Canon

Shutter priority exposure system. The shutter speed is shown in the bottom of the viewfinder. The aperture is shown by a needle along the right side of the viewfinder. If the FD lens is set to the green O or A setting on the aperture ring, the camera automatically selects the aperture. If the green O or A setting is not used, you have to turn the aperture ring to the correct aperture as shown by the needle to the right of the viewfinder. Since the actual aperture you select is not shown in the viewfinder, you have to take you eye off the viewfinder to set the aperture. In other words in manual mode it is not match needle or a coupled exposure system. It uses a Silicon meter instead of a CdS meter. It has a very wide range of shutter speeds from 1/1000 second to 30 seconds and the meter works across this entire range. It uses a Copal Square vertical-travel blade focal plane shutter. It is apparently the only Canon SLR using a shutter not made by Canon. (Canon EF Camera - Wikipedia, Shutter speeds from 1/1000 second to 1/2 second are mechanically controlled, while those from 1 second to 30 seconds are electronically controlled. There is also a B setting. Flash sync is at 1/125 second. The manual is available at butkus.org.

The name implies that it is an electronic version of the top of the line Canon F-1. Like the F-1 it is a solid, well constructed camera. The Canon EF was made for less than five years, while the F-1 went from 1971 to 1981, and with the advent of the New F-1 in 1981, continued until the early 1990s. (Wikipedia, Canon New F-1 states it is thought the New F-1 was made until 1992 and was officially discontinued in 1994.) The EF lacked the interchangeable viewfinders and the motor drives that the Canon F supported. The Canon EF had a fixed viewfinder that initially had only a microprism and then later added a split image. (Mine does not have the split image. The 1976-77 Sears Camera Catalog describes the EF has having a split image.) The Canon EF did have professional features such as mirror lock-up and depth of field preview. Both are controlled by the same switch that the self timer uses.

The Canon EF cost $459 with the 50mm f1.4 lens in the 1976-77 Sears Camera Catalog. (The F-1 with the same lens was $90 more, while the FTb with the same lens was $160 less.) $459 in 1976 equals $1,820.85 in 2011 dollars!

I purchased my Canon EF on Sunday July 17, 2011 at a garage sale advertised on Craigslist (listed "camera equipment") in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego. The seller was apparently the second owner. She got it from a service man in, I assume, around the 1970s or 1980s. It is in good cosmetic and working condition. The meter works fine. The only problem is the lens mount is slightly loose. I bought the camera, with the 50mm f1.4 lens, a Vivitar 28mm f2.8 close focusing lens, a camera bag, and some filters and booklets for a total of $30.

Canon FD Lenses: The A series and later T series Canon cameras take Canon FD (open aperture) bayonet mount lenses which go on with about 1/4 turn as opposed to screw mount lens cameras. I have several Canon FD and Vivitar Series 1 Canon FD mount lenses: Canon FD 24mm f2.8, Canon FD 50mm f1.4, Canon FD 50mm f3.5 Macro with 1:1 extension tube, Canon FD 135mm f2.5, Vivitar Series One 28mm-90mm f2.8-3.5, Vivitar Series One 70mm-210mm f3.5, Canon FD 100-200 f5.6. All of the lenses seem to be in excellent working condition with no scratches, mold or other marks on the glass. The Canon FD 24mm was purchased on eBay on 7-12-07 for $36 with $9.35 shipping. The other Canon lenses were purchased at a La Mesa, CA garage sale on 7-8-07 for about $95 total. The two Vivitar lenses were purchased on eBay in 2005. Canon Lenses, Canon Lenses Front. With the exception of the 100-200mm lens, these are all quite fast (i.e. large maximum aperature). The Vivitar Series One lenses also have a reputation of being equal to the camera manufacturer or marquee lens quality. The 1977-78 Sears Catalog had the following prices: Canon 100-200 zoom $196.50, Canon 135mm f3.5 (not f2.5) $114.50, Canon 24mm f2.8 $184.50, 50mm f3.5 macro $179.50, 50mm f1.4 $105, Vivitar 35-105mm f3.5 $237.50, Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f3.5 $349.50 That's over $1350 in lenses in late 70s prices which is over $4,300 in 2007 dollars adjusting for inflation! Update: I also purchased a Canon FD 70-210mm f4, a Canon FD 135mm f2.5, a Canon extension tube FD 50, and a 2X teleconverter (unknown mount - I thought it was Canon, but it apparently is not) at a La Mesa, CA garage sale on 8-16-08 for $50 total, all in very good cosmetic and working condition.

Chinon

It was made by Chinon. Exactly which model is confusing, however! According to Chinon Screw Mount Cameras, the GAF L-CM, as well as the Argus CR-1, are the same as the Chinon CM (1975). (See also acecam.com.) Chinon Screw Mount Cameras does not have photos, however, and I have not independently varified that they are same or that a Chinon CM with no other designation exists. Also, JW Photo shows the Argus CR-1 as a different looking camera. See also Asian Site - Argus CR-1. Manuals for most Chinon cameras are available at www.butkus.org/chinon/index.html. I haven't found the exact same designation there although it appears very similar to three other models: GAF L-17 (1973) (chrome body and battery check button), Chinon CS (chrome body), Chinon SLR (looks almost identical but according to Chinon Screw Mount Cameras the Chinon SLR has open aperture metering), Chinon CX (chrome body and battery check button - a black model was on eBay, however). Butkus.org has an image of the GAF L-CM, which he labels as a Chinon L-CM. Similarly, an Asian site shows a photo of a GAF L-CM with the label of a Chinon CM (1974). That site apparently indicates a GAF L-CM is the same as a Chinon M1, an Argus CR-1 and Revueflex 3000 SL. A list of GAF labeled Chinon models is at camerapedia.org. An eBay listing had a repair manual for GAF L-CM, L-CS, L-ES and Sears 2000 ES SLR cameras suggesting these are all similar models. The GAF LC-M is mentioned as a low priced reliable model at a photo.net discussion.

Wirgin Edixa

Ihagee Exakta

The lens is a 50 mm f1.9 Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon. The Exacta was the 35mm SLR of the 1950s. It was not until the late 1950s and 1960s that the Japanese SLRs started to predominate. (See Pacific Rim Camera - Ihagee referring to the Pentax (1957), Minolta SR-2 (1958), Canonflex (1959) and Nikon F (1960). The Exacta VX was expensive. In the 1956 Sears Camera Catalog, an Exakta that looks like mine with the same lens cost $398.70. That's over $3,000 in 2007 dollars! The only other camera more expensive in the catalog was the Leica M3 rangefinder at $447. The Exacta VX came with either an eye level Penta Prism finder or the less expensive waist level finder. Less expensive lenses were also available. There was no instant mirror return - the viewfinder was blacked out after releasing the shutter until you wound the film advance. According to the 1956 Sears Camera Catalog the "Automatic Exacta VX" has "a fully-automatic pre-set diaphragm control . . . closes to pre-set opening when shutter is released . . . reopens automatically." There are several excellent and detailed sites about Exacta cameras including: exataphile, wrotniak.net - Exakta, Classic Exakta SLRs, Captain Jack's Exakta Pages.

My Exakta was purchased in the Hillcrest area of San Diego on 11-19-07 with six other cameras and assorted lenses for $150. It had belonged to the seller's father in law who was going into a nursing home. The father in law had been an avid amateur photographer amassing a large camera collection, most of which had been disposed of earlier. The camera is in very good cosmetic condition. The shutter works well. (I have not yet figured out the slow speeds which are on a separate dial.) The lens is clear and in beautiful cosmetic condition. I think the diaphragm is not functioning, however. At first I thought it was probably a preset lens and I just didn't know how to set it. I think it is fully automatic, however, and stuck at f16 or so. If you look very closely there is some slight movement to open the blades. It probably needs cleaning and lubrication, although that likely would be expensive. The 50 mm f1.9 Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon lens does seem to be expensive. An Exakta VX with that lens went for over $200 on eBay in October 2007 with a sticking diaphragm. The camera comes with a leather Exakta case in near new condition. A very cool camera indeed, although I sure wish the aperture wasn't stuck!

An interesting fact is that Jimmy Stewart, playing a photographer confined to his apartment with a broken leg, appears to use an Exakta VX with penta prism finder and telephoto lens to get a closer view of the murderer (Raymond Burr - soon to become defense attorney Perry Mason on television) across the courtyard in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film "Rear Window." (See photo at Internet Movie Database (IMDb) - Rear Window and extensive discussion at photo.net.) According to Camera Wiki the lens used was a Kilfitt Fern-Kilar f/5.6 400mm lens. As explained under the Exakta VX IIa below, I have a Heinz Kilfitt Munchen Tele-Kilar 300mm f5.6 lens which is quite impressive at nearly 12 inches long including lens hood. While professional photographers tended to use 35mm rangefinders more than 35mm SLRs in the 1950s, SLRs were needed for telephoto lenses and close-up work. The Exakta was the choice of most professionals using a SLR. Medium format twin lens reflex cameras and press view cameras were also popular. The flash from a press view camera was used in Rear Window to temporarily blind the murderer.

Kodak

The Retina Reflex has a leaf shutter between the mirror and lens like the Voigtlander Bessamatic and the Zeiss Ikon Contaflex cameras, also from West Germany. As I wrote regarding the Bessamatic, this design complicates things! As you advance the film, the shutter must open, the aperture must fully open, the mirror must go down, and a capping plate must be lowered in front of the film. In this position you can view the image. When you hit the shutter release, the shutter closes, the capping plate and mirror go up, the aperture stops down, the shutter opens, and the shutter closes after the set time. The plate and mirror remain up and the shutter closed until you advance the film again. Most of this process works in my camera except that while the shutter opens when you advance the film, as soon you let go of the shutter the shutter closes. It is supposed to remain open in order to view the image. The rest of the process seems to work. For example, after you advance the film lever, the mirror is down and the capping plate is closed. As stated at Chris's Camera Pages: "The Retina Reflexes are mechanically quite complex and since they have rarely been serviced in historically recent times, they are often found in less than perfect mechanical condition, and may be suffering from a variety of problems as a result." He describes my camera's problem at this page under Retina Reflex: "A problem with adjustment in the mechanism may be indicated if the shutter opens when you swing the film advance lever, but then immediately closes and remains closed as the film advance lever returns to the rest position." A CLA (Clean, Lubricate and Adjustment) might fix the problem. Chris is in New Zealand and is now retired. He recommends Paul Barden in Oregon (see Chris's Repair Page) but Paul Barden's site states: "I provide servicing for the following Retina models: type 117-141, 010, Retina II, IIa, IIc, IIIc, IIIC." He does not refer to the Retina Reflex. Retina Reflex - Camera-Wiki states: "The Retina Reflexes are fascinating instruments, which make them a joy to use, but after many years in service, it is not to be expected every function works properly, yet the camera might still take pictures. The cameras are expensive to repair, and most repairmen are reluctant to touch them." That page states the Retina Reflex S originally sold for $235. That's almost $2,400 in 2023 dollars. Cosmetically, my camera is in excellent condition. My camera may have been purchased with the case as part of a collection of 35+ vintage consumer cameras for about $200 from an ad on Craigslist on 6-27-08 in Oceanside, CA. It comes with a leather case in good condition.

Konica

Mamiya

Looking back through emails, I apparently purchased my camera for $11.50 plus $5 shipping on eBay in November 2009. It came with a 50mm and 200mm lens. My camera body is in good condition. The shutter fires. I can't put batteries in it, however, since I'm missing the battery holder. The focusing ring on the 50mm f2 E lens is totally loose and the lens will not focus.

Minolta

It has a unique bayonet type lens mount for Miranda interchangeable lenses of the Auto-Miranda Series. It also has inner threads, however, for Soligor or other pre-set lenses. These screw mount lenses are M44 lenses (44mm in diameter) and not the same as Pentax M42 (42mm in diameter) screw mount lenses. Rick Oleson - SLR Lens Mount Identification is a great page that describes all the different SLR lens mounts. Miranda did make adapters for Pentax, Nikon, Exacta, Leica and Contax lenses. In the price list these are either $9.95 or $12.95.

Shutter speeds are from 1 to 1/1000 second plus Bulb. The shutter release is on the front of camera just above the self timer. The pentaprism viewfinder is removable although not the focusing screen. In addition to the eye level finder, two waist level finders were available. The camera does not have a hot shoe or accessory shoe probably due to the removable pentaprism. Two flash brackets were available, however ($4.95 and $2.95). The CdS through the lens meter takes a 1.3 volt 625 mercury battery, no longer available. The meter is reactive and correct within a stop with a 1.5 volt 76PX battery I had available. I haven't extensively tried out the meter, however. The meter switch is on the top left next to the rewind crank. The battery compartment round black screw cap is on the chrome trim just below the rewind crank. The hefty camera weighs in at 1,100 grams with the 50mm f1.4 lens (650 grams body only).

The camera is in good cosmetic and working condition with a few areas of dirt, scratches or slight corrosion on the chrome. The two extra lenses, teleconverter and cases are in excellent condition. I purchased the items on 10-27-07 for $75 in La Jolla, CA from an ad on Craig's List. (The house was just below the area of the recent landslide.)

The literature that came with the camera indicates it is imported by Allied Impex Corp., a Division of AIC Photo Inc. Miranda cameras were made from the first prototype in 1952 until 1978 when they were forced to quit operations. A description at Bill's Miranda Page by a former Miranda sales representative gives the sales representative's impressions why the company ceased operations. Comprehensive information about Miranda is at Miranda Camera and mikeckman.com. According to Bill's Miranda Page, Miranda introduced the first Japanese single lens reflex camera in 1958. (See Miranda Orion at Camera Quest.) Photoethnography has excellent information on the Sensorex. The manual for the Sensorex is at butkus.org (my manual is different looking). Miranda Society Japan has a very comprehensive site largely in Japanese but with some English. It has several Mirada ads that featured a naked woman carefully posed to not show too much and a proper looking English gentlemen with a bowler hat and a Miranda camera around his neck.

Nikon

Starting in 1977 Nikon started offering its Nikon AI or Automatic Indexing lenses. Prior to this Nikon had its non-AI lenses that required you to "turn the aperture ring all the way to the minimum aperture setting (largest f/number), then all the way in the opposite direction. This step automatically fits the coupling pin in the Photomic finder into the coupling prong on the lens and adjusts the meter to the maximum aperture of the lens." (Nikon F2 Photomic Instruction Manual at page 30 available online at butkus.org.) With these new lenses, Nikon introduced the Nikon F2A and Nikon F2AS with new Photomic heads that did not require you to twist the lenses back and forth to adjust the meter to the maximum aperture of the lens. Nikon F2 - Wikipedia has a detailed discussion of the various viewfinder heads available over the years.

I purchased my Nikon F2 Photomic and motor drive on July 29, 2011 in La Mesa, CA from an ad on Craigslist. The seller was a nice gentleman who I believe indicated he purchased the Nikon F2 new. He was also selling a Nikon F, and several lenses including a Nikkor 105mm f2.5 and a Nikkor 200mm. Being on a budget, I initially limited my purchase to the Nikon F2 Photomic and meters for a total of $100 ($70 for the camera and $30 for the drive). The camera, head and drive are all in very good cosmetic and working condition. The only cosmetic defect is some slight brassing around the bottom of the camera. Ebay prices vary widely depending on the working and cosmetic condition as well as the type of head and drive. While the cameras tend to be very reliable, heads without functioning meters can be common. Additionally, the later heads that can use the features of the AI lenses are more valuable. Finally, the MD-1 and MD-2 drives are more valuable than my MD-3 drive. I later returned to purchase the Nikkor 105mm f2.5 lens for $50.

Nikon cameras have traditionally been the favorite professional level 35mm SLR, although many professionals use Canon or other brands. According to Wikipedia, Nikon in January 2006 announced it would continue to produce only two SLR film cameras, the entry level manual focus FM-10 actually made by Cosina and the professional level F6. This clearly shows the revolution in photography that has occurred in the last ten years with a switch from film to digital.

This was my first Nikon. Purchased on eBay on 5-8-06 for $61 and $11.50 shipping. It came with a Vivitar Series 1 70-210 f3.5 lens and a Vivitar Zoom Thyristor SMS 40D flash. The camera is in very good cosmetic and working condition. There appears to be some slight dust on the mirror. The lens is also in good condition with clear glass, but some scrapes on the body and the ring surrounding the front element.

The 70-210 Series 1 lens itself is somewhat of a cult classic intended to compete with lenses from the camera manufacturers. Mine is the first of the five versions. It was make by Kiron and has a 67mm filter size. According to the numbers on the lens, mine was apparently made in the 18th week of 1981 following the code set forth in the Mark Roberts site. See also Camera Quest. It has a 1:2.2 magnification ratio and a fixed f3.5 maximum aperture, impressive for a zoom lens. A Vivitar Series 1 70-210 lens cost $374.50 in the 1978-79 Sears Camera Catalog, nearly $1,150 in 2006 dollars, although a Nikkor 80-200 zoom in the same catalog cost $639.50, almost $2,000 in 2006 dollars. I also have Series 1 70-210 lenses in Pentax screw, Minolta MD and Canon FD mounts.

My 55mm f1.2 lens is the Ai series. According to the fabulous serial number chart at www.photosynthesis.co.nz, my 55mm f1.2 Nikon lens was made between April 1977 and April 1978. According to that site, 25,518 were made. My 85mm f1.4 lens is the Ai-S series. According to the serial number chart at www.photosynthesis.co.nz, it was made between March 1981 and 2005. The serial numbers range from 179114 - 245720 so mine, with serial no. 241994, is likely much closer to 2005. 66,630 were made over the course of 24 years. 24 years is an incredibily long time to make a particular model of a lens. Photosynthesis.co.nz states the 85mm f1.4 AI-S Nikkor is: "The fastest telephoto in the Nikon lineup and the first Nikkor telephoto with floating elements."

The Ai and Ai-S series appear to be the last manual focus series before the introduction of Nikon autofocus lenses in the mid 1980s. Luckily for owners of manual focus Nikon lenses, however, the physical mount for the autofocus lenses remains the same as for the manual focus lenses. (Canon and Minolta completely changed the mount with the introduction of their autofocus single lens reflex cameras. Pentax kept it's same mount and has the highest degree of compatibility.) The Ai and Ai-S lenses do not have electronic contacts like the autofocus lenses and later autofocus digital lenses. According to the Lens Compatibility Chart at www.kenrockwell.com the Ai and Ai-S series lenses can be mounted to any autofocus or digital Nikon single lens reflex camera. The meter will still work on most of the earlier Nikon digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras and the higher end modern Nikon DSLR cameras but only using manual and aperture preferred modes. (I haven't researched whether you have to stop down to meter.) The meter will not work, however, in the newer consumer oriented Nikon DSLR cameras. You have to use an external meter and set the shutter speed and aperture manually. In glancing through the Internet, it appears the electronic connections can sometimes be added to the lenses.

These lenses are therefore still quite useable today without modification. Even if there is no metering, you can always just use an external meter. The 55mm and 85mm focal lengths are great for portraits. The 55mm lens with a DSLR with an APS sized sensor will have the same field of view as a full frame camera with an 82.5mm lens (55 x 1.5 = 82.5). That's a nice moderate telephoto for upper body portraits. The 85mm lens is a nice portrait lens on a full frame camera. With a DSLR with an APS sized sensor, it will have the same field of view as a full frame camera with a 127.5mm focal length lens, between traditional telephoto focal lengths of 105mm and 135mm and again useful for portraits. Unfortunately, the only working DSLR cameras I have are the original Canon Digital Rebel and the Sony Alpha 350. You never know when I might come across a deal on a decent used Nikon DSLR, however.

I purchased the 85mm f1.4 lens for $150 on April 24, 2010 in the Del Cerro area of San Diego garage/estate sale advertised on Craigslist. That's the most I ever paid for a lens at a garage sale, but it is a pretty unique lens in pretty near perfect condition from what I can tell. One sold the following day on eBay for over $500. I went back the next day and purchased the 55mm f1.2 lens for about $90. ($120 for it and a 1990 Sony MVC DC-95 digital camera.) The 55mm f1.2 is also in excellent condition. The seller was an elderly gentleman who was ill and downsizing. He is an attorney. In talking with him it turns out he knew my father well. There were several cameras including some Nikon F3 cameras, a Nikon FA, a compact Canon digital, and a beautiful French movie camera. These were beyond my budget, however.

Olympus

The Olympus Pen cameras also included less expensive viewfinder cameras without through the lens viewing or interchangeable lenses. These were first introduced in 1959. Several other manufacturers had non-SLR half frame cameras. For example, Canon had the uniquely styled Canon Dial camera as well as the more traditionally styled Canon Demi. The Pen F series cameras were the first half frame 35mm SLR cameras, however, and to my knowledge perhaps the only purely half frame 35mm SLRs although I know Konica made a camera that could be used in either full frame or half frame mode and some other 35mm SLRs were modified to allow half frame photos.

The Olympus Pen F series cameras are not only smaller than an ordinary 35mm SLR because of the smaller frame size, they also lack the typical hump on the top of an SLR where the pentaprism is. Instead of a pentaprism, the Olympus Pen F series cameras use mirrors and prisms. The small size and lack of a pentaprism hump, together with classic, simple styling, reminds one of the classic Leica, Canon and Nikon interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras. Instead of the typical focal plane shutter, the Olympus Pen F series cameras use a rotating focal plane shutter. This allows flash synchronization at up to 1/500 second. Typical flash synch in 35mm SLR cameras at the time was 1/60 second. That increased later to 1/125 second and even 1/250 second with vertical shutter curtains. Even the most advanced full film 35mm SLRs never achieved the flash synchronization of a Pen F, however. The smaller frame size allowed for twice as many photos on a roll of film. For example, a 36 exposure roll will give you 72 images on a half-frame camera.

Even with their small size and ecomomy of twice as many photos on a roll of film, half-frame cameras never took over the full frame 35mm camera market likely for two reasons. First, while the half-frame cameras could produce excellent photos, the larger image area of a full frame camera does give the potential for better image quality especially for enlargements and heavily cropped photos. Second, camera manufacturers became better at making 35mm full frame cameras smaller. For example, Olympus came out with its very small Olympus XA rangefinder camera in 1975. Even more traditionally styled rangefinders like the Olympus RC were quite small. This decrease in size continued as autofocus cameras were developed like the Olympus Stylus Epic. (The XA, RC and Epic can be seen in the 35mm Rangefinder and Other Wing of the Mr. Martin's Camera Museum.) The decrease in size was also seen in 35mm full frame single lens reflex cameras led by the first compact 35mm SLR, the Olympus OM-1 (see entry below) introduced perhaps not coincidentally in 1972 the year the Olympus Pen FT was discontinued. The full frame OM-1 and later OM-2 cameras are about the same size as the Olympus Pen F although the OM series cameras do have the Pentaprism hump. (Olympus did introduced the screw mount Olympus FTL full frame SLR in 1971. It was quickly forgotten with the introduction of the OM series.)

The internal through the lens meter of the Pen FT was a significant advance over the Pen F and Pen FV but it did result in a somewhat dimmer viewfinder since part of the light went to the meter from a half silvered mirror. The meter was through the lens, but not coupled. The meter needle in the viewfinder points to one of eight numbers from 0 to 7. What number the needle points to depends on the amount of light and what shutter speed is set. The photographer notes that the number the needle in the viewfinder is pointing to and sets the aperture ring to that number for the correct exposure. You have to take your eye away from the viewfinder to do this. The numbers from 0 to 7 are simply a simplification of the f-stop values. 0=f1.2, 1=f2, 2=f2.8, 3=f4, 4=f5.6, 5=f8, 6=f11 and 7=f16. The numbers from 0 to 7 are on the top of the aperture ring and the f-stops are on the bottom of the aperture ring. You can mount the lens so that the f-stops are on top if you wish. The numbers seem to be a gimmick to me. The f-stops could have just appeared in the viewfinder. Shutter speeds are from 1 second to 1/500 second. The manual for the Olympus Pen FT is at butkus.org.

A variety of bayonet lenses were made for the Olympus Pen F series lenses. My camera came with a 42mm lens which has the same angle of view as a 60mm full frame lens. The maximum aperture is a very fast f1.2. The lens generally gets good reviews. For example, at page 176 of Collecting and Using Classic SLRs (Thames and Hudson 1996), Ivor Matanle states it is "surprisingly good for its extreme aperture." Erphotoreview.com states: "This lens has very good center performance across the range, but also very strong field curvature." As that site and www.43rumors.com indicate, the Pen F lenses with an adapter can be used on modern 4/3 format digital cameras. (See last paragraph below and dpreview - forums.) Given its very large maximum aperture, rarity and ability to use it on 4/3 digital cameras with an adapter, the lens has been selling for very high values. 43rumors.com indicates it is rare on eBay and can sell for upwards of $1,000. One sold on eBay on August 16, 2012 for $699.99. Those prices are really amazing for a 40 to 50 year old lens.

I was incredibly lucky to purchase my Olympus Pen FT camera with 42mm f1.2 lens for $40 at a La Mesa, CA garage sale on August 18, 2012. It is now likely my best deal in 8 years of doing this Web site. You have to remember that is a lot of Saturday mornings, however. Sometimes I come up pretty empty handed. The trick is to look for a variety of things you are passionate about and be patient. The camera and lens both seem to be in excellent condition. The camera seals could use replacing. The lens looks to be in very good condition with perhaps a bit of dust. The camera comes with the original every-ready case. The lens comes with the original lens cap with what I assume is a fancy, cursive FT on it. The meter works and appears to be accurate. The shutter works and sounds accurate. The aperture works.

The Olympus Pen name remained dormant from the beginning of the 1980s until 2009 when Olympus introduced the Olympus PEN E-P1. The new Olympus Pen series remains loyal to its non-traditional roots. While it has interchangeable lenses like digital SLR cameras, it does not have any pentaprism or mirror and uses a somewhat smaller sensor compared to DSLR cameras. This allows for a smaller camera again with no pentaprism hump. This also allows for styling that is reminiscent of the original Olympus Pen F series cameras. The new Olympus Pen series cameras are called four-thirds or 4/3 cameras because they uses a 17.3 x 13.0mm sensor which has an aspect ratio of 4/3. (I.e., we have the proportion of 18/13.5 = 4/3.) The surface area of the sensor is 17.3 x 13mm or 225 sq mm. That's smaller than the typical APS-C sized sensor in DSLR cameras such as the Sony Alpha 57 or the Nikon 3100 DSLR cameras which have image sensors of 23.5 X 15.6mm. That's an aspect ratio of 3/2 with an area of 366.6 sq mm. The APS-C sensor size is based on the frame size of the old Advanced Photo System C (APS-C) film cameras. There are also full frame DSLRs with sensors based on the size of a full frame 35mm camera with a frame size 36mm x 24mm with an area of 846 sq mm and an aspect ratio also of 3/2. Advocates of the 4/3 sensor state the 4/3 aspect ratio is closer to the traditional 8x10 inch print than a 3/2 aspect ratio. They also believe it allows for more innovative and smaller lens design. Because of the flange design on 4/3 cameras it is also often possible to provide adapters which allow the use of other lenses on these cameras while still allowing focus at infinity. (See, e.g., Brandmore Castle - Olympus OM Lenses on Four Thirds Cameras, Olympus America. This includes using old 35mm manual focus lenses or a lens for the original Olympus Pen F series cameras. You, of course, have only manual focus and you must stop down the lens to meter. A disadvantage of the 4/3 system is that the smaller sensor size may result in reduced image quality even if the number of pixels on the sensor is the same.

Pentacon

Zeiss Ikon - Pentacon History. The camera was made by Zeiss Icon VEB, Dresden, Germany. The camera's immediate predecessor, the Contax S produced in 1949, was the first single lens reflex 35mm camera using a pentaprism for eye level viewing. (Captain Jack's Contax/Pentacon SLR Cameras.) Zeiss Icon was formed in 1926 from the merger of four German camera companies. It was headquartered in Dresden with plants also in Berlin and Stuttgart. (Camerapedia - Zeiss Ikon) Following World War II, Dresden became part of East Germany and Stuttgart became part of West Germany. The company also split with Zeiss Ikon AG headquartered in West Germany and VEB Zeiss Ikon located in Dresden. After trademark disputes with Zeiss Ikon AG, East German VEB Zeiss Ikon was renamed to VEB Kinowerke Dresden in 1958 and later became part of the East German Pentacon company, which by that time included Praktica cameras. (Camerapedia - Zeiss Ikon) I have given Praktica cameras a separate section - see Praktica below. The West German Zeiss Ikon AG made single lens reflex cameras with leaf shutters. Some examples are included in the Zeiss Ikon section of this Web page. Zeiss Ikon AG ceased camera production in 1972, although the Contax name and technology was continued by the Japanese Yashica company. Yashica was acquired by Kyocera in 1983. In 2005 Kyocera ceased production of cameras. (Camerapedia - Zeiss Ikon)

Camera Operation. Since it served as the basic design for 35mm single lens reflex (SLR) cameras in the last half of the 20th century, and indeed shares many elements of digital SLR cameras in the 21st century, the Pentacon's basic use will be familiar to SLR users. Focus by turning the focusing ring until the image is clear. Set the aperture. Set the shutter speed. Press the shutter release. Wind to reach the next frame. A few things we take for granted were not present, however. The Pentacon has (1) no automatic diaphragm, (2) no instant return mirror, (3) no built in light meter, and (4) no single set of shutter speeds. The manual, which explains these concepts in much greater detail with diagrams, is available at butkus.org.These features would become commonplace in the 1960s.

No Automatic Diaphragm. With an automatic diaphragm the diaphragm remains at the widest aperture until you press the shutter release. The camera then automatically stops down to the selected aperture value (f-stop). This allows you to focus and view a bright image. With the Pentacon you have to turn the aperture ring to the maximum aperture to focus and view. Then you turn it to the aperture you need for correct exposure. Only then do you press the shutter release. The standard 58mm f2 lens on the camera is a preset lens which makes these steps a little easier. You can "preset" the lens to the correct aperture, open up to the widest aperture, and then return it to the correct aperture by turning the aperture ring to the right. When you can't turn it further, it is a the correct preset aperture.

No Instant Return Mirror. An instant return mirror allows for the image to be blacked out only momentarily while the shutter is released. SLR cameras have a mirror which is in the down position until the shutter is released. This allows the photographer to compose and focus the image. When the shutter button is pressed, the mirror flips up and the shutter opens allowing the light to expose the film (or today the digital image sensor). With automatic mirror return, the mirror automatically goes back down when the shutter closes allowing you to view the image again. The image is only blacked out to your eye for the moment the shutter is open. In early cameras like the Pentacon the mirror remained in the up position until you advanced the film to the next frame. In addition to advancing the film and cocking the shutter, turning the film advance knob brought the mirror back to the down position where you could see through the viewfinder again. The film advance knob in this camera was also replaced with a single stroke lever in later SLRs.

No Internal Light Meter. The Pentacon has no built in light meter. Built in light meters which measured the light through the lens were generally not introduced until the 1960s. This camera is purely mechanical with no electronics and no battery.

No Single Set of Shutter Speeds. Finally, the Pentacon does not have a single set of shutter speeds. While the camera has a wide range of shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/1000 second, they are in two ranges. The fast speeds are from 1/50 second to 1/1000 second, and the slow speeds are from 1/20 second to 1 second. The slow speeds are in red and the fast speeds are in black. There is a switch on the back by which you select the slow (red arrow) or fast (black arrow) speeds. You then turn the shutter speed knob to the correct speed. The Pentacon has a single knob with the lever selecting the slow or fast speeds. Other cameras like the Japanese Asashiflex models and the early Exacta models had two shutter speed knobs. By the 1960s most SLRs had a single knob that you simply turned to the desired shutter speed. The shutter speed sequence on the Pentacon is 1/1000, 1/500, 1/200, 1/100, 1/50, 1/20, 1/10, 1/5, 1/2, 1 and bulb (stays open until you let go of the shutter button). The modern sequence is slightly different with 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1.

Purchase and Accessories. I purchased my Pentacon with numerous accessories for $50 on August 21, 2010 in La Mesa, CA. I ran into a gentleman at a garage sale while I was buying an old lens. I told him I collected cameras. He indicated he had some old cameras including the Pentacon that he would like to see go to someone interested in them. He called me up latter in the day. My Pentacon came with four lenses: (1) Biotar 58mm f2 T Carl Zeiss Jena (3646325), (2) Soligar 135 f2.8, (3) 100mm f2.8 Berlin-Optik-Germany Nr. 14707 C Speed-Astra, and (4) 35mm f2.5 Suptk T 1570. I believe they are all preset lenses. The purchase also included a Kopil Folding "Bellowscope" (closeup bellows), 3 piece Telesar (Japan) extension tubes, an Argus Selenium light meter with low light attachment, two folding bulb flash units (one I believe Argus and the other Minolta), a Vivitar Auto 2600 electronic flash (likely from the 1970s or later), and some other assorted accessories including filters. The camera is in fine working and cosmetic condition. All shutter speeds appear to work and vary appropriately. I'm not sure, but the first shutter curtain may get stuck before fully opening. It makes it most of the way. The lenses look fine at least with a cursory inspection. All have caps, including some caps and a lens shade machined by the owner! The owner worked in the Praktica Industry in San Diego for many years building jet engines and knew how to finely machine Aluminum! Indeed the caps and shade he made are downright beautiful works of craftsmanship. I also bought a Kodak Retina IIc, a Yashica 44 and an Olympus 35 ED from him. The seller was the original owner of all the items except for the Retina IIc which belonged to his dad. It was very interesting learning about the seller's personal experiences with the cameras.

Pentax

Roughly, four Asahiflex models were made. All were simply called Asahiflex. Further, minor changes were sometimes made to a model during its lifetime. Adding further complexity, the cameras were marketed in the United States by Sears under the Tower brand name. In simplified form, the models were:

• Asahiflex I introduced in Japan around 1951
• Asahiflex IA introduced in 1953. Added X flash synchronization sockets for electronic flashes. Sold in the U.S. as the Tower 23.
• Asahiflex IIB introduced in 1954. Sold in the U.S. as the Tower 23 with the 50mm f3.5 lens and the Tower 24 with the 58mm f2.4 lens. This introduced the quick return mirror resulting in no black-out after releasing the shutter.
• Asahiflex IIA introduced in 1955. Sold in the U.S. as the Tower 22. The IIA has all the features of the IIB plus slow shutter speeds as indicated by the dial in the front of the camera.

The Asahiflex cameras were budget cameras compared to the German single lens reflex cameras of the day. For example, in the 1955 Sears Camera Catalog the Tower 23 cost $79.50, while the Praktiflex FX Reflex was $139.50, almost double the Asahi, and the Exakta VX was $239.50 or three times the price of the Asahi. The Hasselblad medium format SLR was $476. The Asahiflex was also cheaper than an Argus C-4 at $84.50 and the Kodak Signet 35 at $87.50, both considered moderate priced American rangefinders. Cameras, including an Asahiflex, in 1955 were still relatively expensive. $79.50 in 1955 has the same buying power as $641.73 in 2009. Surprisingly, the Asahiflex cameras today are quite collectible and usually sell for more than any of the cameras mentioned except for the Hasselblad. This may represent their historical significance as well as their relative rarity. The 1959 Sears Catalog shows that the Tower 23 camera's price dropped to $65 and the Tower 22 camera's price dropped to $89.95 with the introduction of the Tower 26 (Asahi Pentax) in 1957 and the Tower 29 (Asahi Pentax K) in 1958. The 1959 Sears Catalog also shows that the eye level viewing of the Asahi Pentax cameras came at a considerable price increase with the Tower 26 (Asahi Pentax) originally priced at $169.50 and the Tower 29 (Asahi Pentax K) price $179.50. Part of this price increase also represents faster lenses with the Tower 26 having an f2.4 lens and the Tower 29 having an f1.9 lens. The Tower 29's $179.50 price represents the same buying power as $1,334.41 in 2009, exactly 50 years later.

Several sites have detailed discussions about Asahiflex cameras: Asahiflex - Wikipedia, Asahiflex - Camerapedia, Pentax Collector Homepage (leads you to several detailed articles on Asahiflex and Tower 22, 23 and 24 cameras), Nanites Camera Services (UK) (nice table of various models with photos), Asahiflex Cameras (detailed chart describing model variations), Early Photography, Marc's Classic Cameras, Complete Asahiflex Set, Danilo Cecchi, Asahi Pentax And Pentax Slr 35mm Cameras, 1952-1989, Chapter 2, at Google Books, Pentax Manuals - Owner's Manual for Asahiflex IIA and IIB (password "Pentax"). Books discussing the Asahiflex include Ivor Mananle, Collecting and Using Classic SLRs, pages 117-118 (Thames and Hudson 1996), and Joseph D. Cooper, Honeywell Pentax Manual, pages 1-17 to 1-18 (Garden City, N.Y., Amphoto 1975).

I am lucky enough to have two Asahiflex cameras, an Asahiflex IIA and a Tower 23 (Asahiflex IIB).

I purchased another Pentax K1000 in very good cosmetic and working condition with ever-ready case for $25 from an ad on Craigslist in Santee, CA on 5-26-08. The one exception to the working condition is that when I checked it a few weeks later the rewind knob had fallen off. You can't just screw it back on since the spindle is pushed down. You can't just open the back up to push up the spindle since you pull up on the rewind knob to open the back! The easy five minute solution is to take the bottom cover off. That reveals a round plate you take off by removing two screws. Under the plate is a hole from which you can push the spindle up. Then, just screw the rewind knob back on. I discovered this five minute solution after 90 minutes of completely disassembling the rewind knob, the plate under it, etc.!

On 6-20-08 I bought in Escondido through an ad on Craigslist another Pentax ME Super (not SE) model for $10 with a 50mm f2 Pentax lens, a TOU/Five Star 28mm f2.8 lens, a Makinon 80-200mm f4.5 lens, a Pentax AF200S automatic flash, an every-ready camera case, a large gadget bag and manuals. The lenses appear to be in good condition with no scratches, mold, etc. The flash was initially not working but I roughed up the contacts with an emery board and it now works well. The every-ready case is in good condition. The mirror was initially up on the camera and the shutter would not fire. I gently moved the shutter and got it to fire and the mirror to work. The camera, which is in great cosmetic condition, now works intermittently. The problem is the film advance will often just keep going and not cock the shutter. The problem is with the wind lock and wind lock catch which can be readily seen with removal of the bottom plate as explained at ME Pentax Ramblings - Three Common Shutter Problems. I have not yet been able to fix it, however. The 31 page pdf "Disassembly of Pentax ME Super" has complete disassembly procedures and many fine photos which make you appreciate what precision pieces of equipment 35mm single lens reflex cameras are! As noted in that article "the camera shares the same basic mechanical design as the rest of the popular 'M' series ( MV, MV-1, MG, ME, ME Super, ME-F.). The only real mechanical differences are those required to deal with the different metering electronics."

I bought a third ME Super (Serial no. 2859503, lens 3348796) for about $10 on 4-3-10 at a La Mesa, CA garage sale with 50mm f1.7 lens and working batteries. It is in near new condition.

I also appear to have a fourth Pentax ME Super which perhaps I got at a May 2011 garage sale. It is a black bodied camera in very good condition. The shutter fires fine and the speeds sound appropriate. It was missing the lever for the self timer, but I subsequently took the self timer lever from MV1 below and put it on this ME Super. The self timer works. At first the meter seems somewhat erratic. After using it a while, however, the meter seems to be working well agreeing with my Olympus OM-D E-M10II digital camera. The manual is available at butkus.org. It takes two LH44 alkaline batteries which are cheap and readily available. It has a "Passed" Professional Photographic Repair San Diego sticker on it indicating it has been serviced at some point.

Petri

Praktica

I purchased my camera on March 2, 2013 for about $33 at a garage sale on Maple Street in La Mesa, California. (I purchased this camera, a Praktica FX and a Voigtlander Bessa I for $100.) The sale was only a couple of blocks from the home I grew up in. I had also purchased a 1950 Crosley television from the same person in 2007. The camera comes with a Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 50mm (5cm) f3.5 lens, serial no. 1373869. The camera works well. It winds, the shutter fires and the shutter curtain moves. I suspect the shutter speeds may not be accurate, however. The lens look clear. The aperture adjustment and focus works well. The mirror looks scratched although it still produces a reasonably bright image allowing you to focus reasonably accurately in at least bright light. The cosmetic condition is quite good. While I have not used it, I suspect it would still take very nice photos today. It is a wonderful addition to the museum since its manufacture in 1939 is both a milestone in photography history as well as a critical time in German and world history.

Ricoh

Both the Sears TLS and the screw mount Sears SL 11 show up in the 1966 Sears Christmas Book, the Sears TLS on page 356 and the screw mount Sears SL 11 on page 357. The Sears TLS with 50mm f1.4 lens was $197.50, or over $1,800 in March 2023 dollars. The Sears SL 11 was $137.50 for the camera with 50mm f1.8 lens, or about $1,260 in March 2023 dollars. An outfit with the SL 11 camera, case, clip-on exposure meter, and 135mm f3.5 lens was $176, or about $1,615 in March 2023 dollars. The SL 11 has a "Copal square metal focal plane [shutter] with 11 speeds from 1 second to 1/1000 second" plus bulb. Flash synchronization is 1/125. It has an instant return mirror, frame counter with "0" reset, and an 8 second self-timer. The Sears Christmas Book is from christmas.musetechnical.com which has "289 Vintage Christmas Wish Books and Retail Department Store Catalogs, featuring 259,514 catalog pages from Sears, Montgomery Ward and JCPenny over the years." That's a resource I never knew existed until now!

My camera comes with a Auto Sears 55mm f2.8. It is a strange lens in that f2.8 is in the middle. On the right side, labeled manual, the other f-stops stop down. On the left side, labeled auto, the f-stops do not stop down when viewing. It is an automatic diaphragm, however, so they do stop down when the shutter fires. Old Pentax lenses have an auto/manual switch. When switched to manual, the lens stopped down for depth of field preview. This lens accomplishes the same thing in a way I have never seen before. Close focus on the lens is only about 3 feet. It's also rather slow for a normal, non-macro lens. As indicated in the 1966 Christmas Catalog the lens that came with the camera at that time was a 50mm f1.8 lens. I'm not sure where I got this camera. It is in good cosmetic and working condition although a black, fuzzy horizontal line shows up in the viewfinder. The camera is sturdy and weighs almost 1.6 pounds without the lens.

Topcon

Shutter speeds are from 1/500 to 1 second and bulb. Apertures are from f2 to f22. Both the shutter speed dial and aperture rings are at the base of the lens. Unlike most cameras the aperture ring is part of the camera and not the lens. Since there is a single aperture ring, you have to set the maximum aperture of the lens you are using on a dial on the front of the camera. The camera has shutter preferred automatic operation. You set the aperture ring to auto. Select the shutter speed you want. The camera automatically selects the aperture. For manual exposure, take the aperture ring off of auto. Set shutter speed. In the viewfinder, a needle falls on the correct aperture. You then have take you eye from eyepiece and turn the aperture ring to the suggested aperture. It is not match needle metering. It takes a PX-675 1.3 volt mercury battery that is no longer made. A 1.5 volt silver oxide S-76 battery will also fit, but the manual indicates readings will be under-exposed. The owner's manual is at butkus.org. It refers to the IC-1. It appears the IC-1 is the same as the IC-1 Auto.

A 1973 magazine ad on eBay states in part: "the Topcon IC-1 is equipped with an integrated circuit electronically-controlled focal plane shutter. Couple this with these other superb features: a fully automatic exposure system with manual override, a thru-the-lens light metering system for center-weighted average readings at full aperture. An automatic 50mm standard Topcor lens. And all these come in an elegant everready case. Now you've got the camera that can create the photographs you want accurately, simply and fast. To take great pictures simply, set the camera on "Auto" and you're on exposure automation. Just set the shutter speed (and you've got a wide choice of seven speeds), focus and start shooting." And all these for less than $290." The $290 in 1973 has the equivalent buying power of $1,415.65 in 2010. Even assuming a street price substantially less than the $290, it was still an expensive camera.

I purchased my Topcon IC-1 Auto (serial no. 37982) on April 8, 2010 in the Point Loma area of San Diego from an ad on Craigslist. I have purchased several nice cameras and lenses from the same gentleman in the past. I paid $75 for the Topcon IC-1, a Topcon Auto 100, a 200mm f4 lens, two 135mm f4 lenses, one 35mm f3.5 lens, a 2X teleconverter, a ever-ready case for the Auto 100, a lens case for the 20mm f4 lens, a lens case for one of the 135mm lens, a case for the teleconverter and a modern nylon case. Everything appears to be in very good working and cosmetic condition. The IC-1 is very clean, although the Auto 100 has some dust in the viewfinder. All the lenses are Topcon. They all appear to be clear.

Vivitar

Voigtlander

The Bessamatic with 50mm f2.8 lens sold for $199.95 in the 1960-61 Sears Camera Catalog. That was a reduction from the prior price of $220. $199.95 in 1960 is equivalent to an astonishing $2,000 in buying power as I write this in January 2023! "The Bessamatic is often associated with the first 35mm zoom lens, the 36 to 82mm f/2.8 Zoomar made by the Zoomar Corporation of USA." (Bessamatic - Camera-Wiki.) Sears sold this lens for $298, or almost $3,000 in 2023 dollars.

Voigtlander as a company dates back to 1756 and was making cameras by 1840 right after the invention of photography. (Voigtlander - Wikipedia.) The company started in Vienna, Austria moving the Braunschweig, Germany in the mid-1800s. In 1923 the most of the shares were acquirred by Schering AG's photo division. Schering sold its shares to Carl Zeiss Foundation in 1956, and Zeiss-Ikon and Voigtlander were integrated in 1965. They ceased producing cameras in on August 4, 1971 and closed the Voigtlander factory. "Since 1999, Voigtländer-branded products have been manufactured and marketed by the Japanese optics and camera company Cosina, under license from Ringfoto." (Id..) In addition to the Bessamatic, Voigtlander made many high quality zone focusing and rangefinder cameras in the 1950s, three of which are displayed in the Rangefinder section of the museum.

I have two Bessamatic cameras, at least one of which was purchased at a La Mesa estate sale in May or June 2011 along with the Minolta SR-M above and several other cameras. One is in pristine cosmetic condition and comes with the original box, an "eveready" leather case, and the instructions for use. The other is in good cosmetic condition. Both come with the Voigtlander Color-Skopar X 50mm f2.8 lens. The lens on the camera with the box is in excellent condition. Unfortunately, both cameras have mechanical issues which apparently is not uncommon as I look through eBay. Not surprisingly, the light meters are not active. The camera in the box is locked up. It is in the position to fire, but the shutter does not fire. The film advance, of course, also does not move. The mirror is down in the correct position and the plate is closed. The view through the viewfinder is excellent. The other camera appears to fire and the film advance level moves correctly. The shutter is not actually firing, however. The shutter remains closed, the mirror I think stays up and the plate does not come down all the way. The plate is prevented from closing all the way by a spring with a piece of plastic around it. The plastic looks irregular like something may be broken.

I purchased on eBay a Bessamatic DSK mount to Nikon F AI mount adapter for around $13. This allowed me to take photos using the Voigtlander Color-Skopar X 50mm f2.8 lens on my Nikon D600 digital camera. The metering and exposure work fine in aperture preferred mode. Unlike most adapters on mirror cameras, this one appears to focus to infinity. I believe that's because the lens mount on the Bessamatic sticks out and the adapter sticks out the same distance. It's a little tricky mounting the lens on the adapter. There were no instructions. First, you have to set the Bessamatic lens to f22. There is projection in the adapter that must meet up with the sliding pin on the lens that moves the aperture. The adapter has its own aperture ring. You have to be careful that everything is secure or you may drop the lens on the concrete steps to your backyard, not once, but twice, denting the filter ring, causing more scrapes on the metal, and creating a slight chip on the glass. Guess how I know! :( It was the lens on the second camera and I believe the focus was a little stiff anyway which contributed to it falling off. Still the adapter seems trickier to use than those I've used with my micro 4/3 camera. Here is a photo of the Nikon D600 camera with the adapter and lens and a couple of sample snapshots using the lens (1 and 2). It is sort of cool using a circa 1959 lens with a 2013 digital camera at the beginning of 2023! The close focus is only about 3.5 feet which is not very close compared to modern lenses.

"The Bessamatic has a reputation as a tricky camera to repair." (Bessamatic - Wikipedia.) The Disassembly Procedure is at learncamerarepair.com. It looks complicated and doesn't go into the disassembly and timing of the shutter "because if you need that you shouldn't be working on one of these cameras." Chris Sherlock has a series of videos on repairing a Kodak Retina Reflex S and Bessamatic M. Learn Camera Repair has an entire course on camera repair. Retina Rescue has repair information on the similar Kodak Retina Reflex cameras. Repair of mechanical cameras is becoming a lost art.

Yashica

Zeiss Ikon

Zenit