the best. I'm a mix of redneck and an engineer so seeing how mechanical things are supposed to work is easy. Even lens design was mostly self-taught (actually worked as a lens designer for 10 years before I went back to school for formal design courses). I was that way even before I bought a Fiat 124 Spyder as a teenager

Btw I think you were right on the 223 and the 35 REM.

 

[cuthbert]

I was that way even before I bought a Fiat 124 Spyder as a teenager

Great car! You had the 1.6 or 2 lt engine?

My first car was a 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider 1, the 124's main competitor.

I still have her carefully stored.

 

[Nodda Duma]

My first was a '74 with a 1800 cc engine and strong carb. Engine was great. Everything else I basically had to rebuild. I sold that and bought a low mileage '78 1800 which was my daily driver for ~15 years. That included 8 yrs in the Mojave desert although very anemic with the emissions control from that era. I actually bought a second Spyder out there..a 1976 with a 1981 engine 2.0L with fuel injection which pulled strong like the old '74. Maintenance was typical for a ~30 yr old car except additionally the Spyders always had gear symchros wearing out. I could still rebuild the transmission in my sleep. My daughters loved riding around in them (oldest was 4 at the time).

Had to let the Fiats go when we moved to New Hampshire. I've been without a project car for 4 years now and I miss having one. I think though I'll next get a classic muscle car, like a Chevelle SS or even a Chevy Nova with its bench seat so my wife can scoot over next to me when we go for a spin.

For now my tinkering itch is scratched by things like fixing up these Nikons, working in the darkroom, or playing with lens designs at home (i.e. not for my day job) like the ones I put up here and over on the LFF forum.

 

[flavio81]

Unsual L1/VL hybrid.

Love at first sight!! I'm in loveeeeee

 

[flavio81]

I just got a Nikon FA body and a Nikon FE in the mail today. The FA I'll keep and play with.

The FE was a "does not work, shutter jammed and mirror stuck up" special that I've already fixed and will turn around and sell so someone can enjoy it (already own a nice one). .

I have seen some broken FAs here, it seems that the electronics are fragile. While all Nikon FEs i've found were working just fine. For some reason I like the FE controls, layout and display much more than the FA.

For me, the FE was close to being a perfect camera! For me it would be perfect if it had the build quality of the Nikon F and the very same horizontal shutter of the F.

 

[Nodda Duma]

Yes I like the FE very much. I have one that is always loaded with B&W. I like the ability to see the needle and the reliability of the camera. It is why I recently purchased an FM3a (which I load with color).

I am kind of new to the Nikon system so I have been going through their historical cameras over the past couple of years. I hadn't had a chance to play with the FA and got a good deal on one so I grabbed it. As someone who has done a very great amount of field testing in my career, I can appreciate all of the work by the Nikon engineers that went into designing the matrix metering. I want to see how it works.

OH.. I should mention that my photography has always been with older cameras and that I never really went digital other than point-and-shoot (a Leica C-Lux 3 because the color balance is perfect and my smart phone). Too much characterization of CCD and CMOS focal plane arrays at work during the digital revolution made me not want to have anything to do with digital photography as a hobby. I was already sick of digital pictures even as the general public woke up to it. So I never experienced the matrix metering and other features that came along in the 90s and through to today.

I am with you in that I don't like the LED displays either. I also notice that the top plate is not drawn brass but rather chrome-coated plastic (as far as I can tell). I'm sure this is not as resistant to environmental conditions, which reduces the life of the electronics.

I'll add some pictures of the camera in a sec.

Here it is with a fun lens

 

[flavio81]

You want to know how Matrix Metering works? It's the work of the devil. No better meter than your judgement + a spot or "partial" meter.

 

[Nodda Duma]

You want to know how Matrix Metering works? It's the work of the devil. No better meter than your judgement + a spot or "partial" meter.

Haha. My wife would argue that the only time I ever had good judgement was when I married her!

 

[cuthbert]

Love at first sight!! I'm in loveeeeee

I'm suprised Flavio, a fanatic Kwanonista like you is not familiar with the Canon rangefinders from mkI to mkVII?

Here there is some material for you:

https://www.cameraquest.com/crfl1bl.htm

This is a 1958 late L-1 production model with many features of its replacement, the VL, all members of the prolific (and ofter changing) mkV family:

https://www.cameraquest.com/crfvt.htm

I'm already the more or less lucky owner of a 7s, one of the last of the MkVII family, here you can see the crazy glass that was available for these cameras, including the Canon S 50mm f0.95, the fastest lens EVER produced..and yes it was a Canon, not a Nikon!

https://www.cameraquest.com/crflen.htm

 

[TheToadMen]

Haha. My wife would argue that the only time I ever had good judgement was when I married her!

And what was het brightest moment? :

 

[dynachrome]

A chrome Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic IIa. Now I just have to find the right Strobonar to go with it.

 

[cuthbert]

 

[Peter Simpson]

(deleted)

 

[OptiKen]

Exakta VX
Appears to function properly although I have not checked the shutter speed for accuracy yet.
'Bright work' chrome isn't so bright anymore....much of the luster has simply worn away.
I may look for another one that doesn't work but has pretty bright work and make a working AND pretty camera if I can find one for a song
I wanted this camera primarily for the slow speeds it has down to 12 seconds

 

[Per Bostrom]

My latest old camera is actually one of the youngest I have. A Pentax Z1/PZ1. I am a long time Pentax user (ESII, Spotmatic, K2, Kx etc,) but I purchased the Z1 (cheap, cheap) when I was given a couple of af lenses. I must say I do like manual focus better most of the time but my, first, grandchild make the use of af wise.