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

[KerrKid]

Someone needs to start a "What's your oddest camera?" thread. I'd be interested to see what shows up.

 

[photomancottrell]

Canon A1 and Pentax SP500

 

[Maris]

By the way, how do you date the Mamiyas Cs serie?

Marcelo

Go here: https://mamiyarepair.com/mamiya-production-date-codes/

 

[LeoniD]

Someone needs to start a "What's your oddest camera?" thread. I'd be interested to see what shows up.

Would Kiev 15 count as an odd camera?

 

[Cholentpot]

Someone needs to start a "What's your oddest camera?" thread. I'd be interested to see what shows up.

Ok. Here goes!

 

[Donald Qualls]

Just got a Smena 8M -- compact, simple, shutter 15-250 + B, cold shoe and PC connector, front-focus f/4 40 mm (some versions had 43 mm) coated triplet. Takeup spool is removable, and can be lost, but appears capable of accepting a cassette on the takeup side. No double exposure interlock.

Very inexpensive (because millions were made from 1971 to 1995), and the entire lens/shutter assembly comes off with two screws, making it a candidate for pinhole conversion or lens/shutter swap experiments -- but use a spare or one with bad shutter for this, as they're also very capable picture makers.

 

[cooltouch]

Here's my latest. A Canon 7s rangefinder with 50mm f/1.2 lens. I took this pic right after I bought it, so it's pretty grungy looking. Fortunately, it cleaned up well. I bought the outfit for that lens. $300, which I think was a fair price. Actually, a very fair price.

 

[BobD]

Just got this Petri Compact E half-frame camera from a thrift store.

Four-element 28/2.8 lens. Manually set aperture and shutter speeds. Scale focus. Uncoupled selenium meter.

Lens is clean and everything works (after freeing up the frame counter with a few drops of solvent).

I've never used a half-frame before but that frame counter to #72 is inviting.

 

[henryvk]

I have a newcomer to what I should by now probably start calling my collection.

It's another Soviet shooter: The BelOMO Vilia 35mm scale-focusing viewfinder camera.

Here’s some pictures from the roll of Kodak Gold I shot with the Vilia a couple of months ago:



The shots in the brightest afternoon light all have a very pleasing retro aspect to them. I like the saturated colours much better right now than the more realistic tones rendered by “better” lenses.

PS: Of course I was dead wrong about the lens. The Smena, being made by a different manufacturer, has an entirely different lens.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Here's my latest. A Canon 7s rangefinder with 50mm f/1.2 lens. I took this pic right after I bought it, so it's pretty grungy looking. Fortunately, it cleaned up well. I bought the outfit for that lens. $300, which I think was a fair price. Actually, a very fair price.

Nice buy with a 1.2 lens. How does it look now? Is the CDs meter working? How is the lens? Thanks.

 

[flavio81]

Here's my latest. A Canon 7s rangefinder with 50mm f/1.2 lens. I took this pic right after I bought it, so it's pretty grungy looking. Fortunately, it cleaned up well. I bought the outfit for that lens. $300, which I think was a fair price. Actually, a very fair price.

A friend just sold a 7 with the f0.95 lens, mint, for $890... i wonder if i should've bought it. But i prefer your lens.

 

[IMoL]

Not really old (unless 20 years is old), but I just picked up a Nikon F80 (with MB-16) in great condition for not very much money at a camera shop in Copenhagen. I actually went in looking for an F4 but the couple they had had led a hard life. I couldn't resist the F80 when I saw what they wanted for it. It continues to amaze me how undervalued the "plastic era" Nikons are compared to, say, similar vintage Point and Shoot cameras.

I have plenty of AF Nikon glass and I am having a blast with this camera. The meter seems very good and it's relatively quiet as well.

Bonus: the previous owner had done a really good job of treating the "sticky" too.

 

[ecapdeville]

A Japanese PENTAX K1000 that my father in law gave me this weekend...

 

[arubey]

Just got a test roll back after running it through this latest acquisition - everything looks good.
The 50mm 1.2 with hood = an MX that's not really a small camera anymore. But it doesn't feel as strange as I thought it might.
I'm looking forward to putting it to use.

 

[henryvk]

I got my third Soviet viewfinder camera with triplet lens:

The Smena Symbol. I don't own the Smena 8M but this is supposed to be the better made version of it, i.e. same lens but better viewfinder and body. It feels reasonably well made with nice thick plastic, definitely sturdier and heavier than the BeLOMO Vilia (whose ever-ready case I adapted to hold the Smena). The Symbol has a reverse galilean viewfinder which is nice and bright but unlike he Vilia it doesn't show you the aperture in the viewfinder nor does it have framelines. The shutter release is on the lens barrel, same as the Vilia, but where the Vilia's release is very crisp and immediate, the Symbol is very soft and has a very long throw which is definitely something to get used to. Given that the camera is reasonably heavy and has a leaf shutter it's not too much of an issue as far as camera shake goes, it just feels odd. Otherwise the Symbol is appropriately spartan, with only an easily readable self-resetting frame-counter next to the eyepiece and a film speed wheel to grace its back.

As Donald Qualls explained a few weeks back, the exposure on the Smena is the opposite of the scheme used on the Vilia. Set an aperture that corresponds to a film speed and only change the shutter speed to accomodate for changing light conditions. I opted to mostly circumvent this system by using both shutter speed *and* aperture, which is slightly fiddly since the aperture ring is on the front surounding the lens but not bad overall. The Smena is said to have issues with overlapping frames past 24 exposures. While I haven't made scans yet, the one roll I shot so far has no spacing issues. I did clean, lubricate and vigorously excersise the film advance before the first roll. Maybe that helped.

My Symbol came to me somewhat dusty and, oddly, with much more dirt inside the film compartment than on the outside. But the shutter fired, the aperture apertured and the focus focused. Apart from cleaning the with isopropyl and the odd drop of Balistol under the top cover there wasn't much to do but start shooting.

Overall, I really like the Symbol. It could be a bit smaller and framelines would be nice but the design is delightful and the triplet is supposed to be one of the best of the Soviet ones, the little brother to the Lubitel, if you will.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I just received a 1955 (dated by serial number) Kiev 2, straight from Ukraine. This is one of the original Kievs, before the redesign that made them more closely resemble the post-War Contax IIa and IIIa (while also making them easier to manufacture, I've read). This one has the flip-out foot, shutter to 1250, and bottom rewind release -- but there's a PC socket on the front panel. I'm not a Kiev historian, but I expect this was added to the shutters not long after production started, since flashuse was a given by then. The camera was sold as freshly serviced, and is quite clean, shutter operation appears perfect. I hope the frame spacing is good, as well.

The Jupiter 8 that came with it has a very stiff aperture ring without click stops, but I swapped on my other Jupiter 8, which is much smoother and has clicks. I know this lens is very good, I've used it on my other Kiev bodies; now I just need to get through a roll and get it processed to verify the RF calibration.

 

[Three Owls]

I've recently started shooting a FM2N and added a data back. I don't even remember where I got it, in a box of other slrs I have and maybe it came with some darkroom equipment a decade ago. But put in batteries and it works.
I have odd feelings about the data back I added and haven't souped a roll from it yet. But I hope I can easily mate analog photos up with my digital or drone when out, and that I will only mark every several frames since it writes time or date or number (only up to 2000?) on the image itself.
Still I am in love with the simplicity of the camera, and as I am using my Nikon glass on a mirrorless digital body with tilt shift adapter (former view camera addict) it's an awesome compliment to my shooting. I'm also excited because they're legendary in cold weather and I have had some troubles with my digital gear on frigid Rocky Mountain mornings.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I've recently started shooting a FM2N and added a data back. I don't even remember where I got it, in a box of other slrs I have and maybe it came with some darkroom equipment a decade ago. But put in batteries and it works.
I have odd feelings about the data back I added and haven't souped a roll from it yet. But I hope I can easily mate analog photos up with my digital or drone when out, and that I will only mark every several frames since it writes time or date or number (only up to 2000?) on the image itself.
Still I am in love with the simplicity of the camera, and as I am using my Nikon glass on a mirrorless digital body with tilt shift adapter (former view camera addict) it's an awesome compliment to my shooting. I'm also excited because they're legendary in cold weather and I have had some troubles with my digital gear on frigid Rocky Mountain mornings.

Film develops better when one uses developer rather than soup. I know from experience that chicken noodle soup, tomato soup and French Onion soup are definitely not good for film.

 

[henryvk]

Ughhh.... I have recently been looking at Zeiss Ikontas in the classifieds with a mind to getting one of those little 6x45s when a Super Ikonta III with a Tessar popped up for less than half of what the "untested" ones go for.

After asking a couple of pointed questions I decided to go for it. Hope I don't regret this when it shows up the day after tomorrow or so.

 

[Thesecondone]

Bought a nikon f2 and 5 seconds after i got it out the box i broke the lever that releases the viewfinder:/

 

[Sirius Glass]

Bought a nikon f2 and 5 seconds after i got it out the box i broke the lever that releases the viewfinder:/

Talk to the seller to see if something can be done that works for both of you.

 

[mpeterson]

I've owned Nikon FM, FM2, and FM2N cameras for years, but until recently had never tried any of the FE variants. So my most recent 35mm purchase is a lovely chrome FE. I don't believe I'll favor it over the FM2N - in fact I'm already sure I won't. But it's fun to shoot with in its own way, nonetheless.

 

[4season]

Bought a nikon f2 and 5 seconds after i got it out the box i broke the lever that releases the viewfinder:/

Ouch! Did you inspect the part for signs of prior repair?

 

[mshchem]

Ughhh.... I have recently been looking at Zeiss Ikontas in the classifieds with a mind to getting one of those little 6x45s when a Super Ikonta III with a Tessar popped up for less than half of what the "untested" ones go for.

After asking a couple of pointed questions I decided to go for it. Hope I don't regret this when it shows up the day after tomorrow or so.

View attachment 314822

That's a nice find!

 

[mshchem]

Bought a nikon f2 and 5 seconds after i got it out the box i broke the lever that releases the viewfinder:/

I've had F2 cameras forever. I have never had the little lever on the finder just break off. It's a little weird as you turn the lever and press the button on the body at the same time. To get the button pushed in far enough it sometimes takes more than my fingernail.